"Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill'' -- Gazebo Room at the Hamilton Princess -- November 16-18, then monthly through March 1996.

As the spotlight finally faded over the lone figure silently mouthing the words of her last, agonised song, the audience rose to its feet in a spontaneous ovation.

The homage -- and homage it certainly was -- was being paid to Denise Whitter for her remarkable portrayal of the great jazz singer, Billie Holiday. The occasion was the Jabulani Repertory Company's production of "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill'', their second offering in the new Princess Hotel season, and staged principally as a vehicle for Ms Whitter's talents.

For producer Dusty Hind, this show is the realisation of a long-cherished dream. Having, like so many of his generation, grown up with the sounds of the greatest jazz singer of her time, and a devoted fan ever since, he became convinced that Denise Whitter was uniquely suited to take on this daunting biographical one-hander. With a voice seemingly made to sing jazz, an ability to pull in the laughs or create high drama as an actress, it is easy to see why his ambitions were straying in this direction.

What should also be said, however, is that this was a courageous decision on his part; cocktail theatre, after all, tends very much towards the light end of the entertainment scale. In spite of the almost non-stop music that permeates the show, "Lady Day'' could hardly be described as "light entertainment''.

It is actually a deeply tragic story, tracing the life of Eleanora Fagan, born in 1915, who became Billie Holiday, jazz singer extraordinaire, alcoholic and drug addict. While her records were international hits and she was the number one attraction with such bands as Count Basie, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman, the America through which she travelled in triumph would not allow her to do so in the company of white people -- if she ate in "white'' hotels, she was banished to the kitchen. To their credit, Artie Shaw and his band would eat there with her, even though they had to pay double the price for the privilege.

Although it was her "first and worst love'', Sonny Munro, who introduced her to the heroin which would send her to prison for "a year and a day'' and kill her in 1959, almost the entire emphasis of the play deals with the bitterness engendered by a blatantly racist society. The humour (and there is quite a lot) is definitely of the "gallows'' variety. So, the play is not an easy one, couched as it is in often explicit language. This may explain why a few members of Saturday's audience left at intermission. From the point of view that American tourists may find this play a difficult pill to swallow on several fronts, only time will tell if the decision to stage it was commercially wise.

One thing is certain: On an artistic level, it is a triumph.

Directed by Patricia Pogson, the play grips the heart from the moment Lady Day, only four months away from death, stumbles onstage, furious that her now essential "moonlight'' has been denied her. Kneading the arms that cry out for their magic "cure'', Ms Whitter launches herself (and us) into the first of a dazzling array of songs, "I wonder where our love has gone''.

Dressed in black with the trademark white gardenias pinned in her hair, Denise Whitter looks eerily like the great vocalist who described her singing as "blues feeling with the jazz beat''. Fortunately, Whitter's voice, which switches effortlessly from the haunting lyricism of "God Bless the Child'' to the flashy brilliance of "Baby Doll'' is well able to match the dramatic demands of the role.

Musically, perhaps, the highlight of the play occurs in the opening of the second act, when she comes onstage, clutching her little dog in her arms and, to enthusiastic applause, starts to sing, with such easy and witty grace, "'Taint Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do''.

She is supported by some of Bermuda's top musicians, led by the incomparable Wendell (Shine) Hayward. His "Friends'' consist of Robert Edwards who takes on the role of Billie's friend and pianist, Jimmy Powers, Clarence Burrows on bass and Kevin Maybury on drums.

It is very disappointing that more locals were not on hand to cheer this brilliant, one-woman marathon. They can rectify this on December 7, 8 and 9.

Let us hope, with so much at stake for the future of professional theatre in Bermuda, that they do. -- Patricia Calnan LADY DAY AND FRIENDS -- Denise Whitter, as Billie Holiday, with musicians (from left): Wendell (Shine) Hayward (leader and woodwind); Robert Edwards (piano); Kevin Maybury (drums); and Clarence Burrows (bass).