Brooks Atkinson Theatre to be named for Lena Horne

Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre is about to get a new name and create a milestone in Black history.

On Thursday, the Nederlander Organization announced that the theater will be rechristened The Lena Horne Theatre this fall in tribute to the legendary singer and civil rights activist. It will mark the first time a Broadway venue has ever been named for a Black woman.

“We are proud to take this moment to rename one of our theaters in honor of the great civil rights activist, actress and entertainer Lena Horne,” said James L. Nederlander of The Nederlander Organization in a statement. “I am so honored to have known Lena. She became a part of our family over the years. It means so much to me that my father was the producer of 'Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music,' and it is my privilege, honor, and duty to memorialize Lena for generations to come.”

Earlier this year, the Shubert Organization renamed the 110-year-old Cort Theatre after actor James Earl Jones. Last year, the three major Broadway theater owners (in cooperation with Black Theater United) made a pledge to name at least one of their theaters for a Black artist.

Horne, who died in 2010 at age 92, had a more than seven-decade career as a singer whose signature song was the classic "Stormy Weather."

She also starred in a number of films including "Cabin in the Sky," "Stormy Weather" and "The Wiz." Horne was no stranger to Broadway, and starred in the musical "Jamaica" from October 1957 to April 1959 and in May 1981, "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music," which ran for just over a year and earned her both a Grammy Award and a special Tony Award.