Stormy Weather, Powerhouse Evening in Pasadena

REVIEW CONTRIBUTED BY:  Scott Mauro

Let me say this right up front.  Leslie Uggams is terrific as the legendary Lena Horne in the electrifying, new musical, Stormy Weather that opened at the Pasadena Playhouse Friday night.  Conceived and written by Sharleen Cooper Cohen, this musical biography features many of  Horne’s famous standards by Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, and Billy Strayhorn.

But this isn’t your usual show business biography.  In the show’s program, director Michael Bush writes , “Here is a story for our times.”  And with our first African American President now settled into the White House, he couldn’t be more right.   The show opens in the early 80’s with a still dazzling Ms. Horne, turning her back on performing, overwrought by one personal tragedy after another.  Through a series of flashbacks, Cooper Cohen’s book takes us on Horne’s trailblazing journey as an African American actress who rose from the Cotton Club to worldwide acclaim in Hollywood, Broadway and the recording industry.  Stormy Weather tells the story of the civil rights movement in America as Horne struggles to overcome racial prejudice in America, the entertainment industry and from her own people because of her fair skin.

A Tony and Emmy award winner, Leslie Uggams only gets better with age.  Her performances of "Can’t Help Loving that Man of Mine," "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Stormy Weather" are unforgettable.  Yet, she never lets us forget the grieving mother, wife and friend behind the glamorous pioneer.  Nikki Crawford seems spot on perfect as the young Lena who first teams up professionally with composer Billy Strayhorn and the love of her life, Lennie Hayton, played by Robert Torti.  Dee Hoty is a scene stealer as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s great vocal arranger, Kay Thompson, Horne’s friend who will do anything to snap her out of her doom and gloom so she’ll return to a Broadway stage for what turned out to be a shining triumph. (Thompson, the author of the children’s classic, Eloise at the Plaza, was celebrated herself just last month in Liza Minnelli’s new show at the Palace). 

Bush keeps the action moving at just the right pace and has gotten solid performances across the board from the supporting cast.  Randy Skinner’s rousing choreography is always first-rate, and Paul Gallo’s lighting is exceptional.

Stormy Weather is a powerhouse of an evening.  If you’re like me, it will make you want to run out and get the DVD of  Ms. Horne’s Tony Award winning, one woman Broadway show, Lena: The Lady and Her Music, so you can re-discover the magic of this courageous survivor.

Photo by Kevin Berne - L-R Robert Torti, Kevyn Morrow, Leslie Uggams, Jordan Barbour and Cleavant Derricks.

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