“Grandma, like so many of these beautiful performers here today, had to battle for the right to her imagination – and here today with all of you, that battle is won.
“She had magic, she had craft and she had courage, but for me, her greatest strength was her imagination,” said Horne’s granddaughter, screenwriter Jenny Lumet, as she spoke of her grandmother’s storied performing career and dedication to racial equality. Horne, who died in 2010, was praised for her pioneering work as a Black dancer, singer and actor whose career spanned more than 70 years, and as a crucial voice in the Civil Rights movement at the ceremony, which included politicians and members of Horne’s own family, who continue her legacy in theater today.
The dedication itself made history: the W47th St venue became the first Broadway theater to be named after a Black woman.Ĭelebrating the renaming on the red carpet were from left: stage manager Lisa Dawn Schwarz actor Darius de Haas actor Wendell Pierce director Kenny Leon Tony-winner LaChanze actress Vanessa Williams actress Allyson Tucker actor Norm Lewis and Broadway veteran Brian Stokes-Mitchell, who is Tucker’s husband. Broadway stars gathered in a glittering ceremony Tuesday afternoon to rename the Brooks Atkinson Theatre after Lena Horne, in honor of her legacy as a performer and civil rights trailblazer.
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