Lady Day Previews
Lady Day Previews
#1Lady Day Previews
Posted: 9/19/13 at 10:19pm
It is always with trepidation that one enters the Little Shubert, and sadly Lady Day didn't break the curse of this theater. If anything, it brought the reputation to a new level because at least Dracula and Lucky Guy were hysterical. Lady Day was boring, glacially paced and had a book with no redeeming qualities.
The setting is very End of the Rainbow: Billie has come to London to make some money in the twilight of her career. She is fighting alcohol and drug addictions, causing her to engage in erratic behavior that threatens to destroy her. Act one is a rehearsal and act two is the concert she has been rehearsing for.
Despite boasting 30 some songs, they all last about 45 seconds each. A majority of the songs get one verse, one chorus and that's it.
My main interest in this was to see Dee Dee Bridgewater. Too bad she hadn't been given better material to work with. She called for lines 4 or 5 times, but never broke character. I wish she had just been able to give a Billie Holiday concert instead of playing the drunken version of the star trying to pull herself together long enough to get a note out.
The run time was 2:20 with an intermission, and I felt every minute of it.
I'm sorry to say I didn't find much to recommend with this one.
Luv2goToShows
Broadway Star Joined: 9/13/09
#2Lady Day Previews
Posted: 9/19/13 at 10:47pm
"Despite boasting 30 some songs, they all last about 45 seconds each. A majority of the songs get one verse, one chorus and that's it."
I find that so annoying, you are just starting to get in to a song and it cuts off. It was one of the reasons I despised VocaPeople.
WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel, As always Thanks! I was debating on seeing this but with all the new shows coming up I may just pass on it.
PlayItAgain
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/8/11
#2Lady Day Previews
Posted: 9/19/13 at 10:52pmhopefully maybe this will tighten up as the preview period goes along...
#3Lady Day Previews
Posted: 9/20/13 at 9:44amSorry to hear this. The original was deeply moving, and Billie was beautifully sung and acted, first by Loretta Devine and then by S. Epatha Merkerson. It was directed with enormous compassion by the late, gifted director Andre Ernotte, whom we lost in 1999.
#4Lady Day Previews
Posted: 9/20/13 at 10:11am
PJ- Wow, would have loved to see Loretta Devine as Billie. Was the show they did the same one as this or was it a different Billie Holiday musical? This one was written and directed by Stephen Stahl.
I could be wrong, but I think this is a completely different show...
#5Lady Day Previews
Posted: 9/20/13 at 10:22am
It is a completely different play. The original "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" was written by Lanie Robertson. Tthis play, "Lady Day" is written by Stephen Stahl.
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
#7Lady Day Previews
Posted: 9/20/13 at 10:37am
Thanks Doodle. If the original was so good I wish they would have just revived that one!
The structure of the show was so odd. It opened with a rehearsal that Billie was late for. The band sang a quick number without her and they discussed her recent bad behavior. When Bridewater finally made her entrance I thought we were going to be treated to song, but instead we had to endure one of the longest opening books scenes I've ever seen.
When she finally got the chance to sing, Bridewater performed 4 short numbers in rapid succession; not quite a medley, but the songs were so short it felt like it. Then we would get another unending book scene. The whole show followed this pattern, refusing to integrate the songs into the show somehow.
The only interesting thing musically was a verse of "Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" that I wasn't familiar with. I'm used to the happy/funny verses from Ain't Misbehavin', but in "I'll Marry the Very Next Man" fashion, this one had the couplet, "I swear I won't call no copper/If I'm beat up by my papa."
#8Lady Day Previews
Posted: 9/20/13 at 10:46am
So disappointed by your review Wizzer...I adore DeeDee!
Oh, and PJ, the original Lady Day was Lonette McKee, not Loretta Divine.
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
LKing2
Swing Joined: 9/27/13
#9Lady Day Previews
Posted: 9/27/13 at 8:59amI agree with you! I Was SO disappointed as I love Ms.Bridgewater.The songs remind me of the way they are treated in those oldies infomercials.Book and direction off,and yes-another bomb for that theatre.LD at Emerson Bar & Grille superior.
#10Lady Day Previews
Posted: 10/1/13 at 5:33pmSeeing it this evening. This was high on my list. Hope I come away feeling differently about it!
#11Lady Day Previews
Posted: 10/3/13 at 9:40pm
Well the book was not good. The acting by everyone outside of Ms. Bridgewater was stiff. The incredibly long flashback in act one made me think of the transformation scene in Jekyl & Hyde. (The Broadway version) But every moment she sang was wonderful and the band was top notch. She has Billie down pat vocally both singing and speaking.
They could have ditched the real rain effect and some of the projections in act 2 and added a younger actress to handle the flashbacks. Especially in act one. JMO
Miranda3
Featured Actor Joined: 8/20/11
#12Lady Day Previews
Posted: 10/3/13 at 10:12pmI saw the original "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" sometime in the late '80s, with Lonette McKee. She was fabulous in the role. The theater it was in was perfect also, somewhere in the mid 40s, with lots of exposed brick, and we had to walk upstairs to get there. I am sure someone knows where this was, but it had the feel of something older and definitely non-glitzy, which wholly fit with the tone of the production. I know Lonette played Julie in "Showboat" also, but for me that role was claimed by Cleo Laine in the London production. Always wanted to see Lonette in something made for her on B'way.
#13Lady Day Previews
Posted: 10/4/13 at 10:20pmAfter reading how long this show has been around, I was wondering if this was the same one that Lonette McKee did. I can't remember what theater it was but I went to the opening of a show in the downstairs theater while it was there.
#14Lady Day Previews
Posted: 10/4/13 at 10:24pm
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/21/theater/lonette-mckee-leaves-lady-day-over-health.html
#15Lady Day Previews
Posted: 10/6/13 at 11:35amDuh. Of course it was Lonette McKee in NY. Years later, I saw Loretta Devine do it fabulously at the Old Globe in San Diego!
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