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André De Shields presents CABIN IN THE SKY

RSVP here: https://www.queer-art.org/rsvp-to-cabin-in-the-sky

Streaming links here: https://www.queer-art.org/streaming-links-for-qaf-fall-2020

CABIN IN THE SKY

1943. 98 minutes. Directed by Vincente Minnelli.

When Little Joe is killed by a rival gambler, the angels offer him a second chance. If he can change his sinful ways in six months, he’ll get a pass to enter the Promised Land. But Satan’s son won’t make it easy for Little Joe, placing Lena Horne and other temptations in his path. As the angel and devil battle for Joe’s soul, viewers are treated to showstopping performances by Horne, Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington, and “Bubbles” aka John W. Sublett. For our guest presenter Andre DeShields, viewing Vincente Minnelli's musical at age nine led to an epiphany that set him on the path to becoming a celebrated Broadway icon in shows like THE WIZ, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN and HADESTOWN, for which he won the Tony Award in 2019. DeShields writes “While watching "Bubbles" strut through an incandescent performance of the race song "Shine," I suffered a crucifixion of all of my senses. "Shine" has won me the audition for each of the three Tony nominated roles I've had the honorable pleasure of creating.”

André De Shields on CABIN IN THE SKY

“At age nine, at a showing of CABIN IN THE SKY, I underwent the epiphany that would forever change my life. Directed by Vincent Minnelli, and featuring every world class Negro star of the 1940s--Ethel Waters, Eddie Rochester Anderson, Lena Horne, among many others, it wasn't John W. Sublett, famously known as "Bubbles," in the role of Domino Johnson, burned right through the celluloid. While watching "Bubbles" strut through an incandescent performance of the race song "Shine," I suffered a crucifixion of all of my senses. "Shine" has won me the audition for each of the three Tony nominated roles I've had the honorable pleasure of creating. CABIN IN THE SKY is a Queer film for reasons of racial and sexual stereotyping. “


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André De Shields André De Shields is the triple-crown winner of the 2019 awards season, having won the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Tony A wards for best featured actor in a musical for his critically acclaimed performance as Hermes in Hadestown . The Actors’ Equity Foundation followed suit with the Richard Seff Award, honoring veteran stage actors’ best supporting performances of the year. Mr. De Shields recently received the 2020 Grammy Award for Musical Theater Album for Hadestown, an honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the 2019 Project1Voice Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2019 SAGE Joyce Warshow Lifetime Achievement Award, The York Theatre Company's 2019 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre, and was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. He received the Key to the City of Baltimore from Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young in August, 2019. 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 one 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. De Shields can currently be seen on Netflix as the Algebra Tutor in "John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch" and on The CW as Chubby in "Katy Keene." De Shields is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and SDC.

Earlier Event: August 17
Nayland Blake presents THE THING
Later Event: October 5
Jewel the Gem presents TANGERINE