Two-Time Tony Nominee André De Shields, Nehal Joshi, Akash Chopra and More Set for Mary Zimmerman helmed The Jungle Book at The Goodman, 6/21-8/4 and The Huntington, 9/7-10/6

André De Shields will receive the Living Legend Award. Photo by Lia Chang

Two-time Tony nominee and Emmy Award winning actor André De Shields (The Full Monty, Play On!, The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin’) stars as King Louie, the ambitious-but-scattered, comic, dreaming orangutan, in the Mary Zimmerman helmed production of The Jungle Book, a world premiere stage adaptation which premieres at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre on June 21, 2013 and has performances through August 4, 2013. The production will play at the Huntington in Boston from September 7 – October 6, 2013. Based on Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling’s 1893 collection of stories set in the Indian jungle and Walt Disney’s 1967 animated film, Zimmerman’s adaptation of The Jungle Book is a music- and movement-filled adventure of young Mowgli’s coming-of-age in the animal kingdom. For tickets and more information on The Jungle Book, click here.

The cast blends longtime Zimmerman collaborators with newcomers – including ten-year-old Akash Chopra as Mowgli, the young, spunky, and stubborn boy. Joining him will be Usman Ally (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Second Stage Theatre) as Bagheera, the wise old panther who is serious about the rules of life and the laws of the jungle; Elena Flores (The House on Mango Street at Steppenwolf Theatre Company) as Raksha, the warm, fawning Mother Wolf (replacing Anjali Bhimani who will appear in Chicago); Kevin Carolan (Newsies on Broadway) as Baloo the bear, the carefree and irresponsible tutor to Mowgli; Glory Curda as the Little Girl; Thomas Derrah of Boston (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the Huntington) as Kaa, the sinewy, serpentine sly-but-charming villain; Nehal Joshi (LES MISERABLES on Broadway) as Rama, a wolf leader; and Larry Yando (Candide at the Huntington) as Shere Khan the tiger, the crafty, powerful and dangerous arch-villain.

An ensemble of actors, dancers, and singers create Kipling’s “people of the jungle”- vultures, monkeys, elephants, wolves, and more-including Jeremy Duvall, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Monique Haley, Ed Kross, Govind Kumar, Alka Nayyar, Geoff Packard (title role in Candide at the Huntington), Timothy Wilson, and Victor Wisehart.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be returning to Boston and then to Huntington,” says adaptor and director Zimmerman, whose 2011 production of Candide was the Huntington’s highest grossing musical in its 31-year history. “I love the theatre and its audience. Our challenge with this adaptation is to combine the profundity, beauty, and even strangeness of Kipling’s stories with the spirit and music of the film, which is all joy, joy, joy. I’m incredibly excited to work with this wildly talented ensemble of actors, singers, and dancers to create the world of the play. It is always joyful to reunite with many of my longtime collaborators, but it is also thrilling to add so many new voices into the fold.”

“Having worked with Mary on remounts of some of her very successful shows, I was excited for the opportunity to collaborate on a new work with her,” says Usman Ally. “Kipling’s stories as well as the Disney animation were quite a big part of my childhood, and it’s a unique position to be in working on the world premiere of the stage version. I’m looking forward to working with an ethnically and artistically diverse team in telling this story that is set in my parents’ part of the world.”

On collaborating with Zimmerman for the first time, André De Shields remarked, “I experienced Metamorphoses on Broadway in 2002, and was psychologically, emotionally, and physically mesmerized by the ease of the director’s ability to use the myths of the realm of the gods to decode the sometimes paralyzing riddles of the human condition. I sat entranced and thought, ‘I must work with this director.’ That director was Mary Zimmerman. And now with The Jungle Book, I am excited about the possibility of achieving something similar by using the myths of the natural world.”

