Angela Robinson to Star in North Carolina Theatre's LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL

North Carolina Theatre announced today that the leading role of "Billie Holiday" in their upcoming production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill will be performed by Angela Robinson, directed by Jarvis Antonio Green.

Performances will run from November 5 - November 14 at the A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh.

"We are extremely excited to bring the story of Billie Holiday to life through this incredible performer, " said North Carolina Theatre President and CEO, Elizabeth Doran.

Angela Robinson recently earned television fame for her Gracie Award-winning portrayal of villainess "Veronica Harrington" on Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots, which ended in July 2021 after 8 seasons on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Her Broadway credits include The Color Purple, Wonderful Town, Bells are Ringing, and more. She performed in the national tours of Dreamgirls and The Wizard of Oz, and in Off-Broadway productions at The Public Theatre and Primary Stages. Lady Day will be Robinson's first production with North Carolina Theatre.

"Onstage, trailblazing songstress Billie Holliday influenced the future of jazz with her one-of-a kind vocal delivery. Offstage, she battled the ghosts of her past, often succumbing to the powerful demons she fought against so valiantly. We are ecstatic that Television and Broadway star, Angela Robinson is joining us to play Billie. Angela is dream casting for this role. With her powerhouse Broadway background and her magnificent portrayal of villainess "Veronica Harrington," Angela possesses the masterful singing and acting skills necessary to bring this legend to life. Angela Robinson is a legend herself," said North Carolina Theatre Producing Artistic Director, Eric Woodall.

In Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, one of the greatest jazz singers of all time intimately shares her loves and her losses. Set in a small bar in Philadelphia, 1959, Lady Day recounts the life of Billie Holiday, and the unraveling of an addicted artist, through the songs that made her famous. More than a dozen moving musical numbers are interlaced with personal stories, both hard and humorous, to recount a riveting portrait of the lady and her music.

This show is recommended for ages 13+ due to adult language and subject matter.

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc., a Concord Theatricals Company.

North Carolina Theatre is funded in part by the City of Raleigh based on recommendations of the Raleigh Arts Commission.

For eight seasons, Angela Robinson portrayed the sophisticated villainess, ice queen Veronica Harrington on The Haves and The Have Nots. Robinson won the 2015 Gracie Awards for Best Female Actress - One to Watch for her performance. Prior to landing on HAHNs, the award-winning actress nurtured a career deeply rooted in theater, including starring in the original Broadway production of "Oprah Winfrey Presents: 'The Color Purple'" as Shug Avery. Other Broadway credits include: Wonderful Town, Bells Are Ringing, and Play On!. Off Broadway, she starred in "Radiant Baby," at New York's Public Theatre, "Call the Children Home," and several shows with City Center's "ENCORES." She has worked in regional theaters throughout the country. Some of her favorite regional productions are: "Into the Woods," "Two Gentlemen of Verona," and "The Wiz." She toured nationally with" The Color Purple" (for which she is the winner of an Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award), "Dreamgirls" and "The Wizard of Oz" with Eartha Kitt. Her television and film credits include Law & Order: SVU, Another Bed and several regional and national commercials. She's been nominated twice for a Black Theatre Alliance Award (The Color Purple and Dreamgirls) and for an Audelco Award (Radiant Baby). Angela is a member of the Grammy-Nominated Broadway Inspirational Voices and spent time early in her career traveling the world with the USO/DOD entertaining our military troops. She is a graduate of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University and The William Esper Acting Studio. Though she lives in New Jersey, Angela considers herself a New Yorker from her years of living in the city.

Jarvis Antonio Green (Director) is the Founding Artistic Director of JAG Productions, a Vermont and NYC based Black theater company founded in 2016. He is the recipient of the New England Theatre Conference Regional Award for Outstanding Achievement in the American Theatre for his work with JAG in its inaugural year. Every year he produces five new plays, nurturing the work of five budding playwrights at JAGfest, one of the nation's leading incubators of new works by Black playwrights. In 2020 he launched the Black Joy Project, a three-tiered project: a Black Theatre methodology, a play embodying the method and a documentary film capturing its inception. Jarvis was acknowledged by Native Son as a Black queer man who impacted the world in 2020 and sees himself playing a key role in bringing actors and stories from all over the diaspora to stages worldwide. He has a robust artistic resume having directed and performed in numerous professional productions all over the country. As an educator and scholar, he created a Black Theatre curriculum for Northwestern University, Notre Dame, and Northern Vermont University. Green is a New England Foundation for the Arts National Theatre Project Advisor and is a founding member of the Black Theatre Artist Council at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York.

 

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