July 21, 2020
Nydailynews.com: Tony Award winner André De Shields, others tapped for ‘Ballots Over Broadway’ voter-focused benefit concert
June 07, 2020
CBS Sunday Morning: On Broadway: Keeping the Lights On
COVID-19 has shuttered stages on the Great White Way, but there are some traditions in Broadway theaters that can't be totally turned off. Correspondent Mo Rocca talks with "Hadestown" star André De Shields, multiple Tony-winner Bernadette Peters, Broadway producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper, and Seth Rudetsky & James Wesley, the couple behind the "Stars In the House" web series, about how theater artists are coping with the shutdown by turning to a whole new stage.
June 18, 2020
June 28: BC/EFA Presents Stream of THE NIGHT LARRY KRAMER KISSED ME to Benefit Provincetown Theater
Cast Includes David Drake, Brandon Cordeiro, Robin De Jesús, André De Shields, Claybourne Elder, Rory O'Malley, Anthony Rapp, Wesley Taylor, Chad Ryan, Donald C. Shorter, Jr., Aaron Tone and BD Wong
May 14, 2020
DC Theatre Scene: Viral Monologues’ series “COVID AND INCARCERATION” hard truths, powerful telling
“We have a humanitarian crisis in prison that will blow up in our faces,” says André De Shields, speaking sonorously and looking grave in a clerical collar and a salt-and-pepper beard, as the character in Shakira Senghor’s play A Father’s Sorrow. It is one of the 15 new plays in “COVID and Incarceration,” a special edition this week of the 24 Hour Plays’ online Viral Monologues.
De Shields’ performance in A Father’s Sorrow is mesmerizing, all the more so because his character is based on playwright Senghor’s conversations with a man named Elder Qualls, who has a compelling true story of ongoing injustice to tell.
April 13, 2020
NYTimes.com: Why 'Hair' Has Endured
Members of the original casts of “Hair,” which played in various cities, including, from left: CHARLOTTE CROSSLEY, JAMES RADO, STAN SHAW, NATALIE MOSCO, LEATA GALLOWAY, DAVID PATRICK KELLY, MEAT LOAF, TED LANGE, DALE SOULES, ANDRÉ DE SHIELDS and MARJORIE LIPARI. Photographed at La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in New York City on Feb. 7, 2020. Nicholas Calcose
December 24, 2019
Bustle.com: 'John Mulaney & The #SackLunchBunch' Guest Stars Provide A Delightful Snack Of Entertainment
André De Shields can teach the Sack Lunch Bunch a thing or two about stage performing since he recently won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the Best Musical of the year, Hadestown. He has also appeared on television and won an Emmy for his performance in Ain't Misbehavin' on NBC. He's also currently nominated for the Best Musical Theater Album Grammy for Hadestown. So if he wins that, De Shields will be just an Oscar away from an EGOT.
October 30, 2019
Playbill: Tony Winners Ali Stroker and André De Shields Part of Lincoln Center’s 2020 American Songbook Season
September 09, 2019
Playbill: Hadestown Tony Winner André De Shields, Donna McKechnie, Ann Reinking Among 2019 Theater Hall of Fame Inductees
March 21, 2017
Playbill.com: Broadway-Aimed Musical Hadestown Workshopped With Reeve Carney
Hadestown, the new, award-winning folk opera by Anaïs Mitchell that was seen Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop last spring, will receive a March 24 New York City workshop presentation.
Directed by Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812), Hadestown has undergone revisions to its script and score since its NYTW run. This new version will premiere at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, November 11–December 3.
Previous reports indicate that the creative team is grooming the musical for a Broadway run, though an official announcement has not been made. NYTW is presenting this latest workshop.
Hadestown follows Orpheus’ mythical quest to overcome Hades and regain his one true love, Eurydice. According to production notes, Mitchell’s musical production is inspired by traditions of classic American folk music and vintage New Orleans jazz.
The cast features Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Gizel Jimenez as Eurydice, Patrick Page as Hades, Amber Gray as Persephone, André De Shields as Hermes, as well as Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Rocky Vega, James Brown III, Marcus Choi, LuLu Fall, and Adam Perry.
