When legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday sang the first notes of “Strange Fruit,” waiters stopped serving, and silence would immediately fall across audiences.
After finishing the song, Billie Holiday would leave the stage with nothing further, and the crowds would erupt in applause. She sang the song unapologetically for 20 years until her untimely death at age 44. Atlanta favorite and Broadway star Terry Burrell is taking on the role of Billie Holiday in Theatrical Outfit’s encore production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.”
She joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom with director Eric J. Little to talk about their new iteration of “Lady Day” and the tragic life of its brilliant namesake.
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