rubin-cohen

[rubin-cohen]

Lena Horne Adelphi Theatre        London 1984 Aug 6th -Sep 29th

Personnel:

Lena Horne – Vocals

Terry Burrus – Keyboards

Rodney Jones – Guitar

Benjamin Brown – Double bass

Ron Bridgewater - Reeds

Vinnie Johnson - Drums

Marva Hicks

Stanley Perryman

Janice Harrison

L. Edmund Wesley

Thomas Skelton

Giorgio Sant'Angelo

Sherman Sneed

Veronica Claypool

Linda Twine

Janet Powell

Musical numbers:

"A Lady Must Live"

"As Long As I Live"

"I Want to Be Happy"

"But Not For Me"

"Can't Help Loving That Man Of Mine"

"Copper Coloured Gal Of Mine"

"Day In Day Out"

"Where or When"

"Deed I Do "

"Fly"

"From This Moment On"

"Honeysuckle Rose"

"I Got A Name"

"Life Goes On"

"Push De Button"

"Lady With A Fan"

"Push De Button"

"Raisin' The Rent""

"Stormy Weather"

"Where Or When"

"The Lady Is A Tramp"

"Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered"

"Yesterday When I Was Young"

"If You Believe"

"I Want To Be Happy"

Lena Horne was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 30,1917 died May 9, 2010, she became one of the most popular African American performers of the 1940′s and 1950′s. At the age of sixteen she was hired as a dancer in the chorus of Harlem’s famous Cotton Club. There she was introduced to the growing community of jazz performers, including Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Cab Callaway. She also met Harold Arlen, who would write her biggest hit, “Stormy Weather.” For the next five years she performed in New York nightclubs, on Broadway, and touring with the Charlie Barnet Orchestra. Singing with Barnet’s primarily white swing band, Horne was one of the first black women to successfully work on both sides of the color line. Within a few years, Horne moved to Hollywood, where she played small parts in the movies. At this time, most black actors were kept from more serious roles, and though she was beginning to achieve a high level of notoriety, the color barrier was still strong. “In every other film I just sang a song or two; the scenes could be cut out when they were sent to local distributors in the South. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much of a chance to act,” she said. “CABIN IN THE SKY and STORMY WEATHER were the only movies in which I played a character who was involved in the plot.” Her elegant style and powerful voice were unlike any that had come before, and both the public and the executives in the entertainment industry began to take note. By the mid-40′s, Horne was the highest paid black actor in the country. Her renditions of “Deed I Do” and “As Long as I Live,” and Cole Porter‘s “Just One Of Those Things” became instant classics. For the thousands of black soldiers abroad during World War II, Horne was the premier pin-up girl. Much like her good friend Paul Robeson, Horne’s great fame could not prevent the wheels of the anti-Communist machine from bearing down on her. Her civil rights activism and friendship with Robeson and others marked her as a Communist sympathizer. Like many politically active artists of the time, Horne found herself blacklisted and unable to perform on television or in the movies. For seven years the attacks on her person and political beliefs continued. During this time, however, Horne worked as a singer, appearing in nightclubs and making some of her best recordings. LENA HORNE AT THE WALDORF ASTORIA, recorded in 1957, is still considered to be one of her best. Though the conservative atmosphere of the 1950′s took their toll on Horne, by the 1960′s she had returned to the public eye and was again a major cultural figure. In 1963, she participated in the march on Washington and performed at rallies throughout the country for the National Council for Negro Women. She followed that with a decade of international touring, recording, and acting on both television and the silver screen. Horne had found in her growing audience a renewed sense of purpose. All of this came crashing down when her father, son and husband died in a period of twelve months during the early 1970′s. Horne retreated almost completely from public life. It was not until 1981 that she fully returned, making a triumphant comeback with a one-person show on Broadway. LENA HORNE: THE LADY AND HER MUSIC chronicled Horne’s early life and almost fifty years in show business. It ran for fourteen months and in 1984 she, her quintet and crew came into the Adephi Theatre in London on August 6th to September 29th and ended up in Sweden with standing room audiences. Her show became the standard by which one woman shows are judged. Throughout the past twenty years, Horne’s performances have been rare yet welcome occurrences. She paved the way to stardom for countless others in the entertainment industry. Her continued musical, theatrical, and political efforts grew with the times and met each new decade with courage and grace. But, if one thing hasn’t changed, it’s Horne’s ability to stir our hearts with her resonant voice, singing songs like “Black Coffee” and “Stormy Weather.” 

Article by Rubin Cohen

Contributing editor: Paula Getz

Contributors also by PBS, Playbill, Adelphi Theatre London, The Guardian, Kennedy Center, Masterworks Broadway