March 04, 2017
DallasNews.com: DTC's 'Tempest' celebrates community with exuberant Public Works Dallas launch
"André de Shields, one of the five professional actors, deepens and clarifies the journey of a man moving from his desire for power and revenge to forgiveness and a more modest role in an interdependent community. "
August 10, 2016
Broadwayworld.com: André De Shields' New Work CONFESSIONS OF A P.I.M.P. Comes to Victory Gardens This Month
Dennis Zacek and Grippo Stage Co., Inc., will present Confessions of a P.I.M.P., written and performed by André De Shields, and directed by Samuel G. Roberson and Dennis Zacek. The cast also includes Kimberly Lawson and Donica Lynn. Confessions of a P.I.M.P. runs August 26, 27 at 8pm and August 28 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theater, located at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased atwww.victorygardens.org or by calling the box office at 773-871-3000.
June 09, 2016
Broadwayworld.com: Riant Theatre Announces 2016 Pioneer of the Arts Award Winners
The evening will include the presentation of 2016 Pioneer of the Arts Award For Outstanding Achievement In Television and Theatre to the Emmy-winning stage, film and TV actor Joe Morton, Tony Nominee and eight time AUDELCO Award winner, André De Shields, the acclaimed Broadway and television actress Barbara Montgomery, and multiple Grammy Award winner, Broadway musical director and arranger Chapman Roberts.
May 26, 2016
BWW Review: Shakespeare Theatre Company Presents a Bold New THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
Comic timing is essential in Shakespeare, and this cast is up to the task. Andre De Shields, triple-cast as Gremio/Vincentio/Curtis, is an expert at dying a slow, drawn-out death.
May 25, 2016
Broadwayworld.com: Photo Flash: André, Maulik Pancholy, Telly Leung & More Celebrate Opening of STC's THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) presents Ed Sylvanus Iskandar's bold new interpretation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, featuring the music of Duncan Sheik, which opened last night in STC's Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW).
The full cast includes Maulik Pancholy (Broadway: It's Only A Play) "Weeds," "30 Rock") and Peter Gadiot ("Once Upon a Time in Wonderland") leading the cast as Katherina and Petruchio, and features two-time Tony nominee André De Shields (Ain't Misbehavin', The Wiz, The Full Monty, Play On!) as Gremio/Curtis/Vincentio; Oliver Thornton (West End: The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables) as Bianca; Drew Foster (Doctor Zhivago) as Biondello; Rick Hammerly as Widow; Telly Leung (Allegiance, Godspell, Rent, Pacific Overtures and Flower Drum Song) as Lucentio; Gregory Linington as Grumio; Matthew Russell as Tranio; Tom Story as Hortensio; Bernard White as Baptista; with James Crichton, Stephen Elrod, Jamison Foreman, Jackson Knight Pierce, Brian Reisman and Nicholas Yenson rounding out the Ensemble.
The Taming of the Shrew has performances through June 26 at STC's Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW). To purchase tickets or to learn more, patrons can call the box office at 202.547.1122 or visit ShakespeareTheatre.org.
May 12, 2016
Chicago Sun Times: André De Shields to star in return of ‘Woz: A Rock Cabaret’
Jeff Award-winning actor Andre De Shields will be starring as the Wizard in “WOZ: A Rock Cabaret,” returning to Chicago for five performances, July 14-17 at the Victory Gardens Theater (2433 N. Lincoln)
Shields starred on Broadway in the original production of “The Wiz,” and is a veteran of Chicago’s stages including the Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens and the Civic Opera House. “WOZ” is inspired by “The Wizard of Oz,” but the score features rock anthems of the 80s and 90s, according to the official release.
Created by Kimberly Lawson and Will Rogers, “WOZ” is directed by Scott Gryder with music direction by Nick Sula. The show features original cast members Kimberly Lawson (Dorothy), Heather Currie (Wicked Witch), Clara D’Onofrio (Glinda), Edward Fraim (Lion), David Lipschutz Lipschutz (Munchkin, Winkie Soldier), James Nedrud (Tin Man), Kevin Webb (Scarecrow) and Sarah Wurz (Munckin, Winkie Soldier).
