Editing Ruby Elzy (section)

==Professional accomplishments==
Elzy entertained at the White House, December 15, 1937, for First Lady [[Eleanor Roosevelt]]'s luncheon for the wives of [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] Justices. She appeared on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in the musical ''[[John Henry (play)|John Henry]]'', in films, on radio and on the concert stage. She appeared with [[Paul Robeson]] in the 1933 film ''[[The Emperor Jones (1933 film)|The Emperor Jones]]'', and also with [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Mary Martin]] in ''[[Birth of the Blues]]'', though neither of these were starring roles. She sang at [[Harlem]]'s [[Apollo Theater]] and in the [[Hollywood Bowl]].

Elzy created the role of Serena in [[George Gershwin]]'s folk opera ''[[Porgy and Bess]]'' and performed in it more than eight hundred times.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ruby Elzy: A Mississippi Jewel {{!}} Mississippi History Now|url=http://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/articles/16/ruby-elzy-a-mississippi-jewel|access-date=2021-09-12|website=www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov}}</ref>  Serena sings the heart-wrenching  soprano [[aria]] and lament "[[My Man's Gone Now]]" after her husband Robbin is murdered during a game of [[craps]]. But fellow cast member and lead soprano [[Anne Brown]] (who occupied the role of  Bess) and not Elzy is actually heard singing the aria on the 1940 original cast album of selections from ''Porgy and Bess.'' Fortunately, Elzy sang the demanding aria on the 1937 CD release of the ''[[Gershwin Memorial Concert]]'' that took place at the Hollywood Bowl three months after the composer's death .