Photo Flash: Tony-Winner André De Shields Visits With St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival's King Lear André De Shields spent Juneteenth, Father's Day and the summer solstice with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones at St. Louis City Hall on June 21.

Mayor Jones attended the opening night performance of King Lear, the first major live theatrical event in the country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and presented St. Louis Shakespeare Festival's Producing Artistic Director Tom Ridgely with a Proclamation naming June 4, 2021 as King Lear/André De Shields Day in the City of St. Louis.

After Mr. De Shields ends his critically acclaimed run of King Lear on June 27, he'll be back in New York rehearsing for his highly anticipated Feinstein's/54 Below solo debut (August 3-7) and his concerts at The Cabaret in Indianapolis (August 12-14).

A showstopper at the age of 75, Mr. De Shields was the triple-crown winner of the 2019 award season, garnering Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk Awards for his role as universally praised role as the messenger to the gods, Hermes, in Hadestown. The Actors' Equity Foundation followed suit with the Richard Seff Award, honoring veteran stage actors' best supporting performances of the year. New York Senator Brad Hoylman presented Mr. De Shields with a Senate Proclamation on Thursday, April 8th, 2021 proclaiming the day "André De Shields Appreciation Day". The surprise proclamation was arranged by producer Tom D'Angora to honor the extensive charity work and activism, along with the public appearances, Mr. De Shields has done for the community this year.

In 2020, Mr. De Shields received the 2020 Grammy Award for Musical Theater Album for Hadestown, the 2020 AUDELCO for Lifetime Achievement, an honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Boston Conservatory at Berklee and the 2020 Red Bull Theater Matador Award for Excellence in Classical Theater. In 2019, he received the 2019 Project1Voice Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2019 SAGE Joyce Warshow Lifetime Achievement Award, The York Theatre Company's 2019 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre, and was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. He received the Key to the City of Baltimore from Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young in August, 2019. Prior to his Tony Award win, Mr. De Shields was best known for his show-stopping performances in four legendary Broadway productions: The Wiz, Ain't Misbehavin' (Emmy Award), Play On! (Tony Nomination), and The Full Monty (Tony Nomination).

In a career spanning fifty one years, he has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, and educator, receiving in 2018 the 8th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Legend Award, and the 33rd Annual Bob Harrington Life Achievement Bistro Award. Among his other accolades are the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival's Living Legend Award and the 2007 Village Voice Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. His film and TV roles include Keys, who first appeared in a 2014 episode of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." He has also appeared on "Law and Order" twice, as Dr. Elvin Simmonds (Custody,1996) and Mr. Miller (Cost of Capital,2006); Dale Rustin on NBC's "New Amsterdam"; Anton Ego in Ratatouille: The TikTok Tok Musical, the Algebra Tutor in "John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch"  on Netflix; Chubby in "Katy Keene" on the CW; and Wyndham on "Almost Family." He can be heard on the podcasts Live From Mount Olympus as Hermes and One Speckled Hen. He can next be seen as Gavin Plimsoll in Charles Busch's  new film, The Sixth Reel. De Shields is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and SDC. andredeshields.com

Photo Credit: Phillip Hamer Photography