Tickets, $40, are available at www.victorygardens.org.
April 18, 2016
André, Maulik Pancholy, Peter Gadiot, Telly Leung and More Set for Ed Sylvanus Iskandar Helmed THE TAMING OF THE SHREW at Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC), May 17 - June 26
The Taming of the Shrew begins preview performances on May 17, celebrates Opening Night on Monday, May 23, and continues through June 26 at STC’s Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW). To purchase tickets or to learn more, patrons can call the box office at 202.547.1122 or visit ShakespeareTheatre.org.
April 04, 2016
Theatermania.com: Santino Fontana, Bryce Pinkham, and More Celebrate 1776
New York City Center Encores! celebrated its run of the classic musical 1776 on April 3.
Santino Fontana headed the cast in the iconic role of John Adams, alongside a diverse group of Broadway favorites. In alphabetical order, the company included John Behlmann (Significant Other) as Thomas Jefferson, Nikki Renée Daniels (The Book of Mormon) as Martha Jefferson, André De Shields (The Full Monty) as Stephen Hopkins, Alexander Gemignani (Violet) as Edward Rutledge, Tony and Emmy winner John Larroquette (Night Court) as Benjamin Franklin, Christiane Noll (Ragtime) as Abigail Adams, Bryce Pinkham (The Heidi Chronicles) as John Dickinson, and Jubilant Sykes (Breath & Imagination) as Richard Henry Lee. The company will also include Kevin Ligon, John-Michael Lyles, Laird Mackintosh, Michael McCormick, Michael Medeiros, Wayne Pretlow, Tom Alan Robbins, Robert Sella, Ric Stoneback, Vishal Vaidya, Nicholas Ward, and Jacob Keith Watson.
March 25, 2016
New Yorker: The Room Where it Happens
The Founding Fathers sing (but don’t rap) in “1776.”
Encores!” revives a pre-“Hamilton” musical, from 1969, also about the birth of our nation.
Of the many allusions woven throughout Lin-Manuel Miranda’s score for “Hamilton”—“The Pirates of Penzance,” the Notorious B.I.G.—one of the funniest comes in Act II, when Alexander Hamilton unveils a published retort to John Adams, declaring, “Sit down, John, you fat motherfucker!” It’s a reference to “Sit Down, John,” the opening number of “1776,” another musical that set the birth of the nation to song. Written by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, it opened on Broadway in 1969 and ran through 1972, the same year a film version was released, starring William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, and a young Blythe Danner. The main characters include some of the Founding Fathers left unseen in “Hamilton”—John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock—and the plot revolves around the overbearing Adams (“I’m obnoxious and disliked,” he sings) and his efforts to goad the Second Continental Congress into signing the Declaration of Independence, even as the delegates bicker and goof off like a rowdy high-school class. (Thomas Jefferson figures in both musicals. In “Hamilton,” he’s a slick pimp daddy who faces off with Hamilton in rap battles; in “1776,” he’s a heartthrob who promises to free his slaves. Which is less likely?)
That “Hamilton” has caused such a commotion is probably why the “Encores!” series plans to revive its predecessor, March 30-April 3 at City Center. The staged reading, directed by Garry Hynes, will feature Santino Fontana as Adams, John Behlmann as Jefferson, and John Larroquette as Franklin. In a nod to “Hamilton”—and a sign of its influence—the cast will be racially mixed, with performers including André De Shields (as the Rhode Island delegate Stephen Hopkins) and Nikki Renée Daniels (as Martha Jefferson) stepping into roles usually played by white actors. An all-minority cast would have been a bolder move (why not a black John Adams?), but what’s clear is that “Hamilton” has gone a long way toward broadening the way the tale of the country’s founding gets told, and deepening our understanding of whose story it really is.
February 29, 2016
Playbill.com: Casting Complete for Encores! 1776
Casting has been announced for the City Center Encores! production of the Tony-winning musical 1776, which will be presented at the New York City venue March 30-April 3.
Directed by Garry Hynes, the limited engagement will feature choreography by Chris Bailey and musical direction by Ben Whiteley.
