VIDEO: Audra McDonald Talks SHUFFLE ALONG, 6 Tonys & More on COLBERT

On Friday's LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, 6-time Tony award winner Audra McDonald explained how she prepared for playing Billie Holiday in LADY DAY, and the important role her new musical SHUFFLE ALONG played in the history of African-Americans on Broadway. Watch the performance in full below!

McDonald became a three-time Tony Award winner by the age of 28 for her performances in "Carousel," "Master Class," and "Ragtime," placing her alongside Shirley Booth, Gwen Verdon and Zero Mostel by accomplishing this feat within five years. She won her fourth in 2004 for her role in "A Raisin in the Sun," a role she reprised for a 2008 television adaptation, earning her a second Emmy Award nomination. On June 10, 2012, McDonald scored her fifth Tony Award win for her portrayal of Bess in Broadway's "The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess" thus tying a record held by Angela Lansbury and Julie Harris for most TONY AWARDS won by an actor. This past June she made history by winning her sixth Tony Award for her role as Billie Holiday in "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill."

She also maintains her ties to classical repertoire with an active concert and recording career, performing song cycles and operas as well as concerts throughout the U.S. Audra's many television appearances include four seasons as Naomi Bennett in "Private Practice," as well as "Homicide: Life on the Street," "Law & Order: SVU," "Having Our Say," "Mister Sterling," "The Bedford Diaries," "Kidnapped," the television remake of the musical "Annie," and HBO's "Wit" withEmma Thompsonand more recently as a cast member of "The Good Wife." In December 2013 Audra won critical acclaim for her performance as the Mother Abbess in NBC's live telecast of "The Sound of Music" with Carrie Underwood. Her film roles include "Cradle Will Rock," "Object of My Affection," "It Runs in the Family," "Best Thief in the World," and "Seven Servants." She has performed on numerous occasions at Lincoln Center including appearances broadcast on "Live From Lincoln Center" (see clip from a 2013 concert) and has been the on-air host for the Emmy Award-winning program which airs on PBS since 2013. This spring, she will be starring in Broadway's SHUFFLE ALONG.