André De Shields most recently appeared at the Goodman in Camino Real during the 2011/2012 Season. Previous Goodman credits include Play On! (Jeff Award; Black Theater Alliance Award) and Waiting for Godot. Other Chicago credits include The Gospel According to James at Victory Gardens Theater; Poe and Warp! at Organic Theater Company; Hair (professional debut) at the Shubert Theater and The Me Nobody Knows at Civic Stage. He has appeared on Broadway in Impressionism, Prymate (Drama Desk Award nomination), The Full Monty (Tony Award nomination), Play On! (Tony Award nomination), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Drama Desk Award nomination) and The Wiz. Mr. De Shields’ off-Broadway credits include Knock Me a Kiss (Audelco Award for Best Actor) at the New Federal Theatre and The Bacchae at the New York Shakespeare Festival. He has appeared on film in Extreme Measures, and his television credits include ‘Law & Order,’ “Sex and the City,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “Life on Mars,” “Rescue Me,” “Cosby” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (Emmy Award). Mr. De Shields won a Jeff Award for Best Director for The Colored Museum at Victory Gardens Theater, and was the choreographer for Bette Midler and the Harlettes at The Happy Medium. Mr. De Shields is a recipient of the 2012 Fox Foundation Fellowship/Distinguished Achievement, and will be completing his residency at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater. www.andredeshields.com.

The Jungle Book is produced by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions, which proudly supports Zimmerman’s development of this title, providing financial support, creative consultation, and access to song material never before heard onstage. “Working with Mary Zimmerman as she and her astonishing team begin to bring the show to life has been a joy,” said Thomas Schumacher, producer and president of Disney Theatrical Productions. “As this cast of world-class stage actors proves, she has always attracted the very best theatre collaborators and we cannot wait to see what they’ll conjure.”

Legendary Academy Award and Grammy winner Richard M. Sherman is collaborating on this production, providing Doug Peck (Music Director, Piano, and Harmonium) access and permission to adapt beloved songs that Sherman and his brother, Robert, wrote for the film, unused songs written for the film, plus new lyrics written for this production.

“Favorites like ‘The Bare Necessities’ and ‘Trust in Me’ will make great appearances,” says Peck, who attended two music festivals while in India to explore the country’s Northern Classical/Hindustani and Southern Classical/Carnatic traditions. “‘Colonel Hathi’ will probably feel like a musical/dance highlight-one of the biggest moments-and ‘Baloo’s Blues’ will be the debut of a new piece of material. The all-new orchestration includes a blend of Western instruments (piano, bass, drums, trumpet, trombone, tuba, flute, clarinet, saxophone) and traditional Indian instruments (harmonium, sitar, veena, tablas, tanpura, ghatam, Carnatic violin).

Eight musicians from the Chicago production will travel to Boston with Peck to play in the 12-member orchestra that will feature a blend of jazz and Indian instruments: Victor Garcia (Trumpet); Shivalik Ghoshal (Tabla); Ronnie Malley (Percussion); Nick Moran (Woodwinds); Saraswathi Ranganathan (Veena); and Anuradha Sridhar (Violin). A sitar player will join the orchestra, along with a drummer/percussionist, a trombonist); a bassist; and a woodwinds player.

The creative team also includes Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Broadway’s Newsies – also Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), who will work with choreographer/dancer Hema Rajagopalan, (founder and artistic director of Chicago’s Natya Dance Theatre) to combine elements of classical Indian dance forms with jazz, tap, and other types of movement to enhance the storytelling.

Scenic Designer Daniel Ostling, Costume Designer Mara Blumenfeld, and Lighting Designer T.J. Gerckens-each of whom have collaborated with Zimmerman over the past two decades on a wide range of projects in theatre (Candide at the Huntington, Arabian Nights, Metamorphoses, and more) and opera (Lucia di Lammermoor and La Sonnambula for The Metropolitan Opera)-reconvene to create Mowgli’s world on stage.

“Our set will have elements that are familiar to the audiences who know The Jungle Book but, at the same time, will be a world completely different from what they may be expecting,” said Ostling. “Our India trip informed many of the choices we’re making; we’re trying to capture the riot of color, sound, and visual stimuli that come at you from every direction when you walk down the street. We want to take the audience on a beautiful visual and musical trip.”

Of the costumes, Blumenfeld said, “The challenge is how to represent a world of characters that are animals. We’ve been very inspired by Kipling’s description of the animals as ‘people’-Wolf People, the Monkey People, the Snake People, etc.-and many descriptions of their physical attributes are in human terms-Bagheera’s ‘black watermarked silk coat’ or Kaa ‘shedding his skin like a tight-fitting jacket.’ So, inspired by clothing from the rich traditions of India (and the British presence in India during the time of Kipling’s youth) we hope to give each group of animals their own distinct look and a very human element.”

Sound Designers Josh Horvath, Ray Nardelli, and Andre Pluess complete the design team.