The cast of the musical, which concerns how the founding fathers drafted the Declaration of Independence, will be headed by John Behlmann (Thomas Jefferson), Nikki Renée Daniels (Martha Jefferson), André De Shields (Stephen Hopkins), Santino Fontana (John Adams), Alexander Gemignani (Edward Rutledge), John Larroquette (Benjamin Franklin), Christiane Noll (Abigail Adams), Bryce Pinkham (John Dickinson) and Jubilant Sykes (Richard Henry Lee) with Terence Archie, Larry Bull, Macintyre Dixon, John Hickok, John Hillner, Kevin Ligon, John-Michael Lyles, Laird Mackintosh, Michael McCormick, Michael Medeiros, Wayne Pretlow, Tom Alan Robbins, Robert Sella, Ric Stoneback, Vishal Vaidya, Nicholas Ward and Jacob Keith Watson.
February 29, 2016
Theatermania: Santino Fontana, André De Shields, John Larroquette to Star in Encores! 1776
Tony nominee Santino Fontana (Cinderella) will head the cast of the upcoming multicultural New York City Center Encores! revival of the classic musical 1776.
Fontana will take on the iconic role of John Adams, alongside a diverse group of Broadway favorites. In alphabetical order, the company includes John Behlmann (Significant Other) as Thomas Jefferson, Nikki Renée Daniels (The Book of Mormon) as Martha Jefferson, André De Shields (The Full Monty) as Stephen Hopkins, Alexander Gemignani (Violet) as Edward Rutledge, Tony and Emmy winner John Larroquette (Night Court) as Benjamin Franklin, Christiane Noll (Ragtime) as Abigail Adams, Bryce Pinkham (The Heidi Chronicles) as John Dickinson, and Jubilant Sykes (Breath & Imagination) as Richard Henry Lee. The company will also include Kevin Ligon, John-Michael Lyles, Laird Mackintosh, Michael McCormick, Michael Medeiros, Wayne Pretlow, Tom Alan Robbins, Robert Sella, Ric Stoneback, Vishal Vaidya, Nicholas Ward, and Jacob Keith Watson
February 29, 2016
Broadwayworld.com: Nikki Renee Daniels, Andre De Shields, John Larroquette & More Will Lead Starry Cast of Encores! 1776
1776 will star Terence Archie, John Behlmann, Larry Bull, Nikki Renée Daniels, André De Shields, Macintyre Dixon, Santino Fontana, Alexander Gemignani, John Hickok, John Hillner, John Larroquette, Kevin Ligon, John-Michael Lyles, Laird Mackintosh, Michael McCormick, Michael Medeiros, Christiane Noll, Bryce Pinkham, Wayne Pretlow, Tom Alan Robbins, Robert Sella, Ric Stoneback, Jubilant Sykes, Vishal Vaidya, Nicholas Ward, and Jacob Keith Watson.
A unique show that presents John Adams (Santino Fontana), Thomas Jefferson (John Behlmann), and Benjamin Franklin (John Larroquette) in all their fractious, fascinating complexity, 1776 features such beloved songs as "Sit Down, John," "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men," and "He Plays the Violin." Written by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, 1776 opened on Broadway on March 16, 1969, and ran for 1217 performances. The Encores! production will be directed by Garry Hynes, and choreography by Chris Bailey and guest music direction by Ben Whiteley. 1776 will run for seven performances at City Center from March 30-April 3.
February 16, 2016
Broadwayworld.com: Photo Flash: André Robin De Shields & Lillias White Visit MAURICE HINES TAPPIN' THRU LIFE
Last night, GOTTA DANCE stars André De Shields and Lillias White visited with Hines and the Manzari Brothers after the show.
Hines directed and choreographed De Shields in the role of Victor, in the pre-Broadway lab of the Earth, Wind and Fire musical HOT FEET in 2005. Last August, John Manzari performed as The Tin Man opposite De Shields' titular role in SummerStage's 40th Anniversary Tribute to The WIZ.
