PREVIEWS THIS THURSDAY 1/11/17

NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact:

Fred Gloor 
Associate Artistic/Marketing Director

Weathervane Playhouse

330.836.2626 Ext 16

fgloor@weathervaneplayhouse.com

December 22, 2017

Weathervane Playhouse to present Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.

Step back in time to relive one of Billie Holiday’s final performances.

AKRON - Weathervane invites playgoers to be transported to a seedy bar in Philadelphia during the year of 1959 to relive one of Billie Holiday's final performances, given four months before her death. More than a dozen musical numbers are interlaced with salty, often humorous, reminiscences to project a riveting portrait of the lady and her music.  Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill is directed by Terrence Spivey, who ran Karamu House for over 12 years and was selected as Scene Magazine’s Best Director of 2017.  Ed Ridley, who most recently received a Cleveland Critics Circle Award for his music direction of Ain’t Misbehavin’, serves as the music director for this production. 

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill runs January 11 through January 21, 2018 in Weathervane’s Founders Theater.  The show runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.  There is also one student matinee (recommended for high school students) on January 16^th at 10 a.m.  Tickets are $10 - $22 and can be ordered by calling the box office at 330-836-2626 or going to www.weathervaneplayhouse.com. 

On working at Weathervane and the production, Spivey says, “I am excited to be back at the wonderful Weathervane Playhouse, having directed their productions of Fences and The Great White Hope. Billie Holiday's music is as timely now as ever, touching the hardships and happiness that we all experience. Kudos to Melanie and Weathervane for bringing this dynamic and historical figure to the Akron stage.”

THE CAST

MARISSA NICOLE DAVIS
Billie Holiday

THE CREATIVE TEAM

TERRENCE SPIVEY
Director

ED RIDLEY
Musical Director/Jimmy Powers

BRADFORD MCGHEE
Bass Player

JASON MAURER
Stage Manager

BARBARA TROTTER
Properties Designer

AYRON LORD
Lighting Designer

HAZEN TOBAR
Sound Designer

LOREN “COCO” MAYER
Costume Designer

RICHARD MORRIS, JR.
Scenic Designer/Technical Director

KATHY KOHL
Assistant Technical Director

KELLIE ROSSINI
Master Electrician

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Weathervane Playhouse’s 2017-2018 Season Support Provided by:

Aimee Lambes Photography
AARP

Akron Community Foundation
The Akron/Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau
Beatrice K. McDowell Family Fund of Akron Community Foundationz
The Big Love Network
Best Buy
Clear Gold Audio and Lighting

Mary and Dr. George L. Demetros Charitable Trust
Margaret Dietz
Corinne L. Dodero Foundation for the Arts & Sciences

GAR Foundation

Kenneth L. Calhoun Charitable Trust (KeyBank, Trustee)

The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation

Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services, LLC
Northeast Ohio Boomer and Beyond Magazine

Ohio Arts Council

The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation
The Weathervane Playhouse Volunteer Guild

Visit Mickey Vacations

WKSU 89.7 FM