Lady sings the blues

She was one of the most legendary jazz vocalists, but she spent some of her final years performing in run-down bars on the outskirts of New York City.

In the late 1940s, Billie Holiday had been blacklisted from performing in New York cabarets because of a narcotics conviction. That led her to find gigs where she could in small out-of-the-way lounges, though the adoring crowds still followed her.

One of those performances, in a south Philadelphia bar in 1959, became the subject of a Broadway play that Baton Rouge theater organization New Venture Theatre is bringing to downtown in a unique way this month.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill plays like a reenactment of that Philadelphia show, with Holiday singing some of her most beloved songs, talking about her life and chatting with the audience. It also finds New Venture stepping out of its home at Manship Theatre and taking over the more intimate Lyceum Dean Ballroom across the street for three nights of performances.

“I’ve been wanting to do something in this space for the longest time,” says founding artistic director Greg Williams. “It’s the coolest venue, and I’ve really fallen in love with it.”

And as intimate as the space is, the performance itself consists of only two actors portraying Holiday and her piano man.

Lori Payne, an actress born in Baton Rouge but currently living in New Orleans, takes the lead as Lady Day herself. Though she has directed and performed in productions in New York, Payne says she’s a little nervous about what’s essentially a one-woman show, not to mention the prospect of embodying the iconic singer.

“I was told by a really good and trusted friend of mine to not chase Lady Day, to let her come to me,” Payne says. “When you get down to the essence of the character, you have to understand what’s important to them. Obviously there was a sadness there. People liked to paint her as a victim, but I see her as more of a realist considering the time when she did her work. She didn’t expect too much but she was going to fight for whatever she had to fight for.”

For the show, Williams says they aim to create a 1950s lounge vibe inside the Lyceum—which already has an art-deco feel—with seating arranged at tables near the small stage. Payne says the space will help recreate the close connection between the audience and Holiday, who already knew her way around big venues like Carnegie Hall.

“I get the sense that this [type of venue] was more enjoyable for any artist to be that close to an audience,” Payne says. “That connection seemed like something that she valued greatly.”

See the show:

Performances of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill will be Nov. 11-13 at the Lyceum Dean Ballroom, 343 North Third St. For more info, visit newventuretheatre.org