Billie Is Here to Stay! Lady Day, Starring Audra McDonald, Extends on Broadway

Good news, Audra McDonald fans: The five-time Tony winner will be channeling Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill all summer long! The new production has extended its limited Broadway run, and will now play through August 10 at Circle in the Square Theatre. The play with music was originally slated to play a ten-week engagement through June 1.

Directed by Lonny Price, the play by Lanie Robertson tells the life story of the legendary jazz singer through the songs that made her famous. Set in 1959, in an intimate bar in Philadelphia, Holiday (McDonald) puts on a show that, unbeknownst to the audience, will leave them witness to one of the last performances of her lifetime. The Broadway production officially opened April 13.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill features 18 musical numbers, including “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” “Tain't Nobody’s Biz-ness” and “God Bless the Child.”