Broadway actress Audra McDonald is to make her West End debut in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, which will run at Wyndham’s Theatre from the 25th June to the 3rd September.
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill will star the Tony, Grammy and Emmy award winner as the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday, which arrives in London having broken box office records at the Circle in the Square in New York and a performance that won McDonald her sixth Tony award.
Written by Lanie Robertson and directed by Lonny Price, the show recounts Holiday’s life through the songs that made her famous such as ‘God Bless the Child’, ‘Strange Fruit’ and ‘What a Little Moonlight Can Do’.
The production won two Tony awards in 2014 including ‘Best Lead Actress in a Play’ for Audra McDonald – making her Broadway’s most acclaimed actress, having won six Tony awards in all four acting categories.
Billie Holiday had one of the most distinctive voices in jazz, rising to popularity in the 1930’s and 1940’s with her unique vocal style that was inspired by jazz instrumentalists. Her personal life was filled with difficulty and drug addiction and she died at the age of 44.
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.
Prior to reprising her role in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill , McDonald will be in London performing in two sold-out concerts at Leicester Square Theatre on the 17th January.
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill will appear at Wyndham’s Theatre from the 25th June until the 3rd September. To book tickets visit: UK Tickets.co.uk, Theatre People.com, Ticketmaster.co.uk, Love Theatre.com and Discount Theatre.com.