Lena Horne News

BroadwayWorld is saddened to learn of the passing of Robert W. Richards, who died last night, July 11.

While New Orleans may be known as the 'birthplace of jazz,' Queens can proudly claim that it has been home to countless jazz legends, like Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong.

Recovering showgirl Miss Hope Springs was once the toast of Las Vegas. Now she's down on her luck and highly medicated. Join her, live at the piano, as she dusts off an array of all-original toe-tapping show tunes, finger-snapping pop and heartrending ballads from her fabulous vintage repertoire and presents her unique brand of 'sit down' comedy. You'll hear hilarious stories about her Ritz to the pits life in LA, Paris and...Dungeness. Still draped in the sequins and feathers she fled the Pink Pelican Casino wearing in 1972, this ageing ingenue is no has-been, she's the ultimate never-was.

We struggle as humans to fit in and be enough at any given moment, and that's the lesson Lena Horne offered the world and herself.  Even though she made history and became a champion of the Civil Rights movement, she struggled every step of the way with the identity created by her appearance and demeanor.

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is proud to present The Swingaroos: Hollywood Serenade, a brand-new music revue celebrating big band leaders like Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, as well as the stars-like Fred Astaire and Lena Horne-who performed alongside them on the silver screen. Featuring "At Last," "The Joint is Really Jumpin' Down at Carnegie Hall," and "Hooray for Hollywood," this jazzy show transports audiences back to the '30s and '40s, when swing dancing was all the rage. With musical arrangements by Assaf Gleizner, The Swingaroos: Hollywood Serenade begins July 23 in FST's Court Cabaret. Tickets can be purchased at floridastudiotheatre.org or at (941) 366-9000.

On Sunday night, the Tony Awards honored legendary orchestrator and arranger Harold Wheeler with one of three 2019 Lifetime Achievement Awards. Wheeler is currently represented on Broadway with AIN'T TOO PROUD - THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS. Watch Howard Wheeler accept the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award here.

The French Institute Alliance Fran aise (FIAF) honors the great French composer Michel Legrand, who died in January this year, with a special Cin Salon series devoted to his life and work. Curated by one of his longtime collaborators and greatest interpreters, singer and actress Melissa Errico, Summer of Michel Legrand brings together seven of his films from his best known triumphs such as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort to lesser known gems such as the enchanting fairy-tale musical Donkey Skin. Screenings take place on Tuesdays in July at 4pm and 7:30pm in FIAF's Florence Gould Hall.

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Continuing his cycle of plays about legendary African American entertainers, playwright Vincent Victoria and his company Vincent Victoria Presents, will be dramatizing the life of Lena Horne with the play 'Just Lena' June 28th-July 7th at Midtown Art Center.

Maurice Hines, best known for Eubie!, Uptown….It's Hot!, and Hot Feet, returns to Feinstein's/54 Below (June7-8) in Tappin' Thru Life with the internationally acclaimed All Female Jazz Orchestra DIVA. Along with tappers John Manzari and Leo Manzari, he pays tribute to his brother Gregory and their lives in show business, from TV to film, Broadway, Vegas, and beyond. Featuring songs like "Luck Be A Lady," "Smile," and "Come Fly with Me," Tappin' Thru Life celebrates the performers that inspire Hines, from Frank Sinatra to Lena Horne.

Compagnia de' Colombari, an international collective of performing artists founded and directed by Karin Coonrod, presents More Or Less I Am: a music-theater piece drawn entirely from Walt Whitman's revolutionary free verse long poem, 'Song of Myself,'one of the original twelve pieces that comprise his 1855 collection Leaves of Grass. The next performance in this series, spanning multiple venues throughout the five boroughs, will take place on Sunday, May 26, 2019, 7:30 pm at Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn.  

VIVIAN REED will debut her new show "Little Bit of Soul, Little Bit of Pop" at The Green Room 42 on Saturday, June 15 at 7:00 PM. Reed is back to display her rare vocal ability to powerfully deliver songs in a variety of genres. The evening is packed with her unique arrangements of well-known music from an eclectic group of songwriters, such as Lionel Richie, Steve Winwood, Brenda Russell, Alan Jay Lerner, and Stevie Wonder. Her energy and passion are accompanied by conductor James Davis on piano, leading an all-star quintet.

What makes a Broadway theatre? Technically any venue with 500 seats or more, located along Broadway in New York City's Theatre District is a Broadway theatre, and the art that is produced in these special places is widely considered the highest form of theatrical entertainment in the world. Today, forty-one theatres are technically Broadway houses, each with their own rich history. Below, we're giving you the scoop on the life of every one of them!

Celebrate African American Freedom Day, at the Brooklyn Jazz Hall of Fame Juneteenth Ceremony on June 19, 6pm, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, 1368 Fulton Street, in Brooklyn. The affair posthumously inducts pianist Randy Weston on a day of liberation and during a month-long celebration of Black music. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.

The Music Business Association (Music Biz) will honor GRAMMY Award-winning musician, singer and songwriter Peter Frampton with the Chairman's Award for Sustained Creative Achievement at the Music Biz 2019 Awards & Hall of Fame Dinner sponsored by BuzzAngle Music, City National Bank, Cracker Barrel, Jammber, and TiVo. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 7 at 7:30 pm as part of the Music Biz 2019 Conference set for May 5-8 at the luxurious JW Marriott in downtown Nashville.

According to the New York Times, actress Rosemary Harris, musician Harold Wheeler and playwright Terrence McNally will all be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2019 Tonys.

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and M&T Bank are proud to announce the 2019-2020 M&T Bank Dance Series. The series features a diverse, international array of multicultural, groundbreaking performers and dance companies, beloved productions, and unique and inspiring works. The dynamic program is the result of an innovative partnership between two community-focused organizations:NJPAC, the Newark-based, world-class cultural venue; and M&T Bank, whose superior dedication to its customers and communities includes consistent support for the arts.

Center Theatre Group has announced additional performers and two special guests for 'A Grand Night,' a one-night-only event on Monday, April 22 featuring a 5:30 p.m. pre-show reception in the Ahmanson lobby, a 7 p.m. performance in the Mark Taper Forum and a post-show gala dinner on the stage of the Ahmanson Theatre. Tickets are also available for the performance only starting at $100.

It's Miss Hope Springs brings the 'never say die showbiz trouper' back to the spotlight, in a journey down memory lane. Ty Jeffries reflects on the conception of Miss Hope Springs and what audiences can expect from her latest engagement.

Compagnia de' Colombari, an international collective of performing artists founded and directed by Karin Coonrod,celebrates the bicentennial of the birth of America's most influential poet, Walt Whitman, with a revival of their acclaimed production More Or Less I Am. Performances begin May 18, 2019 at multiple venues throughout the five boroughs, with most performances being free and open to the public. More information can be found at www.colombari.org.