The 71st Annual Theatre World Award Winners Announced!

The 2015 Theatre World Award Winners for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance during the 2014-2015 theatrical season have been announced! The ceremony will take place on Monday, June 1 at the Lyric Theatre, once again hosted by the inevitable Peter Filichia.

Geneva Carr, Hand to God
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Megan Fairchild, On the Town
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Collin Kelly-Sordelet, The Last Ship
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Karen Pittman, Disgraced
Benjamin Scheuer, The Lion
Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Emily Skeggs, Fun Home
Micah Stock, It’s Only a Play
Ruth Wilson, Constellations

The 2015 Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theatre: Leanne Cope, An American in Paris

The 2015 John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre: Chita Rivera

The 70th Annual Theatre World Award Winners Announced!

The 2014 Theatre World Award Winners for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance during the 2013-2014 theatrical season have been announced! The ceremony will take place on Monday, June 2 at the Circle in the Square Theatre, once again hosted by Peter Filichia.

Paul Chahidi, Twelfth Night, or What You Will
Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Mary Bridget Davies, A Night with Janis Joplin
Sarah Greene, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Rebecca Hall, Machinal
Ramin Karimloo, Les Miserables
Zachary Levi, First Date
Chris O’Dowd, Of Mice and Men
Sophie Okenedo, A Raisin in the Sun
Emerson Steele, Violet
Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

The 2014 Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theatre: Celia Keenan-Bolger

The 2014 John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre: Christopher Plummer

The 69th Annual Theatre World Award Winners Announced!

The 2013 Theatre World Award Winners for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance during the 2012-2013 theatrical season have been announced! The ceremony will take place on Monday, June 3 at the Music Box Theatre, once again hosted by Peter Filichia.

Bertie Carvel, Matilda
Carrie Coon, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 
Brandon J. Dirden, The Piano Lesson
Shalita Grant, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Tom Hanks, Lucky Guy 
Valisia LeKae, Motown
Rob McClure, Chaplin 
Ruthie Ann Miles, Here Lies Love
Conrad Ricamora, Here Lies Love
Keala Settle, Hands on a Hardbody
Yvonne Strahovski, Golden Boy
Tom Sturridge, Orphans 

The 2013 Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater: Jonny Orsini, The Nance

The 2013 John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre: Alan Alda

The 68th Annual Theatre World Award Winners Announced!

It’s time to celebrate some of the breakthrough performances and debuts of the 2011-2012 theatre season! The Theatre World Awards will be held on June 5 at a venue to be determined, hosted by Peter Filichia.

Congratulations to the winners!

Tracie Bennett, End of the Rainbow
Phillip Boykin, The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess
Crystal A. Dickinson, Clybourne Park
Russell Harvard, Tribes
Jeremy Jordan, Bonnie & Clyde
Joaquina Kalukango, Hurt Village
Jennifer Lim, Chinglish
Jessie Mueller, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Hettienne Park, Seminar & The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism & Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures
Chris Perfetti , Sons of the Prophet
Finn Wittrock, Death of a Salesman
Josh Young, Jesus Christ Superstar

Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence: Susan Pourfar, Tribes

The 67th Annual Theatre World Award Winners!

It’s once again time to celebrate some of the breakthrough performances and debuts of the 2010-2011 theatre season! The Theatre World Awards will be held on June 7 at a venue to be determined, hosted by Peter Filichia. There will also be a tribute to the late John Willis, co-founder of the awards, who died last summer at 93.

Congratulations to the winners!

Ellen Barkin, The Normal Heart
Desmin Borges, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
Halley Feiffer, The House of Blue Leaves
Grace Gummer, Arcadia
Rose Hemingway, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Heather Lind, The Merchant of Venice
Patina Miller, Sister Act
Arian Moyed, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Jim Parsons, The Normal Heart
Zachary Quinto, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on American Themes
Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence: Seth Numrich, War Horse

The 1st annual Lunt-Fontanne Award for Ensemble Excellence: Bobby Cannavale, Chris Rock, Annabella Sciorra, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Yul Vázquez, The Motherfucker with the Hat

Patricia Neal: In Her Own Words

That voice. That was the first thing I noticed about Patricia Neal when I was a child. I was at home watching television and she was in the John Wayne movie Operation Pacific. There was something in the timbre that stood out to me and I was riveted. To this day, she ranks as one of the few actresses whom I could listen to speak, say or read anything, including the phone book. I can’t remember much about the movie, but it definitely put Neal on my radar. Ms. Neal died two days ago from lung cancer at age 84, leaving behind a great legacy as both actress and advocate.

I’ve enjoyed her film work immensely: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Hasty Heart and of course her Oscar winning turn as Alma in Hud. The latter is especially amazing to me – she is one of the few people to win a leading Oscar for a supporting role. (Awards are weird: she was nominated for the Golden Globe for Supporting Actress). Her career was curtailed by her well-publicized health troubles; a series of strokes in the early 60s which left her debilitated. Her husband, Roald Dahl, was greatly responsible for the rehabilitation she made. In 1968, she made a big screen comeback in the film adaptation of The Subject Was Roses, earning another Oscar nomination. I even remember her from television appearances, including an episode of Murder, She Wrote.

I never had the privilege of meeting the actress, but I was fortunate to see her in person on two close occasions. The first was at the 2006 Theatre World Awards, at which she presented to Jayne Houdyshell (who won for her brