2019 Tony and Emmy Award winning actor André De Shields will be inducted to the Theater Hall of Fame on Monday, November 18 during the 49th Annual Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater ceremony being held at the Gershwin Theatre at 7:00 P.M.
The Hadestown star is among the 2019 inductees which include his Half Time co-star Tony Award-winning actress Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line), Tony Award-winning actress/choreographer Ann Reinking (Chicago), theater critic Michael Feingold, Goodspeed Musicals founder Michael Price, director/playwright Emily Mann (Gloria: A Life) and six-time Tony Award-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz (Frozen), with a posthumous induction to three-time Tony Award-winning book writer Thomas Meehan (Annie).
Founded in 1970 by James M. Nederlander, Earl Blackwell, Gerard Oestriecher and L. Arnold Weissberger, the Theater Hall of Fame’s primary mission is to annually honor lifetime achievement in the American theatre. To be considered for the ballot, the theatre professional must have 25 years on Broadway and five major production credits or be an Off-Broadway or regional theatre founder or pioneer. The voters are United States theatre critics and drama editors.
Visit theaterhalloffame.org for more information.
André De Shields is the triple-crown winner of the 2019 theater awards season, having won the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Tony Awards as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his unanimously critically acclaimed performance as Hermes, Messenger to the Gods, in Hadestown. The Actors’ Equity Foundation followed suit with the Richard Seff Award, which honors veteran stage actors’ best supporting performances of the year. Mr. De Shields will receive The York Theatre Company’s 2019 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre on November 11. 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 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. www.andredeshields.com
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
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