Audra McDonald performed in concert at the Leicester Square Theatre, London
Audra McDonald performed in concert at the Leicester Square Theatre, London
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
It’s been over a decade since American stage and screen star Audra McDonald has performed in London (in 2002 she became only the second American invited to be guest soloist at the Last Night of the Proms in over a century), but admirers of her work have plenty to celebrate in 2016. In addition to these much-anticipated concerts at the Leicester Square Theatre – a matinee was added after the evening show was an immediate sell-out – it was announced last week that McDonald will make her long-awaited West End debut this summer portraying legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday in the musical play Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.
McDonald is something of a phenomenon when it comes to her stage career. In 2014 her performance on the Great White Way in Lady Day won her a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play, making her Broadway’s most decorated performer, winner of six Tony Awards and the first and only person to receive awards in all four acting categories (and that’s without mentioning the two Grammys and an Emmy).
Some British fans will have been lucky enough to watch McDonald in action on Broadway (I was privileged to see Ragtime in 1998), but the majority are more likely to have caught up with her work online. However, unless one has seen an artist at work in a cabaret or concert setting (and it’s up close and personal at the Leicester Square Theatre), it is almost impossible to get a true impression of their personality.
One of the biggest joys of this performance, while taking nothing away from the exquisite musicianship on display, is simply sharing an hour and a half in McDonald’s company. While the gifted soprano has proved herself capable of acting the diva within the context of a play or musical, she shows no sign of playing one when being herself. In fact, the always open and down to earth McDonald not only establishes an immediate rapport with an audience, she also reveals a fabulous, cheeky sense of humour (during a jolly ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ singalong, she firmly indicates when it’s time for her solos!). In the end, we are putty in her hands.
One example of self-deprecating humour is when McDonald explains how her daughter, now a teenager, hated her singing when she was younger, telling her mummy that the sound of it “makes my ear cry”. These kind of personal anecdotes are often lighthearted, but the incredibly versatile actress and singer also describes the rollercoaster journey of being a parent: whether it be the insecurity caused by being on the road a lot (Sondheim’s ‘The Glamorous Life’) or the wish to sing her baby a tender lullaby (‘Whose Little Angry Man’/‘Baby Mine’).
Rather refreshingly this is not an Audra McDonald greatest hits show, with a repertoire purely made up of songs from all the musicals she has appeared in, although there is a powerful rendition of ‘Summertime’ – sans mic – from Porgy and Bess (McDonald’s portrayal of Bess won her a fifth Tony in 2012).
Elsewhere McDonald simply wants to pay tribute to a selection of songwriters she feels best represents the great American musical theatre songbook. In the process, she proves that her tastes are as wide ranging as her incredible vocal register. From Irving Berlin (‘Moonshine Lullaby’) to the lesser-known Walter Donaldson and Gus Khan song ‘My Buddy’; from Jason Robert Brown (‘Stars and the Moon’) to one of the up and coming new writers on the block Adam Gwon (‘I’ll Be Here’).
McDonald often tells engaging stories, explaining why she has chosen a particular song or composer, but it is her emotionally-charged introduction to ‘Go Back Home’ from Kander and Ebb’s The Scottsboro Boys that is particularly memorable. It also hints at the performer’s dedication to making a difference to issues she holds close to her heart – whether they be related to race or gender – anyone reading her Twitter feed will already be aware of that.
But McDonald’s desire here is to share her passion for some of the greatest writers of musical theatre and that she does with a performance that also showcases her outstanding talents as a mesmerising singer and inspiring storyteller.
Her desire is to ‘Make Someone Happy’ and with her trusted and talented musical director Andy Einhorn by her side, she continues to fulfil just that ambition. McDonald now returns to New York to appear in Shuffle Along, or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed (previewing on Broadway from 15 March), before heading back to London for Lady Day at the Wyndham’s Theatre from 25 June to 3 September. I would recommend you book early.
Lisa Martland
Tickets for Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill are available HERE.
Readers may also be interested in:
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill starring Audra McDonald hits the West End in June 2016 – News
Broadway Preview 2016 – from Disaster! to Paramour
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