Lia Chang. Photo by Bruce Alan Johnson

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. This summer she will appear as Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, Lorey Hayes, Marcus Naylor and Penwah, July 30-August 1, 2013.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: Maurice Hines, Jonathan Groff, Mercedes Ellington, Charles Randolph Wright at The Laurie Beechman for André De Shields’s I PUT A SPELL ON YOU
Click here for more articles on Andre De Shields.
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Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Lia Chang Photos: Maurice Hines, Jonathan Groff, Mercedes Ellington, Charles Randolph Wright at The Laurie Beechman for André De Shields’ I PUT A SPELL ON YOU

Freida Williams, André De Shields and Marléne Danielle in concert at The Laurie Beechman on October 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

André De Shields in I Put a Spell on You at The Laurie Beechman on October 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Following a sold-out engagement of his acclaimed theatrical concert BLACK BY POPULAR DEMAND at the Laurie Beechman Theatre last May, two-time Tony Award nominated and Emmy Award winning performer André De Shields returned to the cabaret stage for his latest theatrical concert, I PUT A SPELL ON YOU on Friday, October 5, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre Downstairs at The West Bank Café in New York.

Larry Spivak, Freida Williams, André De Shields and Marléne Danielle in concert at The Laurie Beechman on October 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

The evening featured De Shields along with his longtime partners in crime, vocalists Freida Williams and Marléne Danielle, with accompaniment by pianist Larry Spivack, and special guest appearances by vocalist Ula Hedwig and composer Steve Margoshes.

Freida Williams, Ula Hedwig and Marléne Danielle in concert at The Laurie Beechman on October 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Certainly no stranger to New York’s famed cabaret scene, De Shields reigned as King of Cabaret during the 1970s with the creation of his innovative theatrical concerts in such popular clubs as Reno Sweeney, Horn of Plenty, The Grand Finale, Les Mouches, The Club at La MaMa and many other venues around the world. The Hollywood Reporter dubbed De Shields “the most lethal pelvis since Elvis!”

Composer Steve Margoshes in concert at The Laurie Beechman on October 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Maurice Hines, Jonathan Groff, Mercedes Ellington, Motown helmer Charles Randolph Wright, Mark Nadler, James Rado, Kimberly Grigsby were among the standing room audience that leapt to their feet at the end of the concert with wild applause.

Maurice Hines, André De Shields and Motown helmer Charles Randolph Wright
at The Laurie Beechman on October 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

James Rado, Jonathan Groff, Kimberly Grigsby and André De Shields at The Laurie Beechman on October 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

André De Shields in I Put a Spell on You at The Laurie Beechman on October 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

De Shields and Company will be performing one more show tonight at 11:00 PM. General admission tickets booked in advance are $25 plus $15 food/beverage minimum. Tickets are available at www.smarttix.com or by calling 212-868-4444. The Laurie Beechman Theatre Downstairs at The West Bank Café (407 West 42 Street) in New York.

André De Shields was recently awarded a Fox Foundation Fellowship Grant for Distinguished Achievement of $25,000 to support his work at the Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago. De Shields will further develop his experimental methodology, The Golden Triangle and the 5W Stack/Inner Athlete System. He will deepen this unique style of Griot Performance Art that combines rigorous physical exertion, discipline and contemplation through a new, original work, Confessions of a P.I.M.P. (Positive Individual Making Progress). De Shields will also mentor artists and young people in Victory’s Poets Conservatory and school programs. De Shields’ residency at Victory Gardens will begin in the Spring, 2013.

André De Shields in I Put a Spell on You at The Laurie Beechman on October 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

In a career spanning more than forty years, De Shields has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, choreographer and educator. He is the recipient of the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award, the 2009 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical/Male (Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe), and the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. De Shields is best known for his show stopping performances in the original Broadway productions of four legendary musicals: The Full Monty, for which he received Tony, Drama Desk and Astaire Award nominations, in addition to both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards; Play On! (Tony nomination), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Emmy Award) and The Wiz (title role). He recently performed a featured role in Chicago’s Goodman Theatre production of Camino Real and the New York Times had this to say “De Shields essentially walks off with the show, or rather slinks off with it!”

André De Shields as W.E.B. Du Bois in Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss © Lia Chang

De Shields is currently in rehearsal to reprise his role as W.E.B. Du Bois in KNOCK ME A KISS (by Charles Smith) at Crossroads Theatre Company in New Brunswick, NJ. The show called “a dandy play…rollicking fun” by the New York Times, runs from October 25 through November 4.

