Angela Wildflower stars as Billie Holiday in immersive cabaret staging at ATP Mountain Studios
Whitefish Pilot | UPDATED 6 months, 3 weeks AGO
Angela Wildflower stars as Billie Holiday in Alpine Theatre Project’s Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, closing Feb 22 at ATP Mountain Studios in the Mountain Center Mall. (Photo by LaTrisa Harper / Alpine Theatre Project).
Alpine Theatre Project’s production of "Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill" enters its final weekend with four performances remaining, Feb. 19–22, at ATP Mountain Studios inside the Mountain Center Mall in Whitefish.
Written by Lanie Robertson, the play is set in a small South Philadelphia bar in March 1959, four months before Billie Holiday’s death. Framed as one of her late-career performances, the show follows Holiday as she shares her life story between songs, performing standards including “Strange Fruit,” “God Bless the Child,” and “Crazy He Calls Me.”
The live jazz trio is led onstage by music director and pianist Joshua Stephen Kartes.
“This is probably one of the most important works we’ve put on our stage,” said Cynthia Benkelman, executive director of Alpine Theatre Project. “It asks something of the audience, and it gives something back. You’re not watching Billie Holiday from a polite distance; you’re in the room with her.”
Broadway star Angela Wildflower plays Billie Holiday. The production is directed by LaTrisa Harper.
“We’ve transformed ATP Mountain Studios into Emerson’s Bar & Grill, so the audience walks straight into the world of the play,” said Tracy McDowell, artistic director. “With table seating, live jazz, and Billie’s story unfolding just feet away, it’s less like ‘going to a show’ and more like being in the room.”
Show times are at 7 p.m., except for Sunday’s matinee at 3 p.m. The Sunday matinee will include a post-show talkback with the performer and director.
Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets: atpwhitefish.org/shows