{"id":358827,"date":"2024-09-10T07:05:15","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T11:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=358827"},"modified":"2024-09-10T07:05:15","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T11:05:15","slug":"fabulous-roz-white-stars-in-lady-day-at-emersons-bar-and-grill-at-mosaic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/09\/10\/fabulous-roz-white-stars-in-lady-day-at-emersons-bar-and-grill-at-mosaic\/","title":{"rendered":"Fabulous Roz White powers ‘Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar and Grill’ at Mosaic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar and Grill<\/em> by playwright Lanie Robertson is a star vehicle for any actress, and it surely is for the hauntingly fabulous Roz White, who stars as Billie Holiday, or Lady Day, as she was known to her many fans in the 1930s\u20131950s.<\/p>\n

Roz White, who has performed in the Broadway national tours of TINA: The Tina Turner Musical<\/em> and Dreamgirls,<\/em> is making her first return to the Mosaic Theater Company since the pandemic, and it is especially worth experiencing in the stylish, immersive caf\u00e9-style jazz club setting. But it\u2019s most worth it for White, who as others such as Audra McDonald have done on Broadway, is making this Holiday her own in a big, powerful way.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Roz White as Billie Holiday in \u2018Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar and Grill.\u2019 Photo by Chris Banks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even as Reginald L. Douglas\u2019 direction intimately captures this moment in the late 1950s when Holiday was physically and emotionally wrecked from her year in prison and her alcohol and heroin addictions (she would die at age 44 in 1959 after being hospitalized for cirrhosis of the liver), White transforms herself into Billie Holiday in all her struggling, faded glory. She performs Holiday\u2019s jazz standards including \u201cWhat a Little Moonlight Can Do,\u201d \u201cGod Bless the Child,\u201d and \u201cWhen a Woman Loves a Man,\u201d with joy and pain.<\/p>\n

The play shares Holiday\u2019s personal history of the racism and sexism of the music industry, evoking the blues singer Bessie Smith with her song \u201cGimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer\u201d and telling stories of her time with the famous bandleader Artie Shaw, who she toured with in the Jim Crow South.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s our witnessing the power and draw of addiction on this great American singer that makes this play brim over with emotion. White, as Holiday, gives us her all, not only her impressive voice, in this role. She is a star, particularly as she sings \u201cStrange Fruit.\u201d First performed and recorded in 1939, the heart-wrenching ballad about lynching in the South pivots the play to a dark place that White\u2019s voice and presence hold like a torch for us to see her and ourselves.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Roz White as Billie Holiday, William Knowles (pianist), Mark Saltman (bassist), and Greg Holloway (drummer\/percussionist) in Mosaic Theater\u2019s production of \u2018Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar and Grill\u2019 by Lanie Robertson. Photo by Chris Banks. Directed by Reginald L. Douglas with Nadir Bey (scenic designer), Moyenda Kulemeka (costume designer), and Jesse Belsky (lighting designer).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The trio performing on stage is pretty stellar too \u2014 music director William Knowles as pianist Jimmy Knowles is matched equally by Greg Holloway, drummer\/percussionist, and Mark Saltman, bassist. They open the show with a superb jazz set, so make sure you are there early to listen and order drinks for your table. Kudos to Nadir Bey\u2019s scenic design and Jesse Belsky\u2019s dramatic lighting, which make one believe for 90 minutes they are in a jazz club, somewhere in South Philly, listening to the great Billie Holiday.<\/p>\n

Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar and Grill <\/em>is a powerful, immersive theatrical experience to kick off Mosaic Theater\u2019s 10th season.<\/p>\n

Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission.<\/p>\n

Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar and Grill<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>plays through October 13, 2024, presented by Mosaic Theatre Company performing at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington, DC. Tickets ($50\u2013$60, with caf\u00e9-style seating student and senior discounts) are available online.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The program for Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar and Grill<\/em>\u00a0is online here.<\/a><\/p>\n

COVID Safety:<\/b> Mosaic recommends but does not require masking. The company’s Health and Safety policy is here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:<\/strong>
\nRoz White to star as Billie Holiday in Mosaic Theater\u2019s immersive \u2018Lady Day\u2019 <\/a><\/strong>(news story, August 7, 2024)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The play brims over with emotion, and White as Billie Holiday gives her all. By CAROLINE BOCK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":358832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,18],"tags":[1488,175],"class_list":{"0":"post-358827","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-reviews","9":"tag-lanie-robertson","10":"tag-reginald-l-douglas"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nFabulous Roz White powers 'Lady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar and Grill' at Mosaic - 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