Janis' "Lady Day" Receives Glowing Review
Lady Day, the newest production from the Dorset Theatre Festival, directed by Dina Janis and with lighting design by Michael Giannitti, recently received an enthusiastic review in The Berkshire Bright Focus. The review praised both Janis and Giannitti's work, calling the show "as perfect a production, as keen a realization as any I've seen and will ever see."
The review spoke highly of Janis' work as a director, saying:
"...Dina Janis displays an acute understanding of Holiday's problems and a deeper acuity for moving her actress into and out of the best and worst of the singing star's personality. In spite of the vocal differences, there is never a question in mind that this woman is Billie Holiday. Janis has clearly given the actress scope to create her own Billie. She has equally clearly been there the whole way to keep her Billie and never Marinda [Anderson, the lead actress]. There are no failures here, no moments of the actress betraying her character to rally as herself and gather strength. Instead there is the constant deterioration of a human soul in this performance and that is due, in no small part, to the excellent teaming of actress and director."
...[T]his is as perfect a production, as keen a realization, as any I've seen and ever will see.
The review also praised the lighting, designed by Michael Giannitti. "Miss Holiday gives us her all with her key light shining and her mood lighting stunning the story out of her mind, all illumination designed by Michael Giannitti..."