Sean Power - Performances

"Lady/Speak/Easy"

Written by: Sean Power
Directed by: Sean Power
Produced by: La MaMa E.T.C., NYC

The Response is Overwhelming

Lady/Speak/Easy is a hit

And here's what the press has to say about Lady/Speak/Easy

"A seductive evening in a speakeasy with Billie Holiday... where a seasoned band of jazz performers plays music of a quality rarely heard in the theater... there's a fierce energy and intelligence running through the production that makes you understand Holiday's desire and her gift, as well as her pain. Bemshi Shearer, as Holiday, is ravishing, and the rest of the cast are up to her standard."

"[Lady/Speak/Easy] includes some musical moments so rewarding that jazz buffs will periodically tap their feet. The exuberant hot swing quintet that is playing when you enter the club (with a dozen actors in period dress milling around as patrons, cigarette girls, etc.) is irresistible. ...And jazz singer Bemshi Shearer's impression of Holiday is nicely evocative..."

"...the spirit of 1936 Harlem came alive. ...Lady Day herself, the great Billie Holiday ­ or a talented facsimile thereof named Bemshi Shearer - appeared before our eyes and nestled into our brains with that honeysuckle purring. Hooligans in spats and whores in high heels stomped up and down the aisles, but it was Ms Shearer - blessed with a bewitching warble - who stole the show and our hearts."

Reviews

• "THE THEATRE: Lady/Speak/Easy"
  The New Yorker - 14 Feb 2000
• "SUBJECTS & OBJECTS: Lady still singing the blues" (by Tertius)
  The Globe and Mail - 31 Jan 2000