Billie Holiday Musical Lady Day, Starring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Opens Off-Broadway

Tony and Grammy winner Dee Dee Bridgewater will take center stage as legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday in the new off-Broadway mounting of Lady Day, a bio play with music written and directed by Stephen Stahl. The show, which began performances on September 19 at the Little Shubert Theatre, opens officially on October 3.

Featuring a score built from Holiday’s catalogue of hits, Lady Day tells the inspiring story of Holiday’s final comeback performance as it brings the essence and spirit of the late singer-songwriter to the stage. Joining Bridgewater are David Ayers and Rafael Poueriet, as well as a quartet of veteran musicians including bassist Jim Cammack, sax player Ken Hitchcock, drummer Jerome Jennings and pianist Bill Jolly.

Lady Day features 25 Holiday standards, including “Good Morning Heartache,” “Don’t Explain,” “A Foggy Day (In London Town),” “Strange Fruit,” “My Man,” “God Bless the Child,” “Mean to Me” and “Them There Eyes.” The show has been produced at the Theatre de Boulogne-Billancourt and the Theatre du Gymnase Marie Bell in Paris, as well as the Donmar Warehouse and the Piccadilly Theatre in London, where Bridgewater earned an Olivier nomination for Best Actress.