Alexis J. Roston in the Mercury Theater Chicago production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.” (Credit: Liz Lauren)
If you are at all skeptical of the phenomenon of reincarnation — the notion that after death a person’s soul or spirit can be reborn in a new body — you might very well change your mind after seeing Alexis J. Roston in the remarkable Mercury Theater Chicago production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.”
Roston’s absolutely breathtaking portrayal of Billie Holiday (1915-1959), the legendary singer who brought a rich yet subtle sense of jazz to her interpretations, is far more than just a showcase for her extraordinary voice that brilliantly echoes the timbre of Holiday’s sublimely rich and varied sound. Her dramatic portrayal of Holiday also captures the singer’s profoundly troubled personal life, her continual encounters with racism and her self-destructive drug addiction. It all makes this 90-minute show riveting from start to finish.
Lanie Robertson’s script for the show, which had its world premiere in 1986, could not be more ideal either, and do is the collaboration between this production’s two directors — Roston and Christopher Chase Carter, the Mercury Theater’s artistic director. (It should be noted that Roston first performed this show 10 years ago and has appeared in a total of six productions, so it is no surprise that, as the saying goes, she owns the role.)
And then there are the musicians. Chief among them is Nygel D. Robinson, who is not only a superb pianist and conductor but also a most subtle actor as he assumes the role of Jimmy, Holiday’s endlessly protective accompanist and friend during what will be the final year of her life. Along with Robinson are Jeff Harris (on bass) and Harold Morrison (on drums).
“Lady Day” is set in a South Philadelphia bar in March, 1959 — about five months before Holiday died of drug and alcohol abuse at the age of 44. And the Mercury Theater’s intimate Venus Cabaret space serves as an ideal backdrop.
Although Holiday’s stellar career took her to Carnegie Hall and other prestigious stages, in 1947 her New York City Cabaret Card was confiscated on drug charges, and she was no longer permitted to perform in clubs there. We now encounter her in her final days, as she embraces her dog (a true little scene-stealer), loses a certain coherence and takes her place behind a sheer curtain for a harrowing suggestion of how she shoots up with heroin.
Alexis J. Roston in the Mercury Theater Chicago production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.” (Credit: Liz Lauren)
As Roston makes her way through more than a dozen of the songs on which Billie left an indelible mark, she also talks about her life — from a deeply troubled childhood, to her mother (who she dubbed “The Duchess”), to the various bands and bandleaders she worked with, and of course to the men in her life. She also vividly recalls the time she was on tour in the South and was not permitted to use the restroom.
Dressed in an elegant white gown and gloves, with her favorite “crown” of white gardenias atop her head (her costume is by Samantha C. Jones) Roston even looks like Holiday. And she captures Holiday’s rhythmic twists, distinctive intonations, and shifting moods in the most uncanny way, whether she is singing “Crazy He Calls Me,” “God Bless The Child,” “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and “When a Woman Loves a Man,” or brings just the right emotional edge to the haunting “Strange Fruit,” the comical “Gimme a Pig Foot,” or the defiant “Tain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness.”
As another song title encapsulates it, Roston, like “Lady Day,” is continually in a state of “Deep Song.” A bravura turn in every way.
“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” runs through March 12 in the Mercury Theater’s Venus Cabaret space, 3745 N. Southport Ave. For tickets visit MercuryTheaterChicago.com.