For more information, visit www.andredeshields.com.

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Other articles by Lia Chang:
Photos: Tonya Pinkins, André De Shields, S. Epatha Merkerson, Billy Porter and George C. Wolfe at 54 Below
André De Shields Returns to The Laurie Beechman Theatre with I Put A Spell on You, October 5 and 12
Black By Popular Demand’s André De Shields on Seth Rudetsky’s Sirius XM radio show “Seth Speaks” & in person at Don’t Tell Mama for Chatterbox
André De Shields in BLACK BY POPULAR DEMAND at the Laurie Beechman, 5/4, 5/11 & 5/18
Multimedia: Manu Narayan Dazzles as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse’s Revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross
Signature Theatre’s Production of Golden Child by David Henry Hwang has been extended through December 9, 2012
David Henry Hwang to Receive the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the 5th Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on October 29, 2012
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Lia Chang Photos: Tonya Pinkins, André De Shields, S. Epatha Merkerson, Billy Porter and George C. Wolfe at 54 Below

Billy Porter, Tonya Pinkins and André De Shields. Photo by Lia Chang

On the last Monday in August, the joint was jumpin’ at 54 BELOW for Tonya Pinkins who performed excerpts from Hurricane Ethel, her upcoming one woman show written in collaboration with director Dennis Courtney.

The actress, who won a Tony Award for Jelly’s Last Jam, was transcendent as she channelled Ethel Waters, the legendary African-American actress and jazz-era singer who was America’s first International superstar of any race, weaving a vibrant tapestry of characters instrumental in Waters’ life, and highlighting the canon of songs in the Great American Songbook written especially for her golden pipes.

Many in the theater community turned out on this sultry summer night to join her in celebrating the iconic entertainer, including André De Shields, George Faison, David Ives, S. Epatha Merkerson, Billy Porter, Elaine Stritch, Jeanine Tesori, Charles Turner, George C. Wolfe, Colleen Zenk, and Pinkins’ son Maxx Brawer.

George C. Wolfe, Tonya Pinkins and S. Epatha Merkerson. Photo by Lia Chang

Born on October 31, 1896 in Chesterfield, PA., Ethel Waters was a pioneer as an African American artist in the entertainment field whose talents and accomplishments were peerless. She was the first black woman heard on the radio, the first black singer to perform on television, the first African American to perform in an integrated cast on Broadway, the first black woman to perform in a lead dramatic role on Broadway, and the first African American to receive equal billing on Broadway. source: http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/musician.php?id=11192

Jeanine Tesori,Tonya Pinkins and George Faison. Photo by Lia Chang

Ms. Pinkins, accompanied by her musical director Barry Levitt on piano, Dick Sarpola on bass, and Waldren Ricks on trumpet, sang arrangements of songs that Waters made famous and utilized signature tunes as signposts to tell the story of the famed singer’s life. Her set list included “I Got Rhythm,” “You Can’t Do What My Last Man Did,” “Last of the Red Hot Mamas,” “Come Up and See Me Sometime,” “Go Back Where You Stayed Last Night,” “St. Louis Blues,” “Lil Black Boy,” “Eli Eli,” “Heatwave,” “Dinah,” “Old Man Harlem/ Harlem on My Mind,” “Moon Glow/Taking a Chance on Love,” “Honey in the Honeycomb/Happiness is a Thing Called Joe/Cabin in the Sky Medley,” “Suppertime,” “Stormy Weather,” “Handyman,” “Black and Blue,” and “A Hundred Years from Today.”

On Broadway, Ms. Waters starred in As Thousands Cheer, At Home Abroad, Mamba’s Daughters, Cabin in the Sky, and Member of the Wedding. She was an indelible presence in the films Cabin in the Sky, The Member of the Wedding,The Sound and the Fury, and Pinky, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1949, following Hattie McDaniel as the second Black woman to be nominated for an Oscar. The following year, she won the New York Drama Critics Award for best actress. Ms. Waters starred in the television show “Beaulah,” wrote her autobiography “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” with Charles Samuel, and in the late Fifties, performed and toured with evangelist Billy Graham until her death in 1977.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Waters

Tonya Pinkins (Photo by Lia Chang)

In the past twelve months alone, Tonya Pinkins has given five critically acclaimed performances in roles as diverse as an aging Countess, a syphilitic Bawd, a bitter ghetto mom, a diabetic great grandmother and a faithful Latina from the Bronx. Her performance in Milk Like Sugar won the 2012 Lucille Lortel Award. On Broadway, Ms. Pinkins made her debut in the original cast of Merrily We Roll Along, appeared in Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Play On!, The Wild Party, Caroline, or Change, and Radio Golf. Television audiences are most familiar with her from “As The World Turns,” “All My Children” and “Army Wives”.

