Mosaic Theater Company presents Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, an immersive nightclub experience about the legendary Billie Holiday. Helen Hayes Award-winning actress Roz White stars as the legendary singer after completing the national tour of TINA: The Tina Turner Musical. Written by Lanie Robertson and directed by Mosaic Theater Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas, performances run September 5-October 6, 2024 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Lady Day is produced in partnership with Washington Performing Arts.
“Lady Day will be a one-of-a-kind experience, especially as we transform the Atlas into a
cabaret-style nightclub,” Douglas said. “It’s a story of resilience that honors Billie Holiday’s
struggles while celebrating the breadth of her artistry and impact. I’m thrilled to welcome Roz White back to Mosaic to play this American icon. Roz has previously brought her powerhouse vocals and dynamic acting to Mosaic’s productions of Fabulation and Marie & Rosetta, where she portrayed Sister Rosetta Tharpe to great acclaim. I know she will again wow audiences in this production, which we are calling our love letter to Black women and Black artists.”
About Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
Journey back to 1959 for an unforgettable rendezvous with Lady Day herself—the incomparable Billie Holiday performed by DC legend Roz White, in the role she was born to play. The Helen Hayes Award-winning White just completed the national tour of TINA: The Tina Turner Musical. Featuring classics such as “God Bless the Child” and “Strange Fruit,” this acclaimed play with music transports you to a small bar in Philadelphia for one of the icon’s final concerts, transforming the theater into an immersive nightclub complete with a live band and cocktails. Building on the success of Mosaic’s past productions Twisted Melodies and The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith, this fresh production of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill explores the triumphs and traumas of Holiday’s life and career while celebrating the resilience of Black women throughout history. Lady Day is produced in partnership with Washington Performing Arts.
About the Artists
Roz White is thrilled to continue a career-long collaboration with the brilliant artists and arts professionals at Mosaic Theater Company. Credits include: TINA – The Tina Turner Musical and Dreamgirls Broadway National Tours; Seven Guitars at Arena Stage; The Amen Corner at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Fabulation, or the Re-education of Undine and Marie and Rosetta at Mosaic Theater Company; Shake Loose, Cool Papa’s Party, Bessie’s Blues and more, at MetroStage; Black Pearl Sings! at Alliance for New Music Theatre; Pearl Bailey… By Request at Milwaukee Rep’s Stackner Cabaret; Crowns at Indiana Rep; and Mahalia, a Gospel Musical, Black Nativity, Guys and Dolls, and more at The St. Louis Black Rep.
Greg Holloway’s (Drummer/Percussionist) experience is broad in scope. Greg has built a solid reputation as a versatile and flexible performing drummer/percussionist, educator, active member of the Percussive Arts Society, and published composer. He is also a Retired United States Air Force Field Band Percussionist, former principal timpanist for Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, previous American University Applied Drumset Adjunct, and Retired Director of Percussion at Flint Hill School. Greg continues to be active performing and percussion education in the Washington metropolitan tristate area. His nuanced sensitive approach without compromising energy, coupled with reliable integrity, led to touring with Martha and the Vandellas, performances with Mary Wilson, Freda Payne, Aretha Franklin, Linda Clifford, Hank Jones, Jimmy Heath, Buck Hill, Carl Fontana, Eddie Gomez, Gregory Hines, Shari Lewis, magicians, regional artists, and many more. Greg earned his Bachelor’s in Music Education with an emphasis on performance from Howard University and Master’s of Education Special Emphasis Percussion Methods and Master of Science in Psychology from University of La Verne (California).
As a composer, arranger, music director and pianist, William Knowles has worked at regional theaters around the country, and is glad to return to Mosaic. He has received five Helen Hayes nominations for Musical Direction, winning twice. Select past performances include Paper Dolls (Mosaic Theater Company), Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Milwaukee Repertory Theater; Theatrical Outfit), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Great Lakes Theater, Pioneer Theatre, Broadway Rose), Pearl Bailey…by Request (Milwaukee Rep, MetroStage), The Wiz (The 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle), The Colored Museum (Studio Theatre). Offstage he has released eight jazz CDs with music partner Mark Saltman, most recently Native Speaker. When not on the road, he can be found playing jazz gigs in the DC area.
