Apologies to both my fans -- ran into a friend yesterday and completely spaced about Theatricals.
This is a follow-up, in a way, to Friday's Audra McDonald diary. HT to weck, in the comments:
Audra visited Colbert this week and "Lady Day"
performed from the show "Lady Day at the Emerson Bar and Grill." She said it is hard to hold back her own voice because it has a lot more power and range to be true to the style of B.H.
There is a second song at his page. Haven't been there yet, but will be going sooooon.
Well, I went there -- I knew "Lady Day" was due to open, but missed that Audra was on Colbert -- but I don't know how to embed from Comedy Central, so here's the link:
http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/...
From there, you can watch both clips of her as "Lady Day" plus the whole episode, plus some clips of her from previous Colbert shows.
Also -- I didn't know this:
She is one of three people in Tony history to have won five awards; these were for her roles in "Porgy and Bess" (2012), "A Raisin in the Sun" (2004), "Ragtime" (1998), "Master Class" (1996) and "Carousel" (1994).
I knew she had equaled Angela Lansbury in winning 5 Tonys but didn't realize that she was only the third person to ever win that many. I am still betting that "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill" will net her the sixth.
Courtesy of Playbill, some background on the show:
What the NYT theater critic had to say:
The bloodletting heartbreakers are, of course, the most mesmerizing performances: the rueful “God Bless the Child,” the harrowing protest song “Strange Fruit.” Ms. McDonald’s career has been in many ways a blessed one (five Tonys at just 43, when Holiday was nearing her end), but by burrowing into the music and channeling Holiday’s distinctive sound, she has forged a connection with the great, doomed artist she is portraying that feels truthful and moves well beyond impersonation into intimate identification. When she sings, there appears before us the ghostly image of an artist who could only find equilibrium in her life when she lost herself in her music.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
A montage from the show:
Terrific interview with Audra:
I love this one b/c Audra talks some more about her role, and there's more background on the show (plus singing, of course):
I don't know who these guys are, but here's their YT review (apparently they do this often):