February 14, 2016
Broadwayworld.com: Photo Flash: Two-time Tony Nominee André De Shields Visits Broadway Cast of ALLEGIANCE Backstage
Last night, two-time Tony nominee André De Shields stopped by the Longacre Theatre, his old stomping grounds, to see the Broadway production of Allegiance. De Shields, who is headed to Broadway in the Fall in Gotta Dance, appeared on the Longacre Theatre stage in Ain't Misbehavin' in 1978, and Prymate in 2004. After the show, De Shields visited with the cast onstage. Below, BroadwayWorld has photos of the star with Lea Salonga, George Takei, and more!
December 30, 2015
BWW Review: A Feel Good GOTTA DANCE
The Broadway-bound musical GOTTA DANCE, enjoying a pre-Broadway run at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre through Jan. 17, 2016, is a feel-good romp that showcases the talents of some truly iconic Broadway performers including Andre De Shields, Georgia Engel and Lillias White as well as some here-to-for unknown singing talents of TV and film star Stefanie Powers in her Broadway debut.
The dancers include a widowed Ron (De Shields; who again shows off some fine dance moves and a touching back story in "The Prince of Swing/There You Are")
December 29, 2015
Showbiz Chicago Review: GOTTA DANCE Proves Director JERRY MITCHELL Is Rarified Theatre Royalty
Cast with some of the greatest stage and television icons that rest in our collective memory (including Georgia Engel, Stephanie Powers and the Wiz himself, Andre de Shields) Gotta Dance, is a testament on how the human spirit through friendship can overcome the social stigma of growing older.
December 28, 2015
Broadwayworld.com: Broadway-Bound GOTTA DANCE Officially Opens in Chicago Tonight!
The pre-Broadway World Premiere of GOTTA DANCE officially opens tonight, December 28, and will now play through January 17, 2016, at Broadway In Chicago's Bank of America Theatre (18 W Monroe St, Chicago), before opening on Broadway in the Fall of 2016.
The GOTTA DANCE team includes Tony Award nominee André De Shields, five-time Emmy Award nominee Georgia Engel, television and film icon Stefanie Powers (in her Broadway debut), Tony Award-winner Lillias White, Haven Burton, Lori Tan Chinn, Joanna Jones (NBC's "Sing Off"), Nancy Ticotin, Alexander Aguilar, Adinah Alexander, Sydni Beaudoin, Holly Ann Butler, Paula Caselton, Murphy Cross,Madeleine Doherty, Tracy Jai Edwards, Ari Groover,Colby Lewis, Lenora Nemetz, Lance Roberts, Elise Santora, Jonalyn Saxer, Austin Scott III, Kay Walbye, and Virginia Ann Woodruff.
December 28, 2015
Playbill.com: Broadway-Bound Gotta Dance, Helmed by Jerry Mitchell, Opens Tonight in Chicago
Gotta Dance, a new musical based on the acclaimed 2008 documentary of the same name about professional basketball’s first-ever aged 60-and-older dance team, officially opens Dec. 28 after previews that began Dec. 13 at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre.
Performances continue through Jan. 17, 2016, in Chicago. Opening on Broadway is now scheduled for fall 2016.
The complete cast includes Stefanie Powers, Tony nominee André De Shields, five-time Emmy nominee Georgia Engel, Tony winner Lillias White, Haven Burton, Alexander Aguilar, Lori Tan Chinn, Joanna Jones, Nancy Ticotin, Madeleine Doherty, Tracy Jai Edwards, Lenora Nemetz, Jonalyn Saxer, Kay Walbye, Adinah Alexander, Sydni Beaudoin, Holly Ann Butler, Murphy Cross, Paula Castelon, Ari Groover, Colby Lewis, Lance Roberts, Elise Santora, Austin Scott III and Virginia Ann Woodruff.
December 27, 2015
André De Shields shares with Dean how a stage actor knows he or she is doing the right thing, and why a show can change every time it’s produced. André explains what Gotta Dance means to him, including the need to continue making the most of life past major life milestones.
December 18, 2015
nwitimes.com: Gotta Dance lands in Chicago
Starring in "Gotta Dance" are Stefanie Powers of "Hart to Hart" fame; André De Shields, Georgia Engel of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"; and Lillias White.
