BWW Reviews: Black Rep Production of YESTERDAYS Features Stellar Performance by Vanessa Rubin as BILLIE HOLIDAY

Jazz and blues singer Billie Holiday had a hard and tragic life, and her addictions have become almost as well known as her musical contributions. Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday illuminates the high and low points of her career, while framing them in guise of her last concert appearance in May 1959. As a musical presentation, it succeeds with a lively assortment of some of Holiday's best material offered up with the crack backing of a talented three piece ensemble. But, as a dramatic piece it falters a bit, engaging and certainly compelling, but also jarringly uneven, rambling as Lady Day was certainly known to do at this point in her career, but at the price of sustaining the moment. The Black Rep's current production is definitely worth seeing, if only for Vanessa Rubin's stunning work as Holiday, along with the musicians who support her.

It's May 1959, and Billie Holiday is about to take the stage of a small nightclub for her final appearance, ever. Early on she seems to have more vim and vigor, plowing through signature numbers with unexpected fury and delight. But, after the intermission, when the blood mark from a needle's entry is evident on the sleeve of her long white gloves, she plunges into an abyss of heroin-fueled remembrances that plumb the depths of her scarred psyche. Throughout the evening she makes reference to the narcotics agents in attendance, waiting only for her to finish singing so that they can make their arrest.

Vanessa Rubin faithfully recreates Holiday in a way that draws you in seductively. Perhaps, it's her emotional renderings of such classic numbers as "God Bless the Child" or "Strange Fruit". Or maybe it's the playful side of Holiday that powers the amusing tune "Gimme a Pigfoot". What matters is that Rubin is fully invested in the role, bringing the heartache and the pain to the surface so that we can fully comprehend the demons at play in her life. From the promise of the opening number, "Good Morning Heartache" to the whispered sadness of her final hazy, faltering run through "Yesterdays", Rubin gives us the full spectrum of Lady Day.

Levi Barcourt's work as music director, and on piano, is impeccable. Bernard Davis and David Jackson round out the trio with their exceptional and dynamic work on drums and bass, respectively. The only fault here is a script that really asks too much dramatically from this fine group of musicians.

Woodie King's direction is generally solid, although the pace meanders here and there, losing some momentum along the way. Anthony Davidson's scenic design merely drapes the background in black, but it focuses our attention squarely on the action at hand, so it does serve a purpose. Antoinette Tynes provides a fine, dramatic lighting scheme, and Ali Turns has outfitted the lovely Rubin with the proper attire.

The Black Rep's production of Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday continues through March 14, 2010 at the Grandel Theatre.

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