Tenor (light, delicate, powerful, with facility in falsetto and seamless register transitions)
André De Shields is an American actor, singer, dancer, director, and choreographer whose five-decade career—from the original Broadway production of The Wiz to his Tony-winning turn as Hermes in Hadestown—exemplifies the virtuosic, genre-defying artistry of the Black musical theatre tradition.
Defining moments and milestones
André De Shields' career began in earnest with his 1969 Chicago debut in Hair and his 1973 Broadway debut in Warp!, but it was his iconic performance as the Wizard in The Wiz (1975) that established him as a major theatrical talent. Over five decades, he distinguished himself as a multidisciplinary artist—actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, and director—whose work spanned from Broadway spectacles to experimental theatre at La MaMa, earning multiple Tony, Emmy, and Drama Desk nominations along the way. His 2019 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for Hadestown, which he originated at age 73, stands as a crowning achievement for an artist whose commitment to theatrical excellence and innovation has remained unwavering throughout his career.
Baltimore City College (high school diploma, 1964); Wilmington College; University of Wisconsin-Madison (Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, 1970); Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York University (Master of Arts in African-American Studies, 1991). Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from University of Wisconsin-Madison, SUNY-Buffalo State (2004), and Boston Conservatory at Berklee (2020). Currently adjunct professor at New York University.
Recordings featuring André De Shields in the Society index
Additional recordings will appear here as the catalog expands.