Oceanside Theatre Company Presents San Diego Premiere of BILLIE! Backstage With Lady Day

Playwright, actress, and singer Synthia L. Hardy performs in Billie! Backstage with Lady Day at the historic Brooks Theater in downtown Oceanside. Performances will take place on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from September 23 to October 2. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m. Sunday performances are at 2 p.m. Tickets are $35 and available online at OceansideTheatre.org or by calling the box office at 760-433-8900.

"After running for over a decade in Los Angeles, we are honored to share this unique and intimate look into Billie Holiday's fascinating life with San Diego audiences," said Oceanside Theater Company's Managing Director, Alex Goodman.

The two-act play, written by Synthia L. Hardy and directed by Bryan Rasmussen, which premiered at The Whitefire Theater in 2010 and has enjoyed annual encore performances in Los Angeles, combines storytelling and song to capture the essence of Billie Holiday's music and life. In the first act, Holiday prepares for her show while answering the questions of two unseen reporters. Hardy as Holiday entwines her biography and explanations of the inspiration for and history of her music with performances of her popular numbers. Musician Woody Woods joins Hardy on stage as Holiday's pianist accompanying her through hits including the haunting "Strange Fruit," as well as "God Bless the Child," "Good Morning Heartache," and "Lover Man."

One of the greatest jazz and blues performers of all time, Holiday unfolds the truth about her turbulent life - combating racism, navigating abusive relationships, and enduring multiple arrests. "Details build methodically and meaningfully through Hardy's intense, intimate portrait and enrich one's understanding of Holiday's bitter yet compromised attitude," said Don Grigware, of GrigwareTalksTheatre.com.

In the second act, Hardy embodies Lady Day, (a nickname given to Holiday by musician Lester Young), in a concert of her hits that includes "'Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" and "Willow, Weep for Me." Through a voice reminiscent of Holiday's with its raspy edge and incorporation of crying and wailing, Hardy portrays the iconic artist as simultaneously classy and tough, vulnerable and versatile, hopeful at times and hopeless at others, but most of all, full of heart and sympathy.

As Holiday, Hardy is "a dynamo, with a sparkling yet demure stage presence, in her own right," according to a Tolucan Times review.

Hardy won the NAACP Theatre Award for Best One Person Show, as well as two Artistic Director Achievement Awards (A.D.A.) - Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy and Best One Person Show - for Billie! Backstage With Lady Day.

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