By Marilyn Lester***Broadway powerhouse, André De Shields’ new show, Black By Popular Demand: A Musical Meditation on How Not to Be Eaten by the Sphinx hit the ball way, way out of the park. But this level of excellence is what we’ve come to expect from such a grand master of the theatrical universe. De Shields is not only a creator of experience extraordinaire, but a generous performer who gives 100 percent-plus of himself on stage.
Yet, there’s much more to this polymath actor, singer, director and educator than his persona as a first-rate entertainer. De Shields is also a vastly deep thinker. He’s been in demand and on the move since winning 2019 Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk Awards for his role as Hermes in Hadestown, but the inner man has been most driven to ponder. Existential exploration during the pandemic lockdown brought him to think about his role as an Artist, and what that could mean for the greater good in a world filled with angst and turmoil.
As he describes it, he imagined himself as Oedipus on his mythic journey, which eventually led to an encounter with the Sphinx, guardian of the gates of Thebes. Those who sought entry to the city had to correctly answer a great riddle or be devoured. What emerged from De Shields’ contemplation was not so much an answer but the creation of a pandemic diary, which helped him create Black By Popular Demand: A Musical Meditation On How Not To Be Eaten By The Sphinx.
The journey onstage begins in the Caribbean by way of ancient Africa. Entering dramatically through the audience came De Shields’ three Queens, vocalists Kimberly Marable, Lori Tishfield and Freida Williams, percussionist Rudy Bird, and musical director/pianist Sean Mayes, each possessing exquisitely rich talents. The opener was the traditional “Mau Mau Bett Chant,” with the women holding celebratory parasols and De Shields the last to arrive in top hat and robe, reminiscent of the mythic priests of the West African Yoruba religion, Baron Samedi and Papa Legba, (transported to the New World via the slave trade). The Baron and Legba are tricksters, transmuters and ultimately lords of resurrection. Herein is what De Shields wants you to think about even as he’s entertaining the bejeezus out of you.
Even if “None of Us Are Free” (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Brenda Russell), everything is going to be alright, say the Baron and Papa… so “People Get Ready” (Curtis Mayfield). With an earnest recitation of “Declaration” (Thomas Jefferson), De Shields proclaims that democracy is a work in progress. Sure, during the pandemic, we the people have lost our way, our imaginations, yet, collaboration and cooperation in the midst of madness is the path to the enlightenment of “Shambala” (Daniel Moore), insightfully sung by De Shields as a story song.
In all probability, De Shields, when writing the show with Murray Horwitz, had in mind Négritude, a philosophy developed in the 1930s by French intellectuals of the African diaspora. The point of Négritude was to raise and cultivate Black consciousness across Africa and its diaspora. In addressing Black Lives Matter without
naming it, the numbers ”The Tragic Mulatto” (André De Shields, Lori Tishfield) and”Sistah Girl” (Sings the Madame C. J. Walker Blues) (André De Shields, Kimberly Marable) poignantly and pointedly spoke to racial issues facing us now.
Underscoring the high energy of Black by Popular Demand, De Shields and his Queens powered through a fast-tempo medley of songs, including “Takin’ It to the Streets” (Michael McDonald), “I’m So Excited” (The Pointer Sisters, Trevor Lawrence)/”Boogie Rap” (André De Shields) and “Mary Mack” (Traditional Children’s Rhyme), threading its way to the takeaway message: LO-V-E (Bert Kaempfert,Milt Gabler).
During the second half of the show, De Shields donned a new top hat and robe transforming into the Reverend I Am––a Black Uncle Sam. Now another kind of high priest, De Shields preached the message of love as a philosophy of strength, practicality and common sense: be 
nostalgic not of the past, but of the future, for the world is waiting to be born. A house divided cannot stand. Have empathy for each other. The riddle of the Sphinx is revealed at last. Love is the only possible answer to avoid being devoured.
Ending Black by Popular Demand, De Shields, sans costume, stood alone on stage in a special light. He sang, a cappella, a beautiful, heart-rending tribute to George, Floyd, “Breathe.” It was the perfect “amen.”
Additional credits for the show are: costume design by Christina Cocchiara, headdress design by Debra Scotti, celebratory parasol design by Brendan McCann. Their respective creations were nothing less than exquisite. Production supervisor was Samuel-Moses Jones. All photographs are by Lia Chang.
André De Shields in Black By Popular Demand: A Musical Meditation on How Not to Be Eaten by the Sphinx played at Feinstein’s/54 Below on August 3 through 7, 2021.
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