‘Lady Day’ At Theatrical Outfit Recreates Billie Holiday’s Last Concert

In 1959, Billie Holiday performed at a run down bar in Philadelphia. A handful of people make up the audience, and she moves in and out of reality, a symptom of her addiction to heroin that would lead to her death four months later.

This concert is recreated in Theatrical Outfit’s upcoming production “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,” which opens Jan. 11. Broadway actress and singer Terry Burrell portrays Holiday and delivers 20 of the legendary singer’s songs. The production is filled with Holiday’s banter, detailing her life, humor and moments that show just how far her addiction has taken her.

“City Lights” host Lois Reitzes spoke with Burrell in studio about the production aloing with S. Renee Clark who is doing musical direction and director Eric Little.