Karla Burns facts for kids

Karla Burns (born December 24, 1954 – died June 4, 2021) was an amazing American singer and actress. She performed all over the world in operas, plays, and on TV. Karla was a mezzo-soprano, which means she had a beautiful singing voice that was lower than a soprano but higher than an alto.

Her big break came in 1982 when she played Queenie in the musical Show Boat. This show traveled across the country and even to Broadway. For her role as Queenie, Karla won a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Tony Award. She played Queenie for twenty years! She also made history by becoming the first Black person to win the Laurence Olivier Award, which is a top theater award in Britain.

Karla Burns performed in many different types of shows. She sang in operas like at the Metropolitan Opera and the Paris Opera. She also acted in plays with the Royal Shakespeare Company. One special show she toured with was Hi-Hat Hattie. In this show, she played Hattie McDaniel, who was the first Black entertainer to win an Academy Award (an Oscar).

Early Life and Education

Karla Burns grew up in Wichita, Kansas. She was the youngest of four children. Her parents really encouraged her love for music. Her dad played jazz and gospel piano, and her mom sang in church.

Karla went to Wichita West High School. There, she played the clarinet in the band and sang in the choir. After high school, she went to Wichita State University (WSU). She earned two degrees there: one in Music Education and another in Theatre Performance. While at WSU, she acted in many university plays. She even traveled to Europe with the WSU choir. Karla made her first professional stage appearance in 1977 while still a student. She graduated from WSU in 1981.

Queenie in Show Boat: A Special Role

The part of Queenie in the musical Show Boat became very important for Karla Burns's career. She first played Queenie in Oklahoma City in 1981. Her big moment came in 1982 with the Houston Grand Opera (HGO) production of Show Boat. This show started in Houston and then toured to big cities like Los Angeles and Washington D.C. It finally arrived on Broadway in 1983.

Karla won a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Tony Award for her amazing performance in this show. The HGO production also traveled to the Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Karla shared that audiences in Egypt saw Queenie as a very important character. They felt good seeing a strong character with dark skin, even if Queenie was just a cook on the boat.

After the Broadway show, Karla played Queenie in ten more productions. A very important one was in 1989 with Opera North and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Critics loved her performance, calling her "a dynamo dumpling" with a huge personality. When the show moved to the London Palladium in 1991, Karla won the Laurence Olivier Award. This was a huge honor, as she was the first Black artist to win this award. She also recorded the role of Queenie for an album in 1988.

Other Performances and Shows

After Show Boat on Broadway, Karla Burns continued to perform in many different shows. She acted in a jazz opera called Trio and sang at Carnegie Hall. She also starred in A... My Name Is Alice and played Bloody Mary in South Pacific.

Karla also performed in plays by William Shakespeare. She was in The Comedy of Errors at Lincoln Center in New York. This performance was even shown on TV! She returned to Shakespeare in the Park shows in New York, appearing in The Comedy Of Errors again and Measure for Measure.

In the world of opera, Karla was well-known for playing Addie in Marc Blitzstein's Regina. She performed this role for many opera companies. In 1989, she appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in George Gershwin's famous opera Porgy and Bess.

One of Karla's most famous shows was the one-woman play Hi-Hat Hattie. In this show, she brought the life of actress Hattie McDaniel to the stage. The play included 14 songs, like “Amazing Grace” and “St. Louis Blues”. Karla first performed Hi-Hat Hattie in 1991 and continued to tour with it for many years. She even performed it in 2018 after recovering from health issues.

Karla also appeared in many regional theater productions. She played Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!, Katisha in The Mikado, and Calpurnia in To Kill a Mockingbird. On TV, she was in the movie The Parade and the children's show One of a Kind as Karla the Klown.

Later Years and Legacy

Karla Burns also taught private voice lessons in Wichita. In 2007, she had surgery that affected her singing voice. She worked hard with therapists and vocal coaches to get her voice back. After four years, she returned to the stage in 2011 in the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

In 2016, Wichita State University gave Karla an honorary doctorate degree. She continued to perform in theater shows in Wichita until 2020.

Death

Karla Burns passed away in Wichita on June 4, 2021, at the age of 66. She had experienced a series of strokes.

Awards and Honors

• Nominated for the Tony Award for her role in Show Boat (1982–83).
• Won the Drama Desk Award for Queenie in Show Boat (1983).
• Received the Olivier Award for Queenie in Show Boat (1991).
• Received the Kansas Governor's Arts Award for Individual Achievement as an Artist (1991).
• Received the Kansas African American Museum Trailblazer Award (2000).
• Named one of the top Forty faces that changed Wichita State University in the Millennium.
• Given the Wichita Arts Council Award for Performance and Education (2012).
• December 17 through December 24 was declared "Karla Burns Week" in Wichita by the mayor (2013).
• Inducted into the Wichita State University Fine Arts Hall of Fame (2016).
• Received an honorary doctorate from Wichita State University (2016).

Recordings

• Songs of New York (1984)
• Jerome Kern: Show Boat, conducted by John McGlinn, EMI (1988)
• Cole Porter: Kiss Me Kate, with the London Sinfonietta, EMI (1990, as Hattie)
• Karla Burns...A Spiritual Mosaic (1998)
• Karla Burns and Earnest Alexander – A Christmas Celebration (2001)
• Burns By Request (2004)
• La Burns ... A Red Hot Momma's Tribute, with Mark Foley, JC Combs and Bill Thompson (2005)