Experience the Soulful Music of Billie Holiday

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S
BAR AND GRILL

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL

October 18 - November 5, 2023

Chronicle Billie Holiday’s life story through the songs that made her famous. 1959, in a small, intimate bar in Philadelphia, Holiday puts on a show that unbeknownst to the audience, will leave them witness to one of the last performances of her lifetime. One of the greatest jazz and blues singers of all-time shares her loves and losses through her poignant voice and moving songs, including: “Strange Fruit,” “God Bless the Child,” “When a Woman Loves a Man,” and “Ain’t Nobody’s Business if I Do.”

“The richest jazz singing in town.”
– The New York Times

Buy Tickets Lady Day Calendar + Ticket Link

LISTEN TO PODCAST

STUDY GUIDE

PROGRAM

MEET COSTUME + WIG DESIGNER KAREN PERRY:

CONTENT ADVISORY:

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill contains themes that may not be suitable for all ages.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill depicts alcohol use, addiction, and sexual/suggestive content and contains discussion of drugs, racial slurs, emotional abuse, mental illness, and physical abuse.
LIST

BEHIND THE SONG:
"God Bless the Child"

READ ARTICLE

Watch actress Tracey Conyer Lee perform "God Bless the Child" from Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. Read our story here to learn more about how Holiday's own life helped inspire this classic song.

Meet the Team

Tracey Conyer Lee

Billie Holiday
Gary Mitchell, Jr.

Jimmy Powers, Music Director, Pianist
DeVaughn Jackson

Bassist
Nedra Snipes

Billie Holiday Understudy
Jade King Carroll

Director
Brittany Vasta

Scenic Design
Karen Perry

Costume and Wig Design
Mary Louise Geiger

Lighting Design
Jacqueline R. Herter

Sound Design

SPECIAL EVENT SERIES

PROLOGUE

Free for ticket holders, an hour before curtain. Join cast members, and guest speakers to learn more about the show you’re about to see.
October 22, @ 1:00 PM
October 28, @ 1:00 PM
November 2, @ 6:30 PM
WEDNESDAY @1 LECTURE

Professor of English at Colgate University, Michael Coyle is founding President of the Modernist Studies Association, Past President of the International T.S. Eliot Society, and has served on the Boards of Directors of the Raymond Williams Society and the National Poetry Foundation. He has lectured on jazz history and African American Music at events sponsored by the Smithsonian and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as well as at numerous professional conferences, and was a long-time jazz record reviewer for Cadence.
October 25, @ 1:00 PM
TALK BACK

After seeing the show, bring your questions to a post show discussion led by a member of Stage’s artistic staff with the show’s creative team. Talk backs are included with the purchase of the evening’s performance. (free for ticket holders)
October 29, following the 7:30 PM performance
POETRY + PLAY

Join Syracuse Stage for a reading of Blues and Jazz poetry performed by local artists. Light refreshments will be provided.
Sunday, Nov. 5, 12:30 PM, Sutton Pavilion
Poetry + Play is a pre-show reading series that connects the literary arts to the work on our stage, featuring local writers sharing original poetry and prose related to the themes, ideas and images in selected season offerings.