A Secret Place Where Adrienne Herndon Performed

Undated Photo of an audience inside Steinert Hall

It was January 28, 1904 and she herself was a secret.

Adrienne Herndon was smack dab in the middle of Boston's Theater District on the stage of Steinert Hall pretending to be a white woman named Anne DuBignon. In her one-woman show, she played the part of all 22 characters of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra from memory.

In the present day, the once popular theater within the building that housed Steinway & Sons piano company since 1896 is pretty much unknown. Few people (one of whom was Elton John) have been granted a tour of the hall since it's closing 70 years ago and despite her legacy, Adrienne Herndon is lost in history.

Today I was excited to learn that I've been granted special permission to tour Steinert Hall. I will be accompanied by Emmy-award winning journalist, Clennon L. King (www.augustinemonica.com). During my planned visit, which will take place in a couple of months, I will also explore how Adrienne lived, what she was doing, and her associations. Take a look of Steinert Hall as it looked 6 years ago in rare footage captured by Andrew Vella: SteinertHall

Adrienne Herndon used her education, money, experiences and travel for social uplift. She was Chair of Drama and Elocution at Atlanta University for 15 years and was the primary architect of the Herndon Home, which is now a national historic landmark located near Morris Brown College (http://www.herndonhome.org/). She was the first wife of Atlanta's first black millionaire, Alonzo Herndon.