Lena Horne Theatre Coming To Broadway Next Month
19.10.2022 - 16:37
/ deadline.com
Stage, film and musical icon Lena Horne will officially become the first Black woman to have a Broadway theater named for her when The Nederlander Organization rechristens the Brooks Atkinson Theatre next month and unveils a new marquee.
The company, under the leadership of James L. Nederlander, announced the renaming date today. A formal celebration will take place in front of the venue on 47th Street, currently housing the musical Six, on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
In its announcement today, the organization, which owns nine Broadway theaters, said that in renaming the venue “new generations of theatergoers will be introduced to the legendary Lena Horne, an entertainer who broke barriers for other Black women to follow in her footsteps, and through this recognition will continue to inspire future generations of theatergoers.”
The renaming ceremony, co-produced by Christina Selby and Jacquelyn Bell, will include special performances, remarks, the marquee unveiling and a DJ’d block party. The announcement indicates that “legendary stars and luminaries from the Broadway and entertainment communities” will participate, with specifics to be announced.
The ceremony will follow through on a pledge by various Broadway theater owners in 2020, in solidarity with Black Theatre United, to honor Black theater artists by renaming at least one of their venues. Last month, the Shubert Organization officially renamed the Cort Theater the James Earl Jones Theatre; Jujamcyn Theaters had renamed its Virginia Theatre the August Wilson Theatre in 2005.
Horne, who died in 2010, was the first Black woman ever to be nominated for a Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in 1957’s Jamaica. In 1981, she starred on Broadway in