DMT Editorial 2017_04_JUN_JUL_Proof15

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S
BAR & GRILL
Audra plays Madame de Garderobe in Disney’s
blockbuster movie Beauty and the Beast
Audra McDonald is a true Broadway legend. A
year after graduating from New York’s prestigious
Juilliard School, Audra won her first Tony Award
(for Carousel) – then went on to win two more
before she was 30 (for Master Class and Ragtime).
In 2014, she became the Awards’ most decorated
performer with six Tonys, the most recent for
her portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at
Emerson’s Bar & Grill. Add to these two
Grammys and an Emmy, armfuls of awards from
industry experts, inclusion on Time magazine’s
100 most influential people of 2015 and a 2015
National Medal of Arts – America’s highest
honour for achievement in the arts – from
President Barack Obama and it’s safe to say
that the singer and actress has well and truly
won over the hearts of the American public.
Now West End audiences can finally sample
that magnetic stage presence for themselves…
AN AUDIENCE
WITH AUDRA
Broadway sensation Audra McDonald, who is
making her long-awaited West End debut in Lady Day
at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, answers your questions
Q. What is it about Billie’s story that you want
London audiences to take home
with them? Shaun Nolan (@shaunycat)
A. I want to demystify her in a way, and show
the audience that she was a real person and not
just this myth. She was an absolutely real person
with hopes, dreams, pain and joy.
Q. Lady Day is your long-awaited debut in the
West End – what are you looking forward to
most about performing in the UK?
Sharon (@see75)
A. London is perhaps one of my top three
favourite cities on the planet. I always feel a
closeness to London – almost as if I lived there
in a past life. I’m really looking forward to