Brooks Atkinson Theatre to be renamed for Lena Horne
Horne was a Tony Award-winning actress and activist.
The Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway is set to be renamed the Lena Horne Theatre. Named for a late New York Times theatre critic since 1960, the theatre will now be named for a historic Black actress and civil rights activist. It will be the first Broadway theatre named after a Black woman.
Horne was active on Broadway from 1934 to 1981, making her Broadway debut in Dance With Your Gods. Her final Broadway show was a solo concert titled Lena Horne: "The Lady and Her Music." In 1957, she starred in Jamaica and earned her first and only Tony nomination, and in 1981 "The Lady and Her Music" won a Special Tony Award. She also regularly performed for integrated audiences of soldiers during World War II.
The exact date when the theatre's name change will take place has yet to be announced. It is the second change announced in recent months, following the announcement that the Cort Theatre will be renamed for James Earl Jones later this year.
Currently, the Brooks Atkinson Theatre is home to Six, a musical in which a diverse, entirely female cast plays the six wives of Henry VIII as a modern girl group retelling their histories through pop music. The show is nominated for eight 2022 Tony Awards including Best Musical.
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