De Shields, who began his career in Chicago in 1969, recently received an award for Excellence in the Arts by The Theatre School of DePaul University.
The actor said he likes the messages in "Gotta Dance."
He added maturing and getting older is often equated with "falling apart, being decrepit and getting useless." But if you flip the coin, he said, through the act of maturing, you're "meeting new people" and learning from each other.
Director Mitchell also believes the messages in "Gotta Dance" are good ones.
"(The seniors in the show are saying) 'Don't count us out. We can still be vibrant members of society." He said the strong characters of the seniors prevail as they believe "Your only limitations are the ones you put on yourself."
Mitchell said he and De Shields "go back 15 years," to when he was working on "The Full Monty" and De Shields starred in the show.
"He was 55 then, which is my age now, and now he'll be 70," Mitchell said. The director said he's enjoying watching the progress of the actors as they learn the hip-hop steps. "They're getting so good," he said, about the performers he calls "seasoned professionals."
Mitchell encourages audience members who see the show to "Go out and look at your own life. ... Join in and get involved."
FYI: "Gotta Dance" continues through Jan. 17 at Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe, Chicago. For tickets and more information, call (800) 775-2000 or visit BroadwayInChicago.com.
December 17, 2015
theatermania.com: Broadway: Beyond The Golden Age to Premiere at Palm Springs International Film Festival
Director Rick McKay's Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age, a sequel to his 2004 filmBroadway: The Golden Age, will make its world premiere at the 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, which runs January 1-11.
The new film, the second installment in McKay's Broadway trilogy, will once again feature never-before-seen footage and interviews with over 100 legendary stars. Together with his legendary cast, McKay tells the story of the heyday of Broadway from 1959 to 1983, utilizing interviews commingled with performance footage, home movies, and photos.
McKay pays special attention to minorities on Broadway, including the story of Jane White, whose father was the head of the NAACP in the 50's when Jane went "white face" to play the queen in 1959's Once Upon a Mattress. Original cast members Ken Page, André de Shields, Armelia McQueen, and Charlaine Woodard also tell the story of the birth of Ain't Misbehavin'.
December 15, 2015
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Gotta Dance
Lenora Nemetz and Virginia Ann Woodruff, Broadway veterans with Pittsburgh ties, are among the cast of New York-bound “Gotta Dance,” about pro basketball’s first 60-and-older dance team. The show has been extended one week, through Jan. 17, during its pre-Broadway run at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre, the producers announced via press release. “Gotta Dance” stars André De Shields, Georgia Engel, Lillias White and Stefanie Powers in her Broadway debut.
December 14, 2015
Broadwayworld.com: GOTTA DANCE Extends Pre-Broadway Run in Chicago
Producers Dori Berinstein and Bill Damaschke have announced that Gotta Dance, the new Broadway-bound musical comedy about professional basketball's first ever aged 60-and-older dance team, has extended one week on the heels of its first performance in Chicago on December 13. The pre-Broadway World Premiere of Gotta Dance will now play through January 17, 2016, at Broadway In Chicago's Bank of America Theatre (18 W Monroe St, Chicago), before opening on Broadway in the Fall of 2016.
The Gotta Dance team includes Tony Award nominee André De Shields, five-time Emmy Award nominee Georgia Engel, television and film icon Stefanie Powers (in her Broadway debut), Tony Award-winner Lillias White, Haven Burton, Lori Tan Chinn, Joanna Jones (NBC's "Sing Off"), Nancy Ticotin, Alexander Aguilar, Adinah Alexander, Sydni Beaudoin, Holly Ann Butler, Paula Caselton,Murphy Cross, Madeleine Doherty, Tracy Jai Edwards, Ari Groover, Colby Lewis, Lenora Nemetz, Lance Roberts,Elise Santora, Jonalyn Saxer, Austin Scott III, Kay Walbye, and Virginia Ann Woodruff.s item about? What makes it interesting? Write a catchy description to grab your audience's attention...
December 14, 2015
Chicago Tribune: 'Gotta Dance' pushes back Broadway opening to fall 2016
"Gotta Dance," now in previews at the Bank of America theater, will open on Broadway in the fall of 2016. The new musical comedy with a book by Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar and Nell Benjamin, with additional music by Marvin Hamlisch, was slated to open on Broadway this spring. The later opening will offer more time to procure a theater and takes "Gotta Dance" out of comeptition with the season's mega-hit "Hamilton."