Maxx Brawer and his mom Tonya Pinkins. Photo by Lia Chang

Her performances have been nominated for the Olivier, Jefferson, Helen Hayes, NAACP, Dramaleague, What’s On Stage, Audience Choice, Soap Opera Digest, Noel and Ovation awards. She is the winner of the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critic’s Circle, Clarence Derwent, Monarch, Black theater Alliance, Garland, L.A. Drama Critics, Audelco and Obie Awards.

OPRAH named her “One of the ten women in America who will take your breath away” and TIME OUT New York included Ms. Pinkins as One of Broadways 25 all Time Greatest Divas. www.tonyapinkins.com

Director Dennis Courtney staged a re-envisioned production of Fiddler on the Roof (currently in its 5th year running in Tel Aviv) as the official production for the 60th Anniversary of Israel, for which he won the Israeli National Theatre Award. He recently directed the off-Broadway premiere of Civil War Voices (6 MITF Awards). He has been the director/choreographer of over 150 stage productions including Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby (Los Angeles Drama Critics and DramaLogue Awards for Direction & Choreography) and Can-Can with Leslie Uggams. Mr. Courtney has conceived and staged special events and award shows, working with such performers as Bette Midler, Celine Dion, Quincy Jones, Warren Beatty, The Bacon Brothers & David Letterman. On television, Mr. Courtney directed the 5th season opener of TV’s “Perfect Strangers.”

54 BELOW is owned and operated by Tony Award winning producers Tom Viertel, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, and Steven Baruch. 54 BELOW features up to three shows nightly and has audio and video recording capabilities. The cover charge ranges from $5-$85.

54 BELOW is located at 254 West 54th Street. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.com.

Tonya Pinkins and Colleen Zenk. Photo by Lia Chang

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Jennifer Lim, Julyana Soelistyo, Greg Watanabe Set for Signature Theatre’s Production of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child, October 23-December 2, 2012
Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins Celebrates Ethel Waters at 54 Below in New York on August 27, 2012
Faith Prince and Jason Graae: The Prince & the Showboy in Concert at 54 Below, August 21-25, 2012
André De Shields Returns to The Laurie Beechman Theatre with I Put A Spell on You, October 5 and 12
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Photos: Tonya Pinkins, Billy Eugene Jones, Matthew Murumba and Toccarra Cash in Reading of Camille Darby’s Lords Resistance
Reading of Camille Darby’s Lords Resistance Stars Tonya Pinkins, Billy Eugene Jones, Tocarra Cash and Matthew Murumba at The Red Room on January 18
MTC’s An Enemy of The People Starring Boyd Gaines and Richard Thomas Begin Previews at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Tony Award – winning Playwright Terrence McNally to be Honored at Westport Country Playhouse Annual Gala, September 24, 2012
Signature Theatre’s World Premiere of Sam Shepard’s Heartless Starring Lois Smith, Gary Cole, Jenny Bacon, Betty Gilpin, and Julianne Nicholson Extends through September 30, 2012
Sean Dugan Set for West Coast Premiere of George C. Wolfe’s Tony Award-Winning Production of The Normal Heart at A.C.T., September 13 – October 7, 2012
David Henry Hwang to Receive the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the 5th Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on October 29, 2012
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

André De Shields Returns to The Laurie Beechman Theatre with I Put A Spell on You, October 5 and 12

André De Shields Photo by Lia Chang

Following an SRO engagement of his acclaimed theatrical concert BLACK BY POPULAR DEMAND at the Laurie Beechman Theatre last May, two-time Tony Award nominated and Emmy Award winning performer André De Shields returns to the cabaret stage! His latest theatrical concert, I PUT A SPELL ON YOU will be performed for two shows only, Friday evenings October 5 and 12 at The Laurie Beechman Theatre Downstairs at The West Bank Café (407 West 42 Street). Showtime is 11:00 PM. General admission tickets booked in advance are $25 plus $15 food/beverage minimum. Tickets are available at www.smarttix.com or by calling 212-868-4444.

