Leda Hoffmann, Director
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Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
by Lanie Robertson
Max and Louie
St Louis, MO
February - March 2017
Picture
Alexis J Roston. Photo by John Lamb.
Picture
Abdul Hamid Royal, Ben Wheeler, Kaleb Kirby, and Alexis J Roston. Photo by John Lamb.
Picture
Abdul Hamid Royal and Alexis Roston. Photo by Dunsi Dai.
REVIEWS
"a superlative production of this work which is smartly crafted and brilliantly performed."
"Leda Hoffmann's direction is well conceived, guiding the cast through the dramatic and occasional humorous bits that pop up, while allowing the music, and Roston, to shine and take center stage."

- Chris Gibson, Broadway World
Click here for the full Broadway World review.

"
What we see here in this stunningly realized production is an artist at the end of her life, but with so much of her talent on display even through the more difficult moments. Roston especially is a revelation, and this is a production not to be missed especially for fans of classic jazz music and of Lady Day herself."
​
- Snoop's Theater Thoughts
Click here for the full review.

"In this version, a stronger literary structure slowly emerges from Lanie Robertson's script. Leda Hofmann returns to the director's chair, and when we get to the singer's second protestation, that she'd prefer a home and family, the remark is wielded defensively, like a shield, once she's succumbed to heroin abuse again. Elsewhere in this production, the opposite theme (of roaming free and wild) slowly appears, like a great bridge in the night: stretching from her father's death, all the way up to the end of this story, about a month before Ms. Holiday's actual demise in 1959."
- Richard T. Green, Talkin Broadway

Click here for the full Talkin Broadway review.
Picture
Alexis J Roston. Photo by John Lamb.
Picture
Set by Dunsi Dai. Lighting and Photo by Patrick Huber.
CAST:
Billie Holiday - Alexis J. Roston*
Jimmy Powers - Abdul Hamid Royal*
Drums - Kaleb Kirby
Bass - Ben Wheeler
​
*member of Actors' Equity Association
PRODUCTION TEAM: 
Director - Leda Hoffmann
Scenic Designer - Dunsi Dai
Lighting Designer - Patrick Huber
Costume Designer - Dorothy Jones
Sound Designer - Casey Hunter
Stage Manager - Richard Agnew*
Assistant Director - Kate McAllister
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