Directed by Jerry Mitchell, "Gotta Dance" tells the story of a senior citizen hip-hop dance team that hopes to score big on center court. The cast stars AndréDe Shields, Georgia Engel, Stefanie Powers, Lillias White, Haven Burton, Lori Tan Chinn, Joanna Jones and Nancy Ticotin, along with Alexander Aguilar, Adinah Alexander, Sydni Beaudoin, Holly Ann Butler, Paula Caselton, Murphy Cross, Madeleine Doherty, Tracy Jai Edwards, Ari Groover, Colby Lewis, Lenora Nemetz, Lance Roberts, Elise Santora, Jonalyn Saxer, Austin Scott III, Kay Walbye and Virginia Ann Woodruff.
The Chicago production has extended one week and will now play through Jan. 17 at the Bank of America , 18 W. Monroe St.
December 13, 2015
Theatermania.com:Gotta Dance Set for World Premiere
Broadway in Chicago presents Gotta Dance at the PrivateBank Theatre starting tonight.
Based on a true story, the musical revolves around 10 dancers who audition to dance at the half time show for a major NBA team. They all love to dance, they all have something to prove, and they are all over 60. It's only after making the cut that they find out they will be dancing in a style that is completely new to all of them. Instead of tap, salsa, or swing, they will have to dance hip-hop. This group of ordinary seniors take on prejudice, self-doubt, and one another, for a chance to live their dream in front of 20,000 screaming fans.
The show features a book by Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and is directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell.
The cast includes André De Shields, Georgia Engel, Lillias White, Stefanie Powers, Haven Burton, Lori Tan Chinn, Nancy Ticotin, Joanna Jones, Madeline Doherty, Tracy Jai Edwards, Diane Findlay, Lenora Nemetz, Jonalyn Saxer, Kay Walbye, Alexander Aguilar, Adinah Alexander, Sydni Beaudoin, Holly Ann Butler, Paula Castelon, Ari Groover, Colby Lewis, Lance Roberts, Elise Santora, Austin Scott III, and Virginia Ann Woodruff.
The creative team includes Marvin Hamlisch (additional music), David Rockwell (set design), Gregg Barnes (costume design), Peter Hylenski (sound design), Nick Kenkel (co-choreography), Larry Hochman (orchestrations), and Charlie Alterman (musical direction).Performances will run through January 17.
For tickets and more information, click here. this item about? What makes it interesting? Write a catchy description to grab your audience's attention...
December 13, 2015
Playbill.com: Broadway-Bound Gotta Dance, Starring Lillias White, André De Shields and Georgia Engel, Bows in Chicago
Gotta Dance, a new musical based on the acclaimed 2008 documentary of the same name about professional basketball’s first-ever aged 60-and-older dance team, premieres Dec. 13 at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre.
Dori Berinstein and Bill Damaschke produce the musical that is directed and choreographed by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell. The production is scheduled to open Dec. 28 and will continue through Jan. 10, 2016,
December 11, 2015
Daily Herald: Broadway-aimed 'Gotta Dance' mixes hip-hop with show biz veterans
Georgia Engel says she is wowed every day by her co-star André De Shields, whose credits include the original Broadway production of "The Wiz" back in 1975."André De Shields is inexhaustible. He dances with the young ones and they can't keep up with him," Engel said. "Stamina is a state of mind as well as a physical thing."...
December 10, 2015
Chicago Crusader: The great André Robin De Shields talks Gotta Dance and his long theatre career
After a great television production of The Wiz Live that went “new school” with a cast that included Common, Queen Latifah, and Orange is the New Black’s Uzo Aduba, Chicago will be treated to the talents of an “old-school” performer who fantastically played the character of “The Wiz” in the original Broadway production in 1975.”
André De Shields is in a current production of “Gotta Dance,” and most recently received the Excellence in the Arts Award from DePaul University’s Theater School. He shared some insight into his long, brilliant career and his thoughts about receiving the award. The Baltimore-born De Shields has performed in King Hedley II, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Jungle Book, among a number of off-Broadway and Broadway productions.
