Lady lives the blues
Leslie Uggams showcases the tumultuous life and times of Lena Horne
By Jana J. Monji 01/15/2009
Interracial marriage and communist leanings may seem ho-hum now, but there was a time when both were shocking enough to threaten careers. Sharleen Cooper Cohen’s “Stormy Weather” at the Pasadena Playhouse stars Tony and Emmy award-winning Leslie Uggams as Lena Horne living those two potentially career-ending realities.
In 1995, Cohen was watching a PBS documentary on Horne, and “I was struck that her life was extremely dramatic. … She overcame huge obstacles to succeed.”
Cohen refers to Horne’s 1947 second marriage to Lennie Hayton, a Jewish MGM musical conductor and arranger, as well has Horne’s involvement with communism in the 1950s. Through it all, Cohen contends, Horne “maintained herself as a lady, no matter what.”
Now 91, Horne no longer performs. The show is named for her 1943 hit “Stormy Weather,” from the film by the same name, an all-black musical.
Cohen says that it took a long time to get this show to the stage. “One major Broadway producer told me,” she recounts in a recent telephone interview, “you’ll never raise money for a show with black people.” This was before the Oprah Winfrey-produced “The Color Purple” opened on Broadway in 2005 and was nominated for 11 Tony awards. “Stormy Weather” was previously produced in Philadelphia in 2007.
“History has caught up with me,” says Cohen.
Featuring the music of Cole Porter, Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, Rodgers and Hart, Jerome Kern and Billy Strayhorn, the production has a 16-member cast led by Uggams and directed by Michael Bush.
Previews begin on Wednesday. The show officially opens on Jan. 30. Uggams will be featured in a discussion, “Conversation with … Leslie Uggams” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 11.
“Stormy Weather” runs through March 1 at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 356-7529 (PLAY), or visit www.Pasadenaplayhouse.org.
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