Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Mar 12, 2016
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4

Critic Reviews

  1. Time
    Reviewed by: Daniel D'Addario
    Mar 11, 2016
    80
    McDonald, a seasoned performer known for her crystal-clear voice, goes so guttural as Billie that her between-song monologues seem at times incomprehensible. That’s kind of the point; her winding stories have no resolution but breaking into a song midphrase.... For her part, McDonald could easily win yet another prize for the role.
  2. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Oliver Sava
    Mar 14, 2016
    75
    Despite the faults of the text, the central performance provides a heartbreaking, multifaceted portrayal of a black female artist yearning for respect, haunted by past mistakes, and tormented by addiction.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Mar 11, 2016
    75
    In the end, it works only as well as the performance of its star. Needless to say, when the performance is delivered by Audra McDonald, it works brilliantly.
  5. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Gail Pennington
    Mar 11, 2016
    75
    McDonald is flawless in her performances of Holiday’s songs, nailing the jazzy-bluesy (or was it bluesy-jazzy?) delivery. Her own voice is pure and clear, but McDonald captures Holiday’s rough sound, rougher still and sometimes slurred at the end of her life.