“This is a very arresting, as well as a very accessible human-interest story, and the cast is so full of reverence, respect and finesse,” said the ever-charismatic DeShields, who will celebrate his 70th birthday in January, and whose 47-year-long career includes memorable work on Broadway (“The Full Monty,” “The Wiz,” “Ain’t Misbehavin'”), as well as at the Goodman Theatre (“The Jungle Book”).
DeShields plays Ron, a 60-plus widower (he is a white man in the documentary) still grieving for his wife, who died two years earlier.
“He is mourning by withdrawing from life — just sitting on a couch in his basement watching TV,” said the actor, who grew up in Baltimore as one of 11 children, graduated from the University of Wisconsin, initially came to Chicago to perform in “Hair,” and then joined the Organic Theater Company founded by his college friend, Stuart Gordon. “Ron’s story is a cautionary tale, because if you stop engaging in life, life will stop engaging with you. My character is hardly a fan of hip-hop; he met his wife swing dancing and dubs himself ‘The Prince of Swing.’ But he realizes he can celebrate his wife by getting back into life. I also happen to be the only man in this senior citizens hip hop group.”
As for his own dancing, DeShields notes: “I’m a fan of the cultural revolution hip-hop has become. And I’ve been dancing all my life. So as they say, ‘I can drop it like it’s hot’. The challenge is that all my previous dance training has been about defying gravity, while in hip hop you put all the energy into the floor. I negotiate with my bones each morning, and as I’ve matured I’ve turned to yoga and spin cycling, which are easier on the joints.”
December 04, 2015
"Gotta Dance" will begin its pre-Broadway tryout performances in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre on Dec. 13, likely landing on Broadway in the spring or fall.
Limbering up in the corner is the genuinely incomparable André De Shields, once "The Wiz" and now aged 69. Seated at the rear is the five-time Emmy nominee Georgia Engel, who was born in 1948. Ready to go is Lillias White, who first danced on Broadway some 34 years ago. Looking a little sheepish is Lori Tan Chinn, a legendary performer now well known for her work on "Orange is the New Black," but whose Broadway credits actually date to "Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentleman" in 1970. (The year 1970, incidentally, came and went well prior to the birth of one of the leading "juniors" in the show, Haven Burton).
And in middle of the studios stands Stefanie Powers.
December 01, 2015
TimeOutChicago: André De Shields as Ron in Gotta Dance
André De Shields’s career has seen him dazzle in Broadway hits like The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and The Full Monty, but it all began in the 1969 Chicago production of Hair at the Shubert Theatre. He’s set to return to the space—now the Bank of America Theatre—in Gotta Dance. “For me, this is a little bit of destiny playing itself out in my life,” De Shields says.
He portrays Ron, a widower who becomes the only man on the senior dance team after auditioning on a dare. The two-time Tony Award nominee says the team experience “turns Ron’s head and his life around and reminds him, as it does with all of the characters in the show, that if you don’t go after life, it is not gonna come after you.”
The actor says he started his career by just “going after life”: On a whim, he drove to Chicago during his senior year as an English major at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to audition for Hair. Three years later, he went to New York with the cast of the Organic Theater Company’s Warp!. he stayed in New York to pursue a Broadway career but regularly returns to Chicago for work. “I could not have guessed, having left Chicago in 1972, that I would have this 45-year love affair with the city,” De Shields says. “My lifetime friends are in Chicago. The people who mentored me are in Chicago.”
De Shields vividly remembers the moment he knew he would become a performer—“my epiphany,” he calls it. He would spend entire Saturdays at the movies as a youngster in Baltimore, watching Flash Gordon or musicals with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. “Even as a child, I thought, ‘None of these people really look like me, but I’m having a good time.’” Then one day the feature was Cabin in the Sky, a Vincente Minnelli picture with an all-black cast. De Shields
remembers that while he watched performer John Bubbles execute an elaborate dance number “that voice that lives inside all of us said to me, ‘André, that’s what you’re going to do.’”