Recently we had the chance to catch up with the Broadway rising star that is Syndee Winters (Pippin, The Lion King, Motown: The Musical) , who will take the stage at Duane Park again on March 31st, to capture and embody the essence of the late, great Lena Horne. In “LENA: A Moment With A Lady” she takes her guests through emotional moments of her lifetime revealing herself through milestones and music she made popular through the ages. “LENA: A Moment With A Lady” will invite, excite, expose, and enchant audience of all ages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmv2A8dDOgk
LENA: A Moment With A Lady MARCH 31st, 2015
Show & Dinner @ 7PM DUANE PARK NYC Tickets:45$
The show (previously entitled, “Let Me Love You: A dedication to Lena Horne”) made its debut on March 24, 2014 performing to a SOLD OUT audience at the world- famous Cutting Room NYC. The demand for the show was so high, the show returned, this time at the elegant Duane Park NYC and brought the house down in front of another SOLD OUT audience. And we’re sure March 31st will be no different. Get ready to put on your best upscale casual attire and get your tickets now HERE before it sells out ! Also, learn more about the show and the journey it’s taken to get to this point in our interview with the fabulously talented Syndee Winters below!
BroadwayBlack (BB): Let’s jump right in. What inspires you the most about Lena Horne?
Syndee Winters (SW): It was sort of by accident that I found her. Someone said to me when I was in college “Oh, you remind me of a young Lena Horne.” So I googled her and when I did I was immersed in a world of this woman. I really identified with her. She was tenacious, classy, extremely talented, and extremely beautiful, and she had gone through a lot of tribulations in her to life to make her the person that she was. And in living my life I identified and understood her.
(BB): Who is she to you?
(SW): She is… kind of like a spiritual mentor or an entertainment mentor. Kind of guiding me thru how I conduct myself as a performer and a businesswoman in the entertainment industry. She is such an inspiration to me. So, producing this concert is my way of honoring her and celebrating her. And bringing her to the forefront of my generation. This is my love letter to her.
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010)
(BB): What is something that people would be surprised to know about Lena Horne?
(SW): You know, people have forgotten she was a pop star. In whatever the sense a pop star was back in the 1940s and 50s. She was the equivalent of what like… Beyonce is today. AND many people don’t know how much of a civil rights activist she was back in those days. She actually put out a civil rights protest record and it was banned. Like, how bad ass is that? I just love her. I love her attitude, I lover everything about her. She makes it okay for me to be who I am in this industry as I’m learning.
(BB): How did you birth the idea of this production?
(SW): I had just come off The Lion King tour. I was ready to step into a new phase in my life and I was sort of in a place where I wanted to make my own way. So, a friend of mine said “Write a show!” and I said “Oh, well… Okay!”. So, it kind of came on as dare and what started off as a dare turned into a full on lifestyle commitment. The more I researched and the more did work on this project, the more I fell in love with Lena Horne, and her story, and wanting to make her as fabulous and relevant as the pop stars of today.
(BB): You did a successful indiegogo campaign which allowed you to produce and eventually sell-out the last TWO mountings of this project. How have things grown since then?
(SW): Honestly, beginning out, all I had was a flyer and a dream. So to do the campaign and exceed my goal of 7,000$ and to be contacted, somehow, someway, by Fox Good Day New York to do a performance on their morning show, and thru that the buzz really picked up. It’s been like the angels are guiding me.
(BB): Why did you choose this specific time in Lena’s life to showcase?
(SW): It was a pivotal moment for her (right before she went to Broadway with her one woman show). It was a very new chapter in her life where she was okay with being who she was. No longer feeling like she had to prove anything to anyone and she was ready to share her story (on this tour). This may be bold but , although her one woman show was her way of telling it, this show is the voice of Lena Horne in today. It will get the audience to understand and love who she was.
(BB): What is your favorite Lena Horne song?
(SW): My favorite would be a song she sings from the musical Gypsy called “Some People”. I just feel like that really sums up her life.
(BB): Out of all the shows you’ve done on Broadway Off-Broadway, which one taught you the most and prepared you for this?
(SW): I think, The Lion King taught me the most. It was my first Broadway musical. I wanted to be in that show since I was 9 years old. I wanted to play Nala. So when I put THAT image on my vision board and I put it in my prayers and the prayer was answered, it completely changed not only my life but the way I though about dreams, goals, and accomplishments. It totally switched my way of thinking.
(BB): Anything you’d like to say to our readers?
(SW): Yes! Come see the show! And check us out on Instagram @LenaTheLady and visit the website LENATHELADY.com
