february, 2017
16feb(feb 16)8:00 pm04mar(mar 4)11:50 pm
Event Details
Max & Louie Productions
presents
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
February 16 – March 4
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 3pm
Final Day Matinee (March 4) at 4pm
Preview show on February 16 at 7:30pm
$45 Adult / $35 Students with ID & Seniors 65+
In the Kranzberg Arts Center Black Box Theater
Max & Louie Productions proudly present a 3-week engagement of Lanie Robertson’s Tony Award-winning Broadway revival, ”Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” starring Alexis J. Roston. Ms. Roston reprises her Joseph Jefferson (The Chicago “Tony”) Award-winning role as jazz legend Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday dubbed “Lady Day” by tenor sax Lester Young – forever changed the world of jazz and popular music with her pioneering vocal style. Acclaimed pianist, composer and arranger Abdul Hamid Royal brilliantly complements Ms. Roston as Billie’s accompanist.
It’s March 1959 and at a small Philadelphia club jazz and blues icon Billie Holiday takes the stage for one of the last shows of her life. In the course of the evening Holiday speaks to her struggles with addiction, racism, love and loss as she sings some of her most famous songs: “God Bless the Child”, ”Strange Fruit”, ”What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and other beloved standards.
This play allows us a penetrating look into her life and times as we listen to the profound legacy of her artistry-the music itself.
Reviews
“Alexis J. Roston simply captivates….And when Roston croons out Johnny Mercer’s ‘When a Woman Loves a Man’: Goosebumps!” – Huffington Post
“Sensational! Dazzles! Electrifying theater! Roston holds the audience in the palm of her hand with a scintillating performance!” -Show Biz Chicago
“Roston has the vocal chops, the heart, the sense of pain, the indomitable spirit of the great woman.” – Chicago Tribune
“….Abdul Hamid Royal’s piano playing is the stuff dreams are made of.” – Show Biz Chicago
“The richest jazz singing in town just now is at this subtle absorbing dramatic performance……” – N. Y. Times
Post Show Talk Back Facilitators
Phil Dunlap
Director of Education and Community Engagement
Jazz St. Louis
Post Show Talk Back 2/26/17 after 3:00 pm show
Dr. Paige McGinley
Assistant Professor of Performing Arts
Washington University in St. Louis
Author, Staging the Blues: From Tent Shows to Tourism
Post Show Talk Back 3/1/17 after 8:00 pm show