Lady Day Previews — Page 6

I had to purchase orchestra seats for my next visit to this show later in April. If I didn't need to use the discount code, I clearly would have wanted to be in the Circle Club. There are no bad seats at Circle in the Square but now that I have experienced the show, that would be one recommendation that I would make. If you are on the fence as to where to sit and can afford it, splurge and get the Circle seats. When I attended the Wednesday matinee, most Circle Club guests were dressed in business casual.

You should expect for Audra McDonald to be about 2-10 feet away from you the entire show.

MarkBear-You have a table at Emerson's Bar and Grill and Billie walks through the table section a few times throughout the show. She may ask you to hold her drink or light her cigarette, etc.

Updated On: 4/4/14 at 05:52 PM

"Does anyone who has loved it think that will be a downer for me to not really have an opinion one way or another about Billie?"

I knew basically nothing about Billie Holiday beyond a song or two and still loved it.

Rocky is a fictional character. He was not actually Sly Stallone. Billie Holiday was an actual person.

I agree with you that many people have given strong portrayals of real people without providing a spot on impersonation.

However, part - though by no means all - of what is so impressive about this particular portrayal of a real person is that the actor gives a very credible impression of capturing the woman she is playing; inside and out.

You'd think all the passionate, eloquent comments already made would prepare one for this experience, but it still managed to exceed my lofty expectations.

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"...Audra dips into the very bottom of her range to say it and it's so ugly and frightening that I was almost scared to look at her face once she turned around."

Yes. I felt that, too.

Part of what is so moving about this performance is the intensity of the emotions that she is putting herself, and us, in touch with. Audra McDonald has always struck me as such a wonderfully warm and magnetic personality, but she doesn't just sound like Billie Holiday--she FEELS like someone whose pain--sadness, sorrow, ANGER--has nearly overwhelmed her.

I can't imagine what it's like for her to take that journey every night.

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I attended yesterday's Sunday matinee, and the audience got a special treat. Today, Monday, April 7th, would've marked Billie's 99th birthday. With the show being dark on Mondays, Audra asked the audience to join her today in singing Happy Birthday to Lady Day herself. How sweet!

Just a fantastic performance. I was really impressed and stunned.

I saw PORGY AND BESS 5 times during its run so I had the pleasure of seeing how Audra was giving a fresh performance every time I saw it - it was never the same (though not so different as to disrupt things for her colleagues) - sometimes I found myself just watching her reactions to other people singing - such depth and generosity onstage. She's always 100% in the world of whatever it is she is doing. Some of her Bess ticks and mannerisms come through in LADY DAY, but much of that is the drug problems the roles have in common, etc - one imagines that Holliday could have ended up as a Bess-type character in different circumstances.... Not sure if this makes any sense! (I'm just typing late at night and spouting thoughts as they come.) I wonder if anyone else noticed the similarities?
(btw - totally NOT offering that as a critique of the performance - quite the opposite). I also found myself thinking back to her perfectly poised and moving performance in 110 IN THE SHADE and how completely versatile she is as a performer.... And realizing that SHADE was 7 years ago! Audra has shrewdly molded her career to deepen with her age and stature in a beautiful way that gives us these fresh new things every few years that we didn't know she could do. I can't think of another artist of her generation who has had the same kind of brilliant and varied career progression.

I MUST give credit to the band though - Those three musicians with her were also amazing - I loved hearing them just play as if we were in a jazz club at the beginning, and I loved how they seemed to be almost in her monologues as actors... I could almost sense how trepidatious those men must have been who played for Holliday during that time, how iffy every performance would have seemed - what a feature for them in a business that too often puts musicians in darkness. And the smooth transition from the music underneath the audience coming in, and finally the lights and music focusing down to tell us things are starting... Very seamless from a director who I usually consider to be a total clumsy mess.

I don't think the play itself is great in the writing of it - I'm surprised that it has been kicking around all these years... I can't see why I would care to see it without Audra (or maybe another stellar actress whose work I had seen before). I enjoyed it for her performance and for the band.

But all the accolades are true!!! It is quite an achievement.

I hope to be able to catch this, but I don't get to the city as often as I'd like this last year or two.

Can I just say, I don't think I've ever read such beautiful reviews anywhere, yet alone here! You have all moved this to the top of my must see list.

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What are the chances of this run being extended? I am not in NYV until 18th June!

I am big fan of Audra. I am ashamed to admit it, however I first noticed Audra not due to her theatre credits but from Private Practice. Since then I have watched countless YouTube clips and would love to see this.

She is one of a kind. So talented, beautiful and appreciative of all who adore her. I took my daughter to one of her shows in Los Angeles about 3 months ago. After, my daughter and I with a few of her friends (all from a performing arts high school) waited at the stage door for about an hour for her to come out. Soon, a security officer said that she had gone a different way and was gone. The kids were disappointed but wanted to stick around just in case the security guard was wrong. 5 or so minutes later, a big black SUV pulls up to the curb and Audra gets out to meet them. She was actually on her way home but saw them and stopped. She was so sweet, must have been exhausted, but she spent quite a bit of time talking to them and taking pictures. I was stunned, she was so genuine and lovely. We will be fans forever.

Seven Days, Eight Hours and twenty-four minutes.