Photo Flash: First Look at Audra McDonald in HBO's LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL
By: BWW News Desk Mar. 09, 2016
Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald brings her acclaimed portrayal of Billie Holiday in the Broadway smash LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL to HBO on Saturday, March 12 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT). Filmed before a live audience at Cafe Brasil in New Orleans, the special features McDonald in her history-making, tour de force performance as the jazz icon, which won the actress her sixth Tony Award. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at McDonald in two captivating stills from the presentation below!
Originally written for off-Broadway by Lanie Roberston in 1987, LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL tells Holiday's LIFE STORY through the songs that made her famous, including "God Bless the Child," "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "Strange Fruit" and "Taint Nobody's Biz-ness."
McDonald made history and became Broadway's most decorated performer when she won her sixth Tony Award, for LADY DAY in 2014. In addition to setting the record for most competitive wins by an actor, she also became the first person to receive awards in all four acting categories. The show's run at the Circle in THE SQUARE Theatre on Broadway was extended four times.
Also the recipient of two GRAMMY AWARDS and an Emmy Award, McDonald was named one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people of 2015. Aside from her Tony-winning performances in CAROUSEL, MASTER CLASS, RAGTIME, A RAISIN IN THE SUN, THE GERSHWINS' PORGY AND BESS, and LADY DAY, McDonald has appeared on Broadway in THE SECRET GARDEN, MARIE CHRISTINE (Tony nomination), HENRY IV and 110 IN THE SAHDE (Tony nomination). McDonald returns to Broadway this year in SHUFFLE ALONG.
LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL is directed by Lonny Price, who also directed the Broadway production, and produced by Allen Newman and Two Hands Entertainment. It was originally produced on Broadway by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jessica Genick and Will Trice.
Photo Credit: Michele K. Short/Courtesy of HBO
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