Certainly no stranger to New York’s famed cabaret scene, De Shields reigned as King of Cabaret during the 1970s with the creation of his innovative theatrical concerts in such popular clubs as Reno Sweeney, Horn of Plenty, The Grand Finale, Les Mouches, The Club at La MaMa and many other venues around the world. The Hollywood Reporter dubbed De Shields “the most lethal pelvis since Elvis!”

I PUT A SPELL ON YOU will feature De Shields along with his longtime partners in crime, vocalists Freida Williams and Marléne Danielle, with accompaniment by pianist Larry Spivack, and special guest appearance by composer Steve Margoshes.

In a career spanning more than forty years, André De Shields has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, choreographer and educator. He is the recipient of the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award, the 2009 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical/Male (Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe), and the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. De Shields is best known for his show stopping performances in the original Broadway productions of four legendary musicals: The Full Monty, for which he received Tony, Drama Desk and Astaire Award nominations, in addition to both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards; Play On! (Tony nomination), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Emmy Award) and The Wiz (title role). He recently performed a featured role in Chicago’s Goodman Theatre production of Camino Real and the New York Times had this to say “De Shields essentially walks off with the show, or rather slinks off with it!” For more information go to www.andredeshields.com

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Black By Popular Demand’s André De Shields on Seth Rudetsky’s Sirius XM radio show “Seth Speaks” & in person at Don’t Tell Mama for Chatterbox
André De Shields in BLACK BY POPULAR DEMAND at the Laurie Beechman, 5/4, 5/11 & 5/18
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Black By Popular Demand’s André De Shields on Seth Rudetsky’s Sirius XM radio show “Seth Speaks” & in person at Don’t Tell Mama for Chatterbox on May 3

André De Shields and Seth Rudetsky (Photo by Merle Frimark)

Two-time Tony Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Broadway favorite André De Shields visits Seth Rudetsky on “Seth Speaks” on Sirius XM radio this week. Tune in May 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 at 11AM ET and May 5 at 11PM ET to hear De Shields shooting the breeze with Seth and singing “Big Black Man” from the hit Broadway musical The Full Monty. “Seth Speaks” airs on Sirius XM Stars channel 107.

De Shields is bringing his theatrical concert, BLACK BY POPULAR DEMAND to the Laurie Beechman Theatre for 3 shows only, Friday nights, May 4, 11 and 18 at 11:00 PM. General admission tickets booked in advance are $25 plus $15 food/beverage minimum; $35 at the door (based on availability) plus $15 food/beverage minimum. Tickets are available at www.smarttix.com or by calling 212-868-4444.

De Shields will also spend even more time with Seth on Thursday, May 3 for “Chatterbox,” 6:00 PM at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 West 46 Street in New York.

Certainly no stranger to New York’s famed cabaret scene, De Shields reigned as King of Cabaret during the 1970s with the creation of his innovative theatrical concerts in such popular clubs as Reno Sweeney, Horn of Plenty, The Grand Finale, Les Mouches, The Club at La MaMa and many other venues around the world. The Hollywood Reporter dubbed De Shields “the most lethal pelvis since Elvis!”

Enthusiastically referred to as “a pleasure delivery machine” by journalist Patrick Pacheco, BLACK BY POPULAR DEMAND will feature De Shields along with his longtime partners in crime, vocalists Freida Williams and Marléne Danielle, with accompaniment by pianist Larry Spivack.

In a career spanning more than forty years, André De Shields has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, choreographer and educator. He is the recipient of the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award, the 2009 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical/Male (Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe), and the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. De Shields is best known for his show stopping performances in the original Broadway productions of four legendary musicals: The Full Monty, for which he received Tony, Drama Desk and Astaire Award nominations, in addition to both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards; Play On! (Tony nomination), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Emmy Award) and The Wiz (title role). He has just concluded a featured role in Chicago’s Goodman Theatre production of Camino Real and the New York Times had this to say “De Shields essentially walks off with the show, or rather slinks off with it!”

For more information go to www.andredeshields.com

André De Shields in BLACK BY POPULAR DEMAND at the Laurie Beechman, 5/4, 5/11 & 5/18
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Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. In 2010, the Library of Congress established The Lia Chang APA Theater Portfolio in the Asian Pacific American Performing Arts Collection housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian Pacific American Islander Collection.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at lia@liachangphotography.com.