André De Shields to Receive Matador Award for Achievement in Classical Theater at REVELRY Benefit Gala

Red Bull Theater today announced that André De Shields will be honored with the Matador Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Classical Theater at REVELRY, its benefit event on Monday June 13th at 6pm. This intimate soirée will be held on the expansive terrace of the Bowery Hotel (335 Bowery at East 3rd Street). This intimate soirée, taking place safely outdoors, will feature craft cocktails, fine wines, scrumptious bites, and entertaining diversions from Jennifer Sánchez and Mary Testa.

"Being together again never sounded so good. After over two years of covering our faces and social distancing, the time finally seems to be right for us to be able to gather our community - and revel! We have so much to celebrate at our Revelry benefit this year. In addition to honoring the glorious André de Shields for his extraordinary achievements as an actor (and his work with the classics in particular), we can't wait to celebrate all the wonderful work and resilience of our community over the past two years. And to revel in the joy of being able to plan our upcoming return to full in-person programming!," said Mr. Berger.

At the age of 73, André De Shields was awarded the Tony Award for his performance in Hadestown. His illustrious career has spanned a half-century since getting his start as the eponymous The Wiz in 1975. He has continued to distinguish himself as an actor, director, and educator. He received Tony nominations for the musicals Play On! and The Full Monty and received praise for his classical work, including King Lear (winner - St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Outstanding Leading Performer in a Drama), Classical Theater of Harlem and Red Bull's own The Witch of Edmonton and Volpone. Next season, he will star in a new Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman as Willy's brother, Ben.

Begun in 2009, Matador Award for Achievement in Classical Theater are given annually to recognize individuals or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary talent, service, or significant achievement in the Classical Theater. Previous honorees have included F. Murray Abraham, Kate Burton, Olympia Dukakis, Richard Easton, Oscar Isaac, Michael Kahn, Hamish Linklater, Ismenia Mendes, Jack O'Brien, Patrick Page, Martha Plimpton, Lily Rabe, Condola Rashad, Matthew Rauch, Lynn Redgrave, Olivia Reis, Liev Schreiber, Patrick Stewart, Michael Stuhlbarg, Daniel Sullivan, Michael Urie, Charlayne Woodard, the American Theatre Wing, Fund for the City of New York, the Michael Tuch Foundation, and the Off-Broadway Angels.

The Honorary Committee and Special Guests includes F. Murray Abraham, Arnie Burton, Kate Burton, Bill Camp, Michael Cerveris, Kathleen Chalfant, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Grantham Coleman, Christian Conn, Robert Cuccioli, Paige Davis, Michael Emerson, Manoel Felciano,Tovah Feldshuh, Dana Ivey, Chukwudi Iwuji, Peter Francis James, Judy Kuhn, Mark Linn-Baker, Richard Maltby, Jr., Elizabeth Marvel, Ismenia Mendes, Jacob Ming-Trent, Alfredo Narciso, Kristine Nielsen, Junior Nyong'o, Jack O'Brien, Brad Oscar, Patrick Page, Ted Pappas, Estelle Parsons, Amelia Pedlow, Martha Plimpton, Maryann Plunkett, Amanda Quaid, Everett Quinton, Matthew Rauch, Olivia Reis, José Rivera, Laila Robins, Jay O. Sanders, Lily Santiago, Robert Sella, Stephen Spinella, Sir Patrick Stewart, Richard Thomas, John Douglas Thompson, Michael Urie, Marc Vietor, Nick Westrate and Charlayne Woodard, among others.

Red Bull Theater brings rarely seen classic plays to dynamic new life for contemporary audiences, uniting a respect for tradition with a modern sensibility. Named for the rowdy Jacobean playhouse that illegally performed plays in England during the years of Puritan rule, Red Bull Theater is New York City's home for dynamic performances of great plays that stand the test of time. With the Jacobean plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries as its cornerstone, the company also produces new works that are in conversation with the classics.

A home for artists, scholars and students, Red Bull Theater delights and engages the intellect and imagination of audiences, and strives to make its work accessible, diverse, and welcoming to all. We value and practice inclusiveness, equity and diversity in all of our activities, and are committed to antiracist action. All of us at Red Bull Theater are committed to actively working to help realize a more perfect union-a racially and socially just America. Red Bull Theater believes in the power of great classic stories and plays of heightened language to deepen our understanding of the human condition, in the special ability of live theater to create unique, collective experiences, and the timeless capacity of classical theater to illuminate the events of our times.

Since its debut in 2003 with a production of Shakespeare's Pericles starring Daniel Breaker, Red Bull Theater has served adventurous theatergoers with Off-Broadway productions, Revelation Readings, and the annual Short New Play Festival. The company also offers outreach programs including Shakespeare in Schools bringing professional actors and teaching artists into public school classrooms; Bull Sessions, free post-play discussions with top scholars; and Classical Acting Intensives led by veteran theater professionals. During the pandemic, Red Bull responded swiftly to the shutdown, creating several ongoing programs to serve audiences and artists with our mission: RemarkaBULL Podversations, Online Readings, Seminars, and more.

Red Bull Theater has presented 20 Off-Broadway productions and nearly 200 Revelation Readings of rarely seen classics, serving a community of more than 5,000 artists and providing quality artistic programming to an audience of over 65,000. The company's unique programming has received ongoing critical acclaim, and has been recognized with Lortel, Drama Desk, Drama League, Callaway, Off Broadway Alliance, and OBIE nominations and Awards.

For more information about Red Bull's Gala Benefit, or any of Red Bull Theater's productions and programs, visit Redbulltheater.com or call 212/343-7394.