
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s production of King Lear starring Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award winner André De Shields (Hadestown, The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Play On!, The Full Monty) and helmed by Carl Cofield, has garnered 9 St. Louis Theater Circle Award nominations.

The categories include Outstanding Leading Performer in a Drama — Male or Non-Binary Role for André De Shields, Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Drama — Male or Non-Binary Role for Allen Gilmore, Outstanding Production of a Drama, Outstanding Director of a Drama for Carl Cofield, Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama, Outstanding Lighting Design in a Play for John Wylie, Outstanding Sound Design in a Play for David R. Molina, Outstanding Costume Design in a Play for Mika Eubanks, and Outstanding Set Design in a Play for Wilson Chin.

After a two-year absence, the St. Louis Theater Circle Awards will return in a virtual ceremony on Monday, March 28, 2022. The event will be streamed by HEC-TV. The ninth annual ceremony will celebrate recipients of awards for the 2020 and 2021 years combined, covering approximately 75 theater and opera productions. Once again, because of the continued presence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony will be streamed as a virtual presentation. streamed event.

2nd Row: Mika Eubanks, David R. Molina, Brian Sievers, Theorri London, Jason J. Little, Atum Jones, Wilson Chin, Michael Tran, Brian Anthony Wilson, Nicole King, J. Samuel Davis, Allen Gilmore, Carl Overly, Jr. Emilee Buchheit, Sam Hayes. Photo by Lia Chang
King Lear was the first major live theatrical event in the country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

André De Shields led an all-BIPOC company featuring some of the finest actors out of New York, Chicago and St. Louis. He was joined by Brian Anthony Wilson (“The Wire,” “The Sopranos”) as Gloucester, acclaimed Chicago and Shakespearean actor Allen Gilmore as the Fool and St. Louis legend J. Samuel Davis as Kent. The three daughters are played by Nicole King (Cordelia) and Festival favorites Rayme Cornell (Goneril) and Jacqueline Thompson (Regan). Daniel José Molina (Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and Leland Fowler (TFANA) play Gloucester’s sons Edgar and Edmund, respectively. The company also includes Jason J. Little (Albany), Carl Overly, Jr. (Cornwall) and Michael Tran (Oswald), as well as an ensemble of actors from The Black Rep’s Professional Internship Program: Kentrell Jamison, Theorri London, Brian McKinley, Tyler White and Christina Yancy. Click here for the virtual playbill.

The creative team for King Lear includes first-time Festival designers Wilson Chin (Scenic Design), Mika Eubanks (Costume Design) and David R. Molina (Music and Sound Design). John Wylie (Lighting Design) returns for his fourteenth season.


The mission of the St. Louis Theater Circle is simple: To honor St. Louis professional theater. Other cities around the country, such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington D.C., pay tribute to their own local theatrical productions with similar awards programs.
For more information, contact stltheatercircle@sbcglobal.net or the St. Louis Theater Circle’s Facebook page.








Click below for all of the nominees.
St. Louis Theater Circle unveils nominations for the best local theater in 2020 and 2021
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