Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
Featuring iconic songs like “God Bless the Child” and “Strange Fruit,” Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill is an all-access pass to Billie Holiday’s final concert. With humor and hopefulness, the legendary singer takes us on a journey through the highs and lows of her tumultuous life, interspersed with exuberant renditions of her beloved repertoire. “Deidrie Henry as Billie Holiday is, in a word, sublime.” -BroadwayWorld
Who’s Who:
View the cast and creative team bios.
Playbill:
Explore the playbill.
Run Time:
Approximately 90 minutes, no intermission.
Note:
Recommended for ages 16 and up. Contains adult situations, explicit language and theatrical haze. The actor in this production will be using tobacco-free herbal cigarettes. Children under 6 are not permitted at any production at The
Armory.
Resource Guide:
Download resource guide (PDF)
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
- Previews are May 26-31 | Opening night June 1
- Starring Deidrie Henry
- By Lanie Robertson
- Directed by Bill Fennelly
Current & Upcoming
Wine in the Wilderness
It's 1964. As race riots blaze on the streets outside his Harlem home, painter Bill Jameson works feverishly to complete a triptych depicting his vision of Black womanhood. While he struggles to find his final muse — the “messed up chick” — his friends discover the perfect model in Tommy, a woman they meet at a bar after she’s been burned out of her home in the riots. However, Tommy is more than she seems, and her presence changes everything. Celebrated writer Alice Childress offers an intimate and raw study of race, gender, and class that explores how the Black community perceives, defines, and affirms itself from within.
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Learn to listen between the lines, as we take a peek behind the curtain at Meredith Wilson's The Music Man! As a group, we'll analyze and respond to the musical by exploring song type, structure, style, musical motifs, rhyme scheme, and more.
Autobiographic Devising for Solo Performance with Katherine Murphy Lewis
This multi-session workshop for women (including trans women of course!) and femme-identified people uses physical exploration, research, writing, construction, and editing to develop new solo material and the tools to support the creation of future artistic visions. Ideal for theater makers and performers who want to reclaim agency over their creative lives — and anyone else who has a story to tell!
Drop-in Writing Workshops for BIPOC Writers with Anya Pearson
These workshops for BIPOC writers are designed to help generate new material, refine existing drafts, or simply discover the permission to call yourself a writer. We’ll gather on Zoom to write together, bounce ideas off each other, share our work in progress, and hold space for the fullness of who we are.
Portland Center Stage at The Armory is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
Show Sponsors
2017-2018 Season Supporting Sponsors
