A long-shuttered jazz bar frequented by Billie Holiday comes to life at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre

It’s Friday night. Partner A wants to go to a jazz club. Partner B has an eye on theater.

Arguments ensue.

But not for long, thanks to the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s upcoming Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. Scenic designer Thom Weaver has transformed the stage at the theater company’s Suzanne Roberts Theatre into a jazz club — complete with a bar serving drinks and singing by Laurin Talese as Billie Holiday.

“You’ll be led down a hallway … through the backstage of the theater,” said Weaver. “You’ll see the back of stage flats and the fly rail.

“Then you cross through [what looks like] the front door of Emerson’s Bar & Grill, and you find yourself in a new place. Café tables and high tops. You can even sit and watch the show from the bar.”

The edge of the stage closest to what would normally be audience seating will be walled off. “You won’t even know you are in a theater,” Weaver said.

The show centers on one of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday’s final performances, months before she died in July 1959. And the bar on stage is reminiscent of the now-shuttered Emerson’s Tavern at 15th and Bainbridge Streets where Holiday performed when in her hometown. Before the bar closed around 1960, regulars also knew it as Emerson’s Café and Emerson’s Sunset Grille.

Holiday, said Weaver, “was adamantly opposed to singing in big theaters. She preferred to be in clubs. She felt more like it was an intimate connection. She felt more among her people and less on display.”

Weaver found a photograph of Holiday in a bar “and she’s completely surrounded by the audience. She’s not even on the stage. She’s right up close to the audience and they are all around her.”

While the photo and Holiday’s legacy were important inspirations for Weaver, other ideas flowed from his longtime interest in disrupting the theater experience for the audience, particularly at the point of entry. “What is that transition like? Is it what you expected and are used to, or does it transform your experience?”

There will be three levels of tickets — two tiers, which include café tables on the floor, are closer to the singer. About 75 seats on risers are some of the less-expensive options. Seating within tiers is first-come, first-served, just like in a jazz café.

Weaver, who grew up in Cherry Hill and lives in South Philadelphia, teaches lighting design at the University of the Arts. His father, Tom Weaver, spent more than 40 years teaching and directing the theater program at Cherry Hill East High School.

Audiences can check out Thom Weaver’s lighting design at Arden Theatre’s production of August Wilson’s Radio Golf through April 16. His work for William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at the Wilma is coming up June 6-25.

“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” runs April 6-30 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 215 S. Broad St., Phila., 215-985-0420 or philadelphiatheatrecompany.org. Check with the theater for COVID-19 protocols.

For information on other local events, visit inquirer.com/things-to-do-philly.