Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill recounts Billie Holiday's life story through the songs that made her famous. 1959, in a small, intimate bar in Philadelphia, 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 moving songs, one of the greatest jazz singers of all-time shares her loves and her losses.
Only a fool would second-guess the transformative power of Audra McDonald, but when it was announced that this five-time Tony Award-winner was going to portray Billie Holiday in the Broadway production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, I must confess that I had my qualms...But from the moment McDonald takes the microphone, a metamorphosis more striking than any in Ovid occurs...I don't want to overinflate the dramatic accomplishment of Lady Day, a minor offering that becomes something major only as a showcase for McDonald's rare artistry, but by the end of the piece Holiday's singing seems to tell not just her own story but a national one.
It is often said that Holiday cannot be authentically imitated or covered. That's probably true. But as directed by Lonnie Price, McDonald undergoes a complete transformation vocally and physically, a la Meryl Streep, that is highly theatrical but believable and seemingly effortless. It's easy to forget that the play is pretty thin thanks to her transfixing performance. McDonald forsakes her rich singing abilities to capture Holiday's distinctively small and scratchy voice. But more than that, she credibly and powerfully inhabits a disoriented woman who is slurring her words and appears to be lost both emotionally and mentally.
1986 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
1986 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2014 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2017 | West End |
West End Production West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Leading Actress in a Play | Audra McDonald |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Audra McDonald |
2014 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill |
2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Audra McDonald |
2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Audra McDonald |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Steve Canyon Kennedy |
Videos