Jazz Music

It s a rare melding of talent: a great jazz singer portraying a genre-defining jazz singer. But it took more than 25 years for it to come to New York City.It was a lonely Christmas Eve in 1979 when the idea for the show came to writer and director Stephen Stahl. His partner had left him, and in an outpouring of creativity, he wrote a play. "I was by myself," he said. "I ran out of paper. I was writing on paper bags. The thought and pattern was how I related to Billie Holiday."The play depicts the troubled diva, who died when she was 44 years old, as she rehearses and performs on a 1954 stop in London. In 1947, the singer was arrested for narcotics possession, which led to the loss of her license to sing in New York night clubs. Though she was allowed to sing in concert venues, she grew frustrated with large halls. That theme is presented in the play, originally produced in a small theater in Paris. To prepare for the role, Ms. Bridgewater, an American, spent four months learning to spe

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