Broadway To Dim Lights Tonight In Memory Of Lena Horne

The Broadway community mourns the loss of Lena Horne, who died on May 9 at the age of 92. The marquees of Broadway theatres in New York will be dimmed in her memory on Tuesday, May 11th, at exactly 7:00pm for one minute.

Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League, commented, "Lena Horne was a National Treasure who broke through racial barriers with the gift of her voice. Her contributions to Broadway were bright, and her legendary talent contributed significantly to the movie musical genre."

Ms. Horne's career began at the age of 16 when she auditioned at the famous Harlem nightclub, the Cotton Club. She was hired, dancing alongside star Duke Ellington, and in 1934 made her Broadway debut in Dance With Your Gods followed by Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939. Ms. Horne was a 1958 Tony Award nominee for Best Actress in a Musical for the hit Harold Arlen musical Jamaica, in which she starred, singing "Ain't It the Truth?"

She lit up the silver screen in MGM musicals where her signature tune was the title song in "Stormy Weather" (1943), becoming well known to movie enthusiasts as an iconic moment of the movie musical era.
In 1981, she burst back onto the scene as the star of her own one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, and was the recipient of the 1981 special Tony Award. The cast album won a Grammy Award.

Ms. Horne is survived by her daughter Gail Lumet Buckley.

The Broadway League, founded in 1930, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League's 600-plus members include Theatre Owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in over 240 North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and on tour across the U.S. and Canada. Visit www.BroadwayLeague.com.

Photo Credit: BWW-Staff