Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill

McDonald, a seasoned performer known for her crystal-clear voice, goes so guttural as Billie that her between-song monologues seem at times incomprehensible. That’s kind of the point; her winding stories have no resolution but breaking into a song midphrase.... For her part, McDonald could easily win yet another prize for the role.

Despite the faults of the text, the central performance provides a heartbreaking, multifaceted portrayal of a black female artist yearning for respect, haunted by past mistakes, and tormented by addiction.

McDonald is flawless in her performances of Holiday’s songs, nailing the jazzy-bluesy (or was it bluesy-jazzy?) delivery. Her own voice is pure and clear, but McDonald captures Holiday’s rough sound, rougher still and sometimes slurred at the end of her life.

In the end, it works only as well as the performance of its star. Needless to say, when the performance is delivered by Audra McDonald, it works brilliantly.