Audra to sing the blues on Broadway...? — Page 3

In the original production, neither Lonette McKee nor S. Epatha Merkerson sounded like Holiday, but both gave wonderful, persuasive--and very different--performances.

Would this apply to the "classics" rule? I thought that was typically only for shows that had gained reputations through regional productions and films and such. This seems somewhat lesser-known than say CINDERELLA or LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.

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just noticed in the press release it says "a limited, 10-week, 70 shows engagement". That figures to be that Audra is only doing 7 shows a week??

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RippedMan, When you say you don't know anything about the source material, you mean that you're not familiar with the play (or musical, if that's what it is), not that you're entirely unfamiliar with Billie Holiday's music, right?

I wonder if "Strange Fruit" will be in the setlist. Whether she sings it anything like Billie or not, I'd love to hear Audra's take on that gorgeous, painful song.

I wonder if "Strange Fruit" will be in the setlist. Whether she sings it anything like Billie or not, I'd love to hear Audra's take on that gorgeous, painful song.

Once again, I refer you to the Times article, which answers most of the questions people here are asking:

"Ms. McDonald will perform 18 numbers as Holiday, including 'What a Little Moonlight Can Do,' 'Strange Fruit,' 'Taint Nobody's Biz-ness' and 'God Bless the Child' — the last being a song that Ms. McDonald used to perform in high school and at Juilliard."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/audra-mcdonald-to-return-to-broadway-as-billie-holiday/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1

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Updated On: 2/26/14 at 09:04 AM

I am also not understanding why you are so perplexed (?), puzzled (?), bothered (?) by McDonald's casting in this. McDonald may not be the same "type" of singer the Miss Holiday was but she *is* a singer and aside from that a wonderful actress and I am positive she and her director Lonny Price will make this work.

Carlos - A tad puzzled, but certainly not bothered. And not because of the perceived quality of Audra's talents--both musical and acting--which I think are unquestionably great. It's just that Billie had perhaps the most unique and distinctive voice out of all the great jazz/blues ladies of the era. It strikes me as a little odd that a, no doubt gifted actress/singer, who sounds nothing like Billie is going to be portraying her and singing nearly 20 of her signature songs. That being said, if I make it to NY again during this run, I'm definitely getting a ticket. The chance to hear Audra sing that material--whether she sounds anything like Billie or not--is something I wouldn't miss.


Yero my Hero- thanks for linking to that NYT article. Sounds like it's going to be a memorable evening of theatre and music.

I wonder if it will extend if ticket sales are good and Audra possibly wins her 6th Tony.

You mean Cherry Jones' Tony?

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McDonald's performance will be fresh in voters' minds so she very well may take home her 6th Tony if nominated. While I think that Jones's performance is otherworldly and at the moment unbeatable, she opened a long time ago, so McDonald could easily steal her thunder.

How do we know which category they'll place her in? (And Tracy Letts won last year for a show that was long closed.)

Audra is indeed a force of nature, but Cherry Jones is also. If they were up against each other it would certainly make for an interesting race since I think that at this point, Cherry Jones should be clearing a space on her mantle for a 3rd Tony. But I feel like with 18 musical numbers it's likely the Tonys will treat it as a musical rather than a play.

Doesn't it also come down to the purpose the music serves within the framework of the show? 1776, for example, has 13 musical numbers (including one reprise) and a long stretch with no music, but I would consider that a musical without question.

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