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Dee Dee Bridgewater to Play ‘Lady Day’ on Broadway

Tony and multiple Grammy Award-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater will star as one of the world’s incomparable and legendary jazz artists — Billie Holiday, in the celebrated musical Lady Day opening Thursday, September 26th (6:30PM) at Times Square’s Little Shubert Theatre (422 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). Written and directed by Stephen Stahl, the musical will make its New York debut having been produced at the Theatre de Boulogne-Billancourt and Theatre du Gymnase Marie Bell in Paris as well as The Donmar Warehouse and The Piccadilly Theatre in London, where it received critical praise and garnered an Olivier “Best Actress in a Musical” Award nomination for Ms. Bridgewater. Produced by Misty Road Productions the show’s creative team also includes three-time Emmy Award winning composer & arranger Bill Jolly, who will serve as musical director. Preview performances are slated to begin Thursday, September 12th (8PM).

The original play with music on the life of Billie Holiday, Lady Day features a cavalcade of Holiday hit songs and tells the inspired and heart-wrenching story of how Billie attempts a final comeback performance. With a newly revised book by Mr. Stahl, Lady Day brings the essence and spirit of the late, great Billie Holiday to the stage. Told through onstage triumphs and backstage personal trials, the production features over twenty-five standards including: “Don’t Explain,” “Good Morning Heartache,” “A Foggy Day (In London Town),” “Them There Eyes,” “Strange Fruit,” “My Man,” “God Bless the Child,” and “Mean to Me.”

“It’s a life-long dream to bring this show to New York, and I am so pleased that it’s finally going to happen,” stated Mr. Stahl. “Twenty-five years has given me many new perspectives of life-challenges and I am honored for this opportunity to incorporate some of my personal observations into the new “Lady Day” script. Stahl became an honoree of Des Auteurs et Compositeurs in France for the Paris production.

Read more: BroadwayWorld

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