Buffalo Theater: McArthur radiates confidence, emotional range as she reprises role

By Nathan Andrew Miller

Billie Holiday’s distinct vocal style, which earned her four posthumous Grammy Awards, induction into the Grammy, National Rhythm & Blues and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame, “changed jazz forever.”

Her highs and lows, in both her music career and personal life, served as the inspiration for Lanie Robertson’s Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, which premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in 1986. The play interpolates the music of Billie Holiday with stories and events from her life, and is presented as a performance at Emerson’s Bar and Grill in Philadelphia in 1959. The play came back to the foreground in 2014, when it premiered on Broadway and won Audra McDonald her record-breaking sixth Tony award.

The Musicalfare production, which is running at Shea’s Smith Theatre through Feb. 15, is a fully realized remount of a production that was staged at Musicalfare’s old cabaret space at Daemen University. Director Thembi Duncan has reassembled her team from that production, with celebrated jazz and theater performer Alexandra McArthur as the titular Lady Day.

The set, designed by Chris Cavanagh, suggests the intimate venue with an impressive window as a focal point. Occupying the stage at rise is a trio headed by musical director and pianist George Caldwell, who introduces the star of the evening as “a legend in her own time.”

And then McArthur (typically billed as Alex McArthur for her jazz shows) enters, immediately commanding the stage. She radiates confidence, but we see that she’s conveying Holiday as a shell of the woman she once was. She connects with the music, bringing an admirable homage to the signature sound of Holiday, while infusing her own style and flair to the well-known catalogue. As the evening continues, Holiday provides insight into her difficult personal life, the challenges she faced and how they informed her music. We watch her fully break down, and the metaphorical sunset of her career.

Duncan’s direction is smart, sensitive, and clear. She, McArthur and Caldwell have crafted a meaningful story: nuanced, poignant and funny. Caldwell’s trio are incredible musicians, bringing a free and fun approach to the standards, allowing McArthur to lend her spirit and soul to the songs. And while it’s obvious that McArthur is a spectacular singer, her sense of comedic timing and her ability to change emotion on a dime make her performance truly special.

This intimate, intelligent and heartfelt tribute to one of the world’s most unique singers is expertly staged, and it’s the type of production that should receive a longer run, a bigger venue and more people in the audience. I’d highly recommend seeing this production before it closes, and look forward to seeing it continue in whatever iteration it can.

Nathan Andrew Miller has a BFA in Theatre Performance and a BA in English from Niagara University and has been reviewing theater in WNY since 2015. Nate is also an actor and director at various local theaters.