Curio Theatre Company Presents LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL This Month

Curio Theatre Company comes back, after two seasons without a mainstage show, with an intimate look at a musical icon. Curio will transform its Black Box space into a South Philly bar for one of Billie Holiday's final performances.

Curio will return with a production of Lanie Robertson's Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, March 17-April 9. Opening Night is Saturday, March 19. Each performance has a limited number of seats. Press tickets are only available on opening night and the following Wednesday and Friday. This intimate and immersive performance is directed by Katrina Shobe and stars Barrymore Winner and Curio Company Member Ebony Pullum with Shawn Bobien as Jimmy Powers, accompanying her on the piano.

Preview tickets are Pay What You Can. Regular tickets are $20-$30 and available at www.curiotheatre.org

Walk-ins are welcome based on availability, but the box office will not process credit card payments on site. Payments can be made with cash (exact change), Venmo, or checks (including phone number and address).

All shows are performed at Curio's Black Box at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community, 4740 Baltimore Avenue.

All audience members must show a valid picture I.D. and proof of vaccination. Masks must be worn at all times. Any questions please call 215-921-8243.

Artistic Director Paul Kuhn says, "We chose this show as our return to the stage because Billie Holiday is one of those rare artists who was able to transmute very real pain into beautiful music. We were inspired by her candor, her willingness to discuss and explore her own personal heartbreak as well as the extreme bigotry she faced as a Black woman, and her ultimate resilience as a human being. At a time when all of us are grappling with grief and uncertainly after the last two years, Billie Holiday serves as an inspiration to us all."

One of the greatest jazz singers of all time, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill recounts the life of Billie Holiday through the songs that made her famous. More than a dozen moving musical numbers are woven with personal stories, both hard and humorous, to paint a riveting portrait of the lady and her music. In a small, intimate bar in Philadelphia in 1959, Holiday puts on a show that, unbeknownst to the audience, will leave them witnesses to one of the last performances of her lifetime. Through her poignant voice and emotional songs, the jazz great shares her loves and her losses. Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill is based on an actual performance that happened at a South Philadelphia bar on March 14, 1959. It was four months before her death.

This riveting work stars Barrymore Award winner (The Color Purple at Theatre Horizon) and Curio Company Member Ebony Pullum as Billie Holiday. Shawn Bobien plays her accompanist Jimmy Powers Pepi. Noted local director Katrina Shobe directs this piece.

Curio Co-Founder and Artistic Director Paul Kuhn is the Set and Lighting Designer, turning Curio's space into Emerson's Bar and Grill with table seating. Damien Figueras is the Musical Director and Sound Designer for the show. Curio Company founding member Aetna Gallagher is Costume Designer and Props Designer. Eleanor Safer is Stage Manager.

"One of the things that also excited me personally about this project was the chance to turn our Black Box space into a 1950's jazz club. Not only will it be a perfectly intimate space to experience what will definitely be a stellar performance by Ebony Pullum playing Ms. Holiday, but this space has a brand new air filtration system to keep our performers and patrons safe during this ongoing pandemic. The cabaret-style seating allows for social distancing in style", says Artistic Director and Set Designer Paul Kuhn.

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