Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill – REVIEW

The moment that Zahra Newman steps onto the Belvoir stage you know that you are in for a bumpy ride as she takes us through the last days of one of the greatest singers of all time, Billie Holiday.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill can only work if the actress playing Holiday is convincing, not only in characterisation but also in voice, and from the opening bar of “I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone” you are assured that Newman has the chops in both departments to make this work.

We are at Emerson’s, a small jazz dive in 1959 Philadelphia, and we are experiencing Holiday take us through many of her best songs, interspersed with patter that delves deeply into her personal life, childhood and the racial tensions of the times.

Supported by a three piece ensemble comprising of musical royalty, Newman’s character stumbles before the audience and we are aware that this could be a dangerous journey; around six songs in, Newman belts out a powerful version of “God Bless the Child” that is spellbinding, as is Holiday’s back story on how she came to write the song.

The host, Emerson himself, is ever present, making sure the patrons seated at tables next to the stage are catered for; and also, Holiday who calls him out as an old drinking buddy.  Kym Purling plays pianist, Jimmy Powers who is also part MC, foil for Holiday’s barbs, and, in the end, her apologist.

Newman brings to her Holiday originality in phrasing and arrangements, bringing to the role her own interpretation, suggesting Holiday rather than mimicking her.

Newman is at her best when she leaves the stage and interacts directly with the audience, however, the moment the single white spotlight is on her at the microphone, we become true believers.

Director Mitchell Butel keeps everything tight, even as Holiday stumbles from booze fog or the medicinal administration of drugs.

If there is any criticism of Lady Day it is in playwright Lanie Robertson’s 1986 script that does not always deliver convincing dialogue between Holiday and Powers, and has the difficulty of dealing with a predictable ending.

The live band of Kym Purling, piano, Victor Rounds, double bass and Calvin Welch, drums, are some of the finest exponents of jazz music around and do not disappoint in interpreting musical arranger Danny Holgate’s score, with additional arrangements by Purling.

The set design by Ailsa Paterson totally convinces as a jazz dive, with a clean stage area in front of crumbling brickwork and lampshades covering of the theatre’s lights.

Sound designer, Andrew Howard has the difficult job of following Newman’s Holiday from her she standing in front of the microphone to off-mic when she engages with the audience seated around the stage apron.

Credit must also go to voice and dialogue coaches Geraldine Cook-Dafner and Jennifer Innes for their work with the cast, both in singing and dialogue.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill is a totally engaging journey through another time seen through the eyes and voice of a jazz genius that also deals with issues that are still pertinent more than seventy years on.

Until October 15