Photos: Watch Andre De Shields Encourage HADESTOWN Audience to Donate to the Actors Fund

On Friday, January 10th at 2pm, Tony Award-winning Hadestown held an added special performance for The Actors Fund. It was the first special performance of 2020 for The Actors Fund. Tony Award winner André De Shields rocked the house after the performance with a 'curtain sermon' about The Actors Fund that will be long remembered.

The Actors Fund has been providing welfare programs to entertainment professionals for over 130 years. The non-profit offers its members health services, affordable housing, financial guidance, and more. Tony Award winner André De Shields, who turns 74 today, gave props to the organization in his curtain speech and shared how he had personally benefited from the services they provided in his time of need.

Hadestown, penned by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, weaves two famous myths: that of young lovers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of the rulers of the Underworld, Hades and Persephone.

The cast features Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada as Eurydice, Tony Award nominee Patrick Page as Hades, Tony Award nominee Amber Gray as Persephone, and Tony Award winner André De Shields as Hermes.They are joined by Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, and Kay Trinidad as the Fates. The chorus of Workers is played by Anthony Chatmon II, Afra Hines, Timothy Hughes, John Krause, and Kimberly Marable. The full cast also includes swings Malcolm Armwood, T. Oliver Reid, Jessie Shelton, and Khaila Wilcoxon.This year the production was nominated for 14 Tony awards, winning eight, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Direction, and Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for De Shields.

Hadestown is the most honored show of the 2018-2019 season having just been nominated for the 2020 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. The new musical has received eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, four Drama Desk Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding New Broadway Musical, and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical. Below is video of the curtain speech by Cherie B. Tay.