NEW YORK, NY (WSAU) – There’s a Wisconsin connection to last night’s Tony Awards.
UW-Madison alum Andre De Shields, 73, won Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Hadestown.
Hadestown was the big winner at Sunday’s awards. It was nominated for 14 Tony awards, and won 8, including best musical.
De Shields plays the Greek god Hermes, and narrates much of the play.
He is a 1970 graduate of UW-Madison, and was the spring commencement speaker in 2007. De Shields was nominated for two other Tonys in 1997 and 2001. He was an original cast member of the popular musical ‘Aint Misbehavin’, and won an Emmy Award for a TV version of the play. His acting career spans more than 50 years.
During his Tony acceptance speech, he told the audience “Surround yourself with people whose eyes light up when they see you coming.”
