‘Lady Day’ takes the Jubilee Theatre stage

Denise Lee has played the role of Billie Holiday in Lanie Robertson’s Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill twice before, at WaterTower Theatre in 2000 and at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas in 2008.

When she looked at the script again after being offered the role in the production that opens Jubilee Theatre’s 35th season, her first thought was: “Are there more words this time?”

“The music came back right away,” says Lee, a beloved Dallas actress who’s making her Jubilee debut, working under director Sharon Benge. “This has been as joyous as the other two times, because I keep finding new things in it.”

Lee says she now considers herself to have the right amount of experience to do the role justice.

“The first time I was scared to death. I didn’t consider myself a singer then. I was an actress, and didn’t started singing professionally until I started singing at [now-defunct Dallas nightclub] The Hideaway,” she says. “Then Sue [Loncar of CTD] asked me what show I’d like to do at Contemporary, and I said I’d like another crack at Lady Day.

“Then I saw Audra McDonald do it and said I would never do it again,” she says, laughing.

Although nobody sounds like Billie Holiday (jazz-pop singer Madeleine Peyroux comes close), the trick here is not to emulate that well-known whisper of a voice, but to capture its feel.

“I can’t imitate Billie and I can’t imitate Audra imitating Billie. I have to find the notes and do them as me; it’s about finding the balance of Billie,” Lee says. “In the show, [the character] talks about how her voice isn’t really big — and mine is. There’s a difference between ‘big’ and ‘loud.’ There are vocal mannerisms you can imitate.”

And with that, she launches into a speech from the character, sounding remarkably close to Holiday’s speaking voice. Sounds like third time is the charm.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 5:43 PM with the headline "‘Lady Day’ takes the Jubilee Theatre stage."