It’s been a momentous week for Audra McDonald’s UK fans. Just prior to her first solo concert in the UK for 16years it was announced that McDonald would be reprising her Tony Award winning performance as Billie Holiday in ‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill’ at the Wyndham’s Theatre this summer. Audra as Billie is a performance that I urge you not to miss. But I will go into more detail about that later.I have been fortunate enough to see McDonald on Broadway in ‘Ragtime’, ‘110 in the Shade’, ‘Porgy and Bess’ and ‘Lady Day’. I was even there in 1999 for her UK solo concert debut as part of the legendary ‘Divas at the Donmar’ series. Safe to say I am a huge fan and this week’s concert did not disappoint.
The evening was a celebration of the Great American Songbook and McDonald thrilled her audience of ardent admirers with an intelligently structured evening combining old favorites and exciting new discoveries. At the age of 47 her voice remains one of the wonders of the musical theatre world. Her luscious soprano can run the gamut from ‘Climb Every Mountain’ to ‘Summertime’ to ‘Maybe This Time’ with beauty, power and sensitivity. In addition to the incredible vocals, McDonald is a stunning actress who appears to discover each lyric as if she is singing it for the very first time. Throughout the evening she was warm, funny and self -deprecating and had the audience in the palm of her hand. When it was first announced two years ago that McDonald was going to play Billie Holiday on Broadway I must admit that I was somewhat dubious. How could she turn that smooth, honey soaked sopranointo Holiday’s unmistakable growl? Well, she did. I don’t know how she did it. But she did. But it wasn’t just about the singing. McDonald’s performance was not just some mere impersonation of Holiday. But rather she once again proved that she is truly the most gifted actor/singer working in the theatre today and that she deserves every one of her record breaking six Tony Awards. GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! You will thank me. I promise.
In 2013 I was absolutely blown away by Thom Southerland’s dazzling chamber version of the musical Titanic. However his Grand Hotel last year was a disappointment. I was therefore hoping he would be back on form with the UK premiere of the cult Broadway musical Grey Gardens. Sadly this is a weakly cast, and sloppily directed production of a show that is desperate for both real star wattage and clever direction if it is going to succeed.