Displaying items by tag: Andre De Shields

Dennis Začek and Grippo Stage Co., Inc., will present Confessions of a P.I.M.P., written and performed by André De Shields, and directed by Samuel G. Roberson and Dennis Začek. The cast also includes Kimberly Lawson and Donica Lynn. Confessions of a P.I.M.P. runs August 26, 27 at 8pm and August 28 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theater, located at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at www.victorygardens.org or by calling the box office at 773-871-3000.

From the heat of urban insurrection in Baltimore, Maryland to the incandescent glare of New York’s Great White Way, “Jelly Belly” has many stories to tell. Through song, dance, and spoken word, join Victory Gardens Theater’s Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellow André De Shields in this riveting performance as we follow this adventure from inner city impoverishment to self-actualization.

The creative team for Confessions of a P.I.M.P. includes Doug Peck (musical direction), Jake Ruppert (sound design) and Charles Smith (dramaturg). The band includes Tony Mhoon (bass) and Robert Reddrick (percussion). Tina Jach is the stage manager.

Confessions of a P.I.M.P. originally premiered as part of Victory Gardens’ 2015 IGNITION Festival of New Plays.

About the Artists

André De Shields in a career spanning forty-six years, André De Shields has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, choreographer and educator.  He is the recipient of three Jeff Awards, one as Director for Victory Gardens’ 1987 production of The Colored Museum, and two as Featured Performer in a Musical for the Goodman Theatre productions of Play On! (1998) and Mary Zimmerman’s The Jungle Book (2013).  In fact, André’s professional career began at Chicago’s Shubert Theatre, now the Bank of America Theatre, in the 1969 production of Hair.  From there he moved on to The Me Nobody Knows at the Civic Opera House, and ultimately became a member of The Organic Theatre Company, where he created the role of Xander the Unconquerable, Ruler of the Sixth Dimension in the cult sensation Warp. A multiple Tony Award nominee, he is best known for his show-stopping performances in four legendary Broadway musicals: The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Play On! and The Full Monty. His numerous accolades include an Emmy Award for the NBC Special based on Ain’t Misbehavin’, the National Black Theatre Festival’s Living Legend Award, the Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance and two Doctor of Fine Arts degrees honoris causa one each from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the State University of New York-College at Buffalo. A triple Capricorn, Mr. De Shields is the ninth of eleven children born and reared in Baltimore, Maryland. Ubuntu. 

Kimberly Lawson appeared in Confessions of a P.I.M.P. during the 2015 IGNITION Festival of New Plays. A current board member of Chicago Cabaret Professionals, her cabaret shows include WOZ: A Rock Cabaret, Why Can't a Woman: A Feminist Perspective of Broadway, Fancy Meeting You Here andLife, Love, and Faith: A Tribute to Faith Prince. She is currently a student of Nadine Gomes of the Chicago College of Performing Arts and Tony Award Winner Faith Prince. In her non-performing life, Kimberly is the Audience Services Manager at Lookingglass Theatre.

Donica Lynn was most recently seen on stage in Porchlight Music Theatre’s Dreamgirls! Previous PMT credits include: Chicago Sings Motown, Chicago Sings Disney and Off the Porch’s Gatecrashers. Chicago credits include: Confessions of P.I.M.P with Tony nominee Andre De Shields (Victory Gardens); The Color Purple, Barnum (Mercury Theater); Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hairspray, Aida (Drury Lane Oakbrook); Once On This Island and Seussical (Marriott Lincolnshire); Lady in Denmark, Crowns and Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Goodman Theatre); as well as works with Paramount, Court, Congo Square, Theatre at the Center and ETA Creative Arts. Film/TV credits include: Chicago Fire. She is also a featured vocalist on albums by Ramsay Lewis, Calvin Bridges, Justin Roberts and Cory Goodrich. Donica is a two-time Black Theater Alliance Award nominee, a Black Excellence Award nominee, an alumna of Soul Children of Chicago, proud AEA & AGMA member and represented by Stewart Talent.

Pinterest fails are an internet sensation, with recognizable side by side pictures illustrating the difference between expectations and reality for the everyday crafter, baker, photographer, etc. It seems that no matter how many of these memes we see, it is still commonplace to set high expectations which risk being let down.

“WOZ: A Rock Cabaret” was unfortunately a case of missed expectations. The concept is a cabaret show which tells the familiar story of The Wizard of Oz through the iconic music of the 80’s and 90’s, including hits from Whitesnake, Blondie, Foreigner, Queen and Michael Jackson. Sounds awesome, right!? While the show had its moments and some strong singers, the reality was a production that felt flat, with big moments that lost their steam and performances that lacked the luster and pizzazz expected from a cabaret.

One of the main issues with the show was the venue. Performed on stage at Victory Gardens Theater, this cabaret style show felt out of place. The performers attempted to interact with the audience but it required them to come down off the stage where they easily got lost in this stadium style seating. Had this been set in a truer cabaret setting, where the audience could sit at tables enjoying their cocktails, it could have allowed the performance to work the space both on the stage and on the floor and perhaps made the show more engaging.

The creativity behind the song selection was awesome and very often the start of a new song brought smiles, laughs and a palpable energy to the audience. As the performers sang the full songs however, it often felt like things started to drag and there was not enough happening to hold attention through to the end of the song.

The performers themselves were mostly strong overall. The standouts of the show were the journeying buddies of the Scarecrow (Kevin Webb), the Tinman (James Nedrud) and the Cowardly Lion (Edward Fraim). All three brought different unique but powerful voices to their songs and added some great humor to the show. Heather Currie was a powerhouse and had an odd but quite funny style in how she played the Wicked Witch. The performances of Clara D’Onofrio and Kimberly Lawson, as Glinda and Dorothy respectively, left something to be desired. Both have strong voices but tend more toward the musical theater style which did not always vibe with the other performers. Andre De Shields was the special guest star of the show, bringing star power to the role of the Wizard and he certainly stole the show with his numbers.

While there are some high moments and tons of creativity that clearly went into this show, the performance lacks the excitement that could have turned this somewhat lackluster show into an all-out engaging and exciting cabaret performance.

With only 5 performances, the run of this show is already nearing completion but this was its second run in Chicago, so if you really wish you could have seen it, try clicking your heels three times and say to yourself “there’s no place like WOZ” – maybe it will be back someday, bigger and better.

"Gotta Dance" is a partly fictional partly true story based on the 2008 documentary film by Dori Bernestein about the New Jersey Nets and the basketball team’s efforts to boost flagging attendance by creating the first-ever hip-hop halftime dance team comprised only of those 60 and older. 

Georgia Engel, best known for her role on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, plays a school teacher who secretly loves, listens and dances to Tupac in her spare time. Engel steals the show with practically every line of hers getting huge laughs, showing that not only can she still sing and dance at the age of 67, Engle has lost NONE of her terrific comedic timing. 

Also, Stefanie Powers most famous for her role on TV's "Hart to Hart" looks, dances and sounds absolutely beautiful in her role as the slightly bitter divorcee. Once crowned Miss NY Subway, she refuses to let go of her youthful image holding on any way she can, including Botox and still taking three dance classes a week at the age of 73.

Two of the best songs in the show “Dorothy/Dottie” and “The Prince of Swing” are the work of Marvin Hamlisch (“A Chorus Line”), who worked on the show just before his death in 2012.

Dance team member Camilla is played by a tall, thin, gorgeous Broadway singer and dancer, Nancy Ticotin, who at age 58 engaged in a HOT, sexy affair with her 25-year-old salsa partner (Alexander Aguilar). Ticotin's excellent dancing and voice are really standouts in this show and her affair with a younger man is entirely believable as she looks and dances with the grace of a woman half her age. 

Mae, who is an adorable, well-meaning but slightly confused and off balance dancer is played by Lori Tan Chinn. Chinn gives heart wrenching but casually delivered rendering of “The Waters Rise”, a moving song about her husband’s deterioration from Alzheimer’s disease. 

The sole man in the dance group is Ron played adorably by Andre De Shields, a still mourning widower who has a fantastic mellowed out yet modern feel to his Jazzy dancing and delivery of straight forward encouragement to the ladies around him in the show. 

Like many of the characters in the show, I "used to be a dancer" until I was disabled in an accident so I really loved the fact that they showed that practically everyone has some of the ability to keep dancing at an advanced age, whether it's hip hop, swing, or tap if you like!

"Gotta Dance" also showed the ageism young dancers face when being "retired" forcibly from their dance squads at the ripe old age of 27. 

I highly recommend "Gotta Dance". This is a funny, fast paced, heartwarming and inspiring show every single person should see at some time in their life.

"Gotta Dance" reminds us all we are spirits living in bodies that may be slowly deteriorating, but we need never give up the JOY of DANCING our young or old bodies - in our living rooms at least! Playing at Bank of America Theatre through January 17th, tickets and more show info can be found at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.