Foreman Is Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill

Karole Foreman 

By Darlene Donloe

When Karole Foreman was 10-years-old, she put on a Billie Holiday song and upon hearing the haunting voice was devastated and began to cry.

“I took the record off,” she said. “It was so sad.”

Fast forward and Foreman is playing the troubled torch singer in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill at the Ebony Repertory Theatre through Sunday, March 1, 2020. The show is directed by Wren T. Brown, Ebony Repertory Theatre’s founding artistic director.

The show, which presents a portrait of Holiday’s highs and lows, is staged as an intimate evening with the legendary jazz singer in 1959 at a shabby Philadelphia club during what would be her final live performance.  Holiday died July 17, 1959. Playwright Lanie Robertson was reportedly inspired by the performance Holiday gave before a very small audience in a Philadelphia club (not named Emerson's Bar & Grill) just four months before her death at age 44.  

  

At that time Holiday’s voice and body had been ravaged by years of heroin and alcohol abuse. Nevertheless, Holiday still made a connection with the audience. The show, recommended for ages 16 and up, contains adult situations and explicit language. It’s about 90 minutes and features 14 songs, including the classics Strange Fruit, God Bless the Child, Crazy He Calls Me, and T’ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do.

Foreman is a seasoned award-winning theater, television and film actress whose credits are vast and impressive. 

She was born in Morocco, grew up in San Diego, and now lives in Signal Hill with her husband of eight years, Peter Zokosky.

She credits vocal coach Michael Scott Harris and dialect coach Denise Woods for helping her find Holiday’s voice.

Karole Foreman as Lady Day

I caught up with Foreman to talk about her role as the legendary Billie Holiday.

DD: Describe the show

KF: We are doing Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. The show takes place in Philadelphia where she performed her last show before 7-12 patrons. Can you imagine? At that time, New York had revoked her cabaret card so she was doing small clubs out of state. She was fighting for her life and career. She’s a survivor.  Her best friend, Lester Young, had passed away in early 1959.  She reportedly said, ‘you know I’m next.’ 

DD: Is this a concert?

KF: This is set up as an intimate atmosphere. The tone of the show is a play with music. It is not a concert. Everything about Billie is exposed. It’s just myself and a pianist. We are recreating a memorable night.

DD: Were you able to collaborate with your director Wren T. Brown?

KF: He wanted to strip away everything that didn't have to do with the story. We talked about dignity. She never saw herself as a victim. That’s our take away from it.  We wanted to show she had an exuberance for life. 

DD: Talk about your singing background.

KF: Growing up I was told I couldn’t sing. I was 13 when I became interested in music. My personality loved being told I couldn’t do something.  I was shy growing up. When I came to L.A. doing auditions, they would ask me to sing. I always loved singing. I grew up listening to Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald. It’s been challenging. I love jazz. To step into something like this is a gift.

DD: Why did you decide to do a show about Billie Holiday?

KF:  Being older you really want to know who our artists are and were. It’s important to document. She is our history. She is our legacy. The more you research, the more elusive she becomes. She was a formidable artist to be reckoned with.

DD: Lots of actresses have played Lady Day. What are you going to bring to the role that others haven’t?

KF: I missed Deirdre Henry’s. I saw Audra’s (McDonald) I was intimidated. You always bring yourself. For me, it’s how can I bring her humanity to life, her vulnerability. I became attracted because of Wren T. Brown. We’ve always admired each other’s work. I want to explore his vision. We’ve known each other since the 80s. Investigating any human being like this is a chance to honor her and to learn more about my humanity. It’s about surrendering to something greater than myself.

Wren T. Brown

DD: What kind of a director is Wren T. Brown?

KF: He’s generous. He also brings a great personal history. He comes from a long history of entertainers and musicians. Being in the room with him is like being in a room with music history royalty. He infuses a sensibility.  I’m safe in the rehearsal space with Wren. He’s given me freedom and faith. I really wanted to get this right. I came in off-book. That’s the kind of attention this piece deserves.  I let the words sink in.

DD: There are lots of shows in and around Los Angeles. Why should we come to see yours?

KF: It’s a wonderful, intimate night of theater.  They will be moved by her stories. Audience members can sit on stage while we’re doing the show. They will be moved in a way you can’t get in a movie theater. Theater changes our DNA.

DD: How do you “become” a character?

KF: It depends on the character. This is a sacred space we’re working in. I understand the need to understand her relationships. I have to fill my life with her life experiences. My mind is in communication with her spirit.

Karole Foreman as Lady Day 

DD:  In your research what did you learn about Billie that you didn’t already know?

KF:  That she was bisexual. Also, I don’t know the extent of the sexual abuse she encountered. The true terror of what she had to go through. The life she lived and how she made it through and transcended the bullshit. I can build on the foundation they laid. That’s why the show is still being produced and why it needs to be out in this zeitgeist.

DD:  Why are you the right person to bring this show to life?

KF:  Ask my director. The director said he felt my artistry was right. I think it’s my approach to the role. My vulnerability and humanity. It’s all about the human being. It’s about the music. I’m an actor first. She knew how to tell a story. She was always inside a story. I also love being inside a song.

Karole Foreman and Stephan Terry

DD: You are working under the music direction of Stephan Terry.

KF:  We have a wonderful music director, just wonderful. He is a dream.

The creative team for LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL includes set designer Edward E. Haynes, costume designer Kim DeShazo, lighting designer Donna Ruzika, sound designer Corwin Evans, prop designers Patty and Gordon Briles, and hair and wig designer Anthony Gagliardi. Casting is by Michael Donovan.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 West Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles. The regular performance schedule is Saturday (Feb. 8) at 8 p.m, and Sunday (Feb. 9) at 3 p.m. Regular tickets range from $30 - $50 and are available online at ebonyrep.org or by phone at 323-964-9766. Groups of 10 or more are available via email at groups@ebonyrep.org or 323-964-9766. 

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia in 1986 and was produced off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre later that year, winning the 1987 Outer Critics Circle Award for “Best Off-Broadway Book.” It opened on Broadway at Circle in the Square in 2014 starring Audra McDonald, who won her record-breaking sixth Tony Award for the production and became the only person to win in all four acting categories, this time for Best Actress in a Play. The Broadway production was later filmed at the Cafe Brasil in New Orleans and broadcast on HBO.