Lena Horne was a trailblazing singer, actress, and civil rights activist whose career spanned over seven decades. A Brooklyn native, her story is linked to the glamor of the New York entertainment scene, particularly the stage, where she made her debut in 1934. Now, she has become the first Black woman to have a Broadway theater named after her.
On November 1, 2022, the Brooks Atkinson Theater was renamed to the Lena Horne Theater in a moving ceremony featuring Broadway actors, political figures, and Horne's relatives. The Nederlander Organization, which owns the venue, said they chose Horne because of her career and her civil rights activism. “Lena’s legacy will never die. It’s because of people like her that Broadway— theater, in general—and the entertainment industry made progress in the march towards racial equality,” said James L. Nederlander during the ceremony.
With this dedication, the Lena Horne Theater becomes the fifth out of 41 Broadway theaters to be named after a woman; and it is only the third theater named after a Black artist, with the August Wilson Theater and the James Earl Jones Theater being the other two.
Born in 1917, Horne started her career at age 16 after joining the chorus line of the storied Cotton Club in New York City. Two years later, she made her screen debut in a musical short titled Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party. At the height of her career, in the early 1940s, she was the highest-paid Black entertainer. She also made waves in the music world, performing songs such as “Stormy Weather,” “At Long Last Love,” and “Mad About the Boy.” She also won four Grammy awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award she received in 1989.
Beyond her incredible talents, Horne was celebrated for fighting racism in the entertainment industry and for her involvement with the Civil Rights Movement—she even marched in Washington, D.C., in 1963. As a working member of Hollywood, she refused to play maids or any demeaning roles, which were most of the available roles for Black women at the time. She also worked with Walter White, the leader of the NAACP, to help improv the way Black women were represented on screen.
“She had magic. She had craft. She had courage. But for me her greatest strength was her imagination,” said Horne’s granddaughter Lumet during the dedication. “Grandma had to battle for the right to her imagination.”
Actress Lena Horne became the first Black woman to have a Broadway theater named after her.
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The Lena Horne Theater is the fifth out of 41 Broadway theaters to be named after a woman; and the third theater named in honor of a Black artist.
“Lena’s legacy will never die. It’s because of people like her that Broadway— theater, in general—and the entertainment industry made progress in the march towards racial equality,” says James L. Nederlander.
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See the dedication ceremony below:
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h/t: [NBC News]
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