Leslie Uggams and Lena Horne have crossed paths only a few times. But Uggams feels that the force and power of the iconic singer have always been a part of her.
Lena was a goddess in my house -- my mother played her records all the time, and I was always moved by how beautiful and classy she was. When I was doing my nightclub act at the Coconut Grove in 1965, she pinned me as a Delta -- we both belong to Delta Sigma Theta. I've always felt like she's been so close to me.
Leslie Uggams
The two are more than sorority sisters-in-arms. With separate successful careers spanning at least five decades, Horne and Uggams have been celebrated for their striking beauty and silky smooth voices. Their popularity grew as they broke through barriers for African American performers. Horne was one of Hollywood's first black female beauty icons while Uggams became the first black woman to host a network musical variety show ( CBS' “The Leslie Uggams Show" in 1969).
Both also ran headlong into racist forces that threatened to derail their careers, and both sparked furors when they married white men.
In recent years, Horne, 91, has withdrawn from public view while Uggams, 65, has kept busy -- she starred opposite James Earl Jones in 2005 on Broadway in “On Golden Pond" and just completed a revival of “The First Breeze of Summer" at New York's Signature Theatre Company. Now, more than four decades after she was pinned by Horne, Uggams is putting her own distinctive stamp on her idol.
Uggams portrays Horne in “Stormy Weather," a new musical biography at the Pasadena Playhouse that producers hope will find its way to Broadway. The play chronicles Horne commenting on her life while observing a younger version of herself, played by Nikki Crawford.
The show has the same title as the classic Harold Arlen torch song that became Horne's signature (she sang it in the 1943 film of the same name). Suggested by Leslie Palmer's biography “Lena Horne, Entertainer," the title also reflects Horne's celebrated but tumultuous life and career.
Though Horne appeared in such '40s musicals as “Ziegfeld Follies," “ Till the Clouds Roll By" and “Thousands Cheer," she encountered race-related obstacles in Hollywood. In fact, she often had to film stand-alone scenes that could be easily deleted for screenings in the then-Jim Crow South. Her most prominent roles were in all-black musicals such as “Stormy Weather" and “Cabin in the Sky."
That darker side of history is the backdrop for several nostalgic musical numbers in the new “Stormy Weather," which includes songs by Arlen and Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, and Jerome Kern.
“We're dealing with a woman facing a crossroads when doing the one thing she lives for -- to entertain -- becomes too painful," said Michael Bush, the former director of artistic production for New York's Manhattan Theatre Club, who is helming “Stormy Weather." “She proceeds to shut down. How much can she sing if she shuts down?"
The forces behind the production feel that the inauguration of President Obama offers a prime opportunity to present Horne's legacy to a younger, more politically aware generation.
“This is a true story for our times," said producer Stewart Lane. “We're honoring a light- skinned woman making it during the racially charged '40s, '50s and '60s. People like her laid the groundwork for Barack Obama."
Added Sheldon Epps, artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse: “Lena's story is specifically from the viewpoint of a black woman trying to balance career, family and relationships as well as dealing with the pressures that came from both white and black America."