Mark Saltman (Bassist) was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and now resides in Washington, DC. He holds a BA in Music from Western Connecticut State University and an MA in Composition from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studies with musical pioneer and mentor Dr. Yusef Lateef. Over the past couple of decades, he has scored independent films, played numerous jobs on the double bass, and also taught music in the public and charter school systems. Saltman has written scores for the award-winning
feature-length film Dante, a remake of the original Inferno, as well as for short films including The Hard Sale, Perchance to Dream, Bells for Her, and Missing You. He is currently working on episodes of sci-fi trilogy Paradox.
Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas is dedicated to creating new work and supporting new voices. He has directed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Everyman Theatre, Round House Theatre, TheaterWorks Hartford, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Weston Theater Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Audible, Bard at the Gate, Profile Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, Playwrights Realm, The Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh CLO, Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Negro Ensemble Company, TheatreSquared, Playwrights’ Center, McCarter Theatre Center, Florida Rep, The Lark, New York Theatre Workshop, City Theatre (where he served as Artistic Producer), Studio Theatre (where he served as Associate Artistic Director), and many other national companies. Reginald has developed and directed work by nationally recognized writers including Dominique Morisseau, Idris Goodwin, Suzan-Lori Parks, Cori Thomas, Angelica Chéri, Lynn Nottage, Nikkole Salter, Dael Orlandersmith, Kemp Powers, Jen Silverman, Ngozi Anyanwu, R. Eric Thomas, Brian Quijada, Matt Schatz, Amy Evans, Zakiyyah Alexander, Imani Uzuri, Dave Harris, Francisca Da Silveira, Khalil Kain, Chisa Hutchinson, Tearrance Chisholm, Josh Wilder, Larry Powell, Kareem Fahmy, Harrison David Rivers, Donja R. Love, and August Wilson. A member of the Board of Directors of Theatre Washington and of the National New Play Network, Reginald received the National Theatre Conference’s Emerging Professional Award in 2020 and is a proud graduate of Georgetown University.
The creative and production team for Lady Day includes Nadir Bey (Scenic Designer), Moyenda Kulemeka++ (Costume Designer), Jesse Belsky++ (Lighting Designer), Ian Vespermann (Sound Designer), Larry Peterson (Wig and Makeup Design), Claire Fogle* (Production Stage Manager) and Sandra L. Holloway (Movement).
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
++ Member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
Additional Events
Mosaic continues its Reflection Series, started in 2022 in conjunction with The Till Trilogy, with year-round programming that provides inroads for deep engagement with the themes of its plays. Partners for the Lady Day Reflection Series include Team Rayceen, Theater Washington, and Washington Performing Arts. Events for Lady Day include:
● Post-Performance Discussion with the Artists: September 15 after the 3:00 p.m.
performance and October 6 after the 3:00 p.m. performance. Curious about what went into the making of Emerson’s Bar and Grill? Or how DC theater superstar Roz White transformed into Billie Holiday? Come join the artists behind Lady Day to hear about the process behind the production and their artistic practice.
● Washington Performing Arts Panel: September 21 after the 7:30 p.m. performance.
Come join the panelists (lineup TBA) as they reflect on the performance and share their own personal connections to Holiday and her artistry. Presented with Washington Performing Arts.
● City on the River, September 22 at 2:00 p.m.: Join Roz White and William Knowles at
City on the River, a free concert celebrating art and community in Washington DC.
Featuring pop-up music performances and a riverside concert on the banks of the
Potomac River, Lady Day takes center stage at The Wharf alongside the best of DC’s art,
culture and theater. Presented with Theatre Washington.
● Celebrating DC’s Black Artistry: September 27 after the 7:30 p.m. performance.
Washington, DC, has a long history as a center of Black musical artistry, from the rise of
jazz with Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday to the birth of Go-Go in the ’60s and ’70s and
beyond. Mosaic welcomes DC’s contemporary Black artists including Priest Da Nomad,
Akua Allrich, and Mosaic’s Playwright-in-Residence Psalmayene 24 as they speak about
their work and the communities they create with and around.
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, presented by Mosaic Theater Company with Washington Performing Arts, runs September 5-October 6, 2024, at the Sprenger Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC 20002. Performances are Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. (September 12, 19, 26); Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. (except September 7); and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Tickets range from $42-$70 and can be purchased online.
About Mosaic Theater Company of DC
Mosaic Theater Company of DC produces bold, culturally diverse theater that illuminates critical issues, elevates fresh voices, and sparks connection among communities throughout our region and beyond. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas and Managing Director Serge Seiden, Mosaic produces plays that both entertain and enlighten, using art to build empathy amongst diverse people united by the magic of theater, and hopes to build community by reflecting the many cultures that call DC home.
