André De Shields, nominated for another Tony at age 80 for his role as Old Deuteronomy in CATS: The Jellicle Ball, ties the moment to a lifetime on Broadway, his 2019 acceptance speech about “Slowly is the fastest way,” and a personal philosophy shaped by surv
When André De Shields steps into the role of Old Deuteronomy in CATS: The Jellicle Ball, he’s not just leading the Jellicles toward rebirth. At 80, he’s also confronting a question that has followed him for decades on Broadway: Why not him?
De Shields. now nominated for another Tony for his performance as Old Deuteronomy. spent half a century on Broadway before winning his first Tony Award at the age of 73. In his 2019 acceptance speech. he told audiences. “Slowly is the fastest way to get to where you want to be.” Years later. he said many people misunderstood what he meant. “Most people misunderstand that and say ‘Slowly is the quickest way to get to where you want to go. ‘” De Shields told Morning Edition. “That is not what I said, and it’s certainly not what I meant. I remember when fast meant dependable, meant secure. That’s what I’m talking about.”.
Now. De Shields is returning to the spotlight with a role that pulls directly from a different kind of theatrical universe. T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats describes Old Deuteronomy as a cat who has lived many lives. and De Shields says he relates to the character in this ballroom-inspired adaptation of Eliot’s work.
He marked the turning point of his age with language that blends faith, time, and craft. “On January 12th, 2026, I reached 80 years,” De Shields said. He embraced the moment through the biblical timeline he described: “the life of man would be reduced from never death to threescore and ten. That’s 70 years.” “Any years an individual lives beyond that is a blessing. is a gift. and must be lived in grace.” And then he pinned it to his work: “I think it’s perfection that on my 80th birthday I would start rehearsing for CATS: The Jellicle Ball.”.
In this revival, no one is dressed as a cat. The performers vogue and strut down the catwalk in the queer ballroom scene, competing as Jellicles for rebirth. De Shields leads them as Old Deuteronomy, and he described the show as something more than a staging decision. He called it “the revolution of the first quarter of the 21st century” that a person “must come to experience.” The musical. he said. moves the audience from one emotional world to another. It “illustrates the replacement of competition, bitterness and intolerance with love.”.
“The paradigm is begging to be received, embraced. And we are very close to passing through that threshold,” De Shields said. “This is 2026 and most blatantly illustrated in CATS: the Jellicle Ball is the change that we all have been waiting for.”
That sense of waiting—of not knowing how long it will take. or whether you’ll be the one to get there—sits at the center of De Shields’s own story. He said his journey has been “crafted by karma,” and recalled the moments when he doubted himself. “There were moments when I deeply wondered, ‘Why not me?’” De Shields said. Then he said he learned a rule that didn’t sound like consolation so much as discipline: “And then I learned another immutable truth. And that is one must not pursue blessings upon which one’s name has not been engraved.”.
His approach, he added, is built on routine. “My mission is threefold: the first fold of which is to return Black Elegance to the Black Thespians’ toolbox. ” De Shields said. “The second part of that mission is to advocate for the senior citizen who wants to continue to be active as an artist. And the third is for those of us who have been forced but blessed to survive HIV for more than 40 years.”.
De Shields was diagnosed in 1991, and he has lived with the disease for decades. He has also lived through loss that reshaped his life. He said he has lost many people, including his partner of 17 years, who died of AIDS.
In his telling, survival doesn’t end at diagnosis. He said people must not live with the idea that life is short. He wakes up each morning and says “thank you.” He said he isn’t thanking a god or the universe. but rather the cosmos. “Too many of our species take for granted that we are somehow the paragon of animals,” De Shields said. “We have to restore the ancient and intended relationship that we have with the cosmos. And that is the universe is only exclusively generous and we have to be grateful in return.”.
For De Shields, the Tony nomination at 80 isn’t proof that time runs out. It’s proof that time can be earned—slowly, deliberately, and with a mission that outlasts applause.
André De Shields Tony nomination CATS: The Jellicle Ball Old Deuteronomy Broadway Morning Edition queer ballroom Jellicles HIV survival AIDS Black Elegance Andrew Lloyd Webber T.S. Eliot Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats