{"id":133669,"date":"2021-07-09T11:58:31","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T17:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=133669"},"modified":"2021-10-14T10:56:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T16:56:44","slug":"theatreworks-presents-lady-day-starting-july-15-featuring-cheerish-martin-as-billie-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=133669","title":{"rendered":"Theatreworks Presents “Lady Day,” Starting July 15 & Featuring Cheerish Martin as Billie Holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Cheerish Martin as Billie Holiday. (Photo by Isaiah J. Downing)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Theatreworks heads into Summer with \u201cLady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar & Grill\u201d running for three weekends, beginning July 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ent Center for the Arts Shockley-Zalabak Theater on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The audience for \u201cLady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar & Grill\u201d experiences one night at the end of famed American jazz and swing singer Billie Holiday\u2019s career. The play explores her turbulent life, racial strife in America, and the power of a singular artistic voice. \u201cLady Day\u201d combines her life story with timeless songs like \u201cWhat a Little Moonlight Can Do,\u201d \u201cGod Bless the Child\u201d and \u201cStrange Fruit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Cast<\/strong>
Colorado Springs actor and singer Cheerish Martin brings Holiday to life with her sultry voice and the emotion she gives to the lyrics. Martin has been seen on Colorado Springs stages from Funky Little Theater to Millibo, and including two Theatreworks productions: \u201cHouse Arrest\u201d and\u201d Little Shop of Horrors.\u201d Accompanying Martin on the piano is Earl Schaffer Jr. as Jimmy Powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think [Billie Holiday] was a woman before her time,\u201d Martin said. \u201cShe would have been really celebrated if she had been where she was at that time today. People appreciated her activism, sass, comedy, free spirit and that\u2019s something to celebrate now. She was a survivor who refused to give up. That\u2019s how I\u2019m telling her story \u2014 exactly how it is. Just her truth\u2026100 percent the best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Director<\/strong>
Local director and award-winning actor Lynne Hastings will direct. The play takes place in South Philadelphia in March 1959 set in a run-down bar, during one of Holiday\u2019s last performances before her death in July 1959. Hastings has been acting since high school and lived in New York after college. She attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy\u2019s Conservatory program. She returned to Colorado Springs in 1995, found work as an actor and has been an integral member of the Colorado Springs arts community since then. Hastings has been a key part of Theatreworks for many years, including time as an actor most recently in \u201cRaisin in the Sun,\u201d a board member, and two years as Artistic Producer, shepherding the work of Theatreworks after the death of founding Artistic Director Murray Ross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Billie Holiday you see in this story is a casualty of poverty, abuse, and systemic racism,\u201d Hastings said. \u201cShe was part of a cycle that was lived by many Black citizens in the America of the time. Rich or poor, celebrity or \u2018everyday Joe,\u2019 the color of their skin made them \u2018less than.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About \u201cLady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar & Grill\u201d<\/strong>
The year is 1959, set in a seedy Philadelphia bar. Audience members will witness one of Billie Holiday\u2019s last performances, just four months before her death. More than a dozen musical numbers are performed with salty, humorous, reminiscing to reveal the portrait of an American iconic figure and her music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theatreworks 2021-2022 Season Announcement<\/strong>
As previously announced, subscriptions to the 2021-22 Theatreworks season are on sale now online at entcenterforthearts.org or through the UCCS box office at (719) 255-3232. Season tickets purchased now through Aug. 1 include an early-bird discount. The 2021-2022 season is made possible with the generosity of season sponsors including: Bloom Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Bob Johnson Memorial Fund, Ed and Mary Osborne and the Kraemer Family Endowment at the Kraemer Family Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Theatreworks<\/strong>
Theatreworks is a professional, regional theater company dedicated to creating challenging and innovative productions of classic and contemporary theater for the enjoyment, education and stimulation of UCCS students, faculty, staff and Pikes Peak region community members. Theatreworks was founded in 1975 as an outreach program of UCCS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance Details for \u201cLady Day at Emerson\u2019s Bar & Grill\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By:<\/strong> Lanie Robertson
Directed by:<\/strong> Lynne Hastings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FEATURING<\/strong>
Cheerish Martin as Billie Holiday
Earl Schaffer Jr. as Jimmy Powers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEN<\/strong>
July 15- Aug. 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PERFORMANCES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n