Billie Holiday News

Having seen Audra McDonald's Tony Award winning Broadway performance of Billie Holiday in 'Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill,' I went to see the Beck production of the show with trepidation.

On March 9 in Brooklyn and March 16 in Los Angeles, The Billie Holiday Theatre, in collaboration with Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop, presented its third annual monologue showcase, 50IN50: LETTERS TO OUR DAUGHTERS, to honor Women's History Month.

Acclaimed Jazz harpist-pianist-vocalist Corky Hale will present a 102nd Birthday Show honoring Billie Holiday on Thursday, April 6, at 7:30 PM, at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. Hale is one of the few people still performing who was actually a close friend of Holiday's, playing for her on the 'Stars of Jazz' TV show, and on several recordings and live appearances, and was the only female pianist to regularly accompany her.

Lauded jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, accompanied by THE MEMPHIS SOULPHONY, will be bringing her latest show MEMPHIS: YES, I'M READY, based on her latest musical release Memphis: Yes, I'm Ready to The Wallis for one night only March 23, 2019. The most warm and delightful Ms. Bridgewater managed to entertain and enlightened me on the phone for an informative, heartfelt forty-five minutes.

Dixon Place presents Glory!, a new play written by Nan-Lynn Nelson and directed by Kevin R. Free, previewing Thursday, April 11, 2019 at 7:30pm and running three weekends through April 27 at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street) in Manhattan. Tickets are $18 in advance, $21 at the door for adults, and $15 in advance, $18 at the door for students and seniors. Group rates are available. For tickets and further information please visit www.dixonplace.org

The monologue showcase 50 in 50: Letters to Our Daughters features an all-star cast of familiar names and faces from stage and screen, including Tony award-winning Broadway star LaChanze, actress Pauletta Pearson Washington, original Hamilton cast member Jasmine Cephas Jones, and actress and comedienne Phyllis Yvonne Stickney who bring to life letters written by 50 women of color about their hopes, dreams, regrets and fears for their daughters.

In Her Shoulders is pleased to present a staged reading of Wine In The Wilderness by Alice Childress, directed by Bianca LaVerne Jones today, March 15, 2019. Doors open at 6:45pm for a 7:00pm start with The Play in Context by Arminda Thomas, who situates the script in its historical time and place, followed by the reading and a post-performance Q&A with refreshments. Admission is by Donation ($10 suggested).The performance is at The New School, Starr Foundation Hall, 63 Fifth Avenue, Room UL102. R.S.V.P. to OnHerShouldersReservations@gmail.com.

Beck Center for the Arts to produce Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, featuring regional favorite and talent Nicole Sumlin.

 Lotus Music & Dance will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in 2019 with a benefit dinner and performance on Monday, March 25th. This year also marks the 100th Birth Anniversary of bharata natyam dance guru, T. Balasaraswati ("Bala"). They will honor legendary choreographer, George Faison with the inaugural Bala Award for Excellence . Other Honorees include Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer for her support of cultural diversity in the performing arts.

Beck Center for the Arts to produce Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, featuring regional favorite and talent Nicole Sumlin.

Schimmel Center at Pace University concludes its 2018-19 Cabaret Series with an evening of standards and musical theater selections composed by women titled Baby, Dream Your Dream: The Great Women Songwriters today, March 9, 2019 at 7:30pm. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at SchimmelCenter.org, by phone at 212-346-1715, or by visiting the Schimmel Center Box Office at 3 Spruce Street, Manhattan. Box office hours are Tuesday-Today, Noon-5pm, and then beginning three hours prior to each performance, through intermission.

The Winter Park Playhouse continues to collaborate with Winter Park local powerhouse Maria Olivia Bryant and her company Maria Olivia Inspires to present a quarterly cabaret series, Expressions: A Celebration of Voices in African-American Music. The latest cabaret in this series is titled Harlem Blues and will premiere Thursday, March 28,2019 at 7:30 p.m. It will pay tribute to the music of iconic greats such as Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Mary J. Blige , Stevie Wonder and more!

David Heron's Against His Will, the provocative legal drama in which a young Jamaican man accuses his female boss of sexually assaulting him, will return to The New Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre Long Island following a sold out, standing room only performance at the venue last month.

The Broadway at Birdland concert series recently welcomed Tony winner Katrina Lenk and her friend and former cast member from The Band's Visit, George Abud in a one-night only concert called 'Swung.' The performance took place on Monday, March 4.

Trav'lin - The 1930s Harlem Musical, a joyful celebration of the Jazz Age with a classic jazz and blues score, is receiving its regional premiere at The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities' Main Stage Theatre.  The show will run April 5 through 28 with the official opening on April 9.

From the second we step through the doors of Anacostia Playhouse, we're asked to join the world of Dominique Morisseau's Blood at the Root - not just as observers but participants. Every corner of the lobby has been decked out like the hallways of a high school - in this case, Cedar High, located somewhere north of New Orleans. We glance upward and see a banner prominently featuring their mascot, the Pelican. There's a bulletin board littered with flyers and posters - Keep Calm and Wear Your Uniform. And just next to the entrance of the theater is a pair of lockers covered with real-life photographs of the young cast in their natural habitats - school, church, family reunions, summer camp. There's a lot to explore.

Lotus Music & Dance will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in 2019 with a benefit dinner and performance on Monday, March 25th. This year also marks the 100th Birth Anniversary of bharata natyam dance guru, T. Balasaraswati (“Bala”). They will honor legendary choreographer, George Faison with the inaugural Bala Award for Excellence . Other Honorees include Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer for her support of cultural diversity in the performing arts.

Schimmel Center at Pace University concludes its 2018-19 Cabaret Series with an evening of standards and musical theater selections composed by women titled Baby, Dream Your Dream: The Great Women Songwriters on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 7:30pm. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at SchimmelCenter.org, by phone at 212-346-1715, or by visiting the Schimmel Center Box Office at 3 Spruce Street, Manhattan. Box office hours are Tuesday-Saturday, Noon-5pm, and then beginning three hours prior to each performance, through intermission.

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, announces its 45th season, opening with Mother of the Maid by Jane Anderson, directed by BJ Jones and featuring Kate Fry. The season continues with the World Premiere of The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, a companion piece to Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, directed by Jessica Thebus; followed by the World Premiere of How A Boy Falls, by Steven Dietz, directed by BJ Jones; and Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel. Closing out the season is Songs for Nobodies by Joanna Murray-Smith, directed by Rob Lindley, featuring Bethany Thomas.

What good is sitting alone in your room this week? If you don't already have plans to see a Broadway show, come out to see your favorite Broadway stars in a cabaret act instead. After Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Highlights this week include Betsy Wolfe, Katrina Lenk, Broadway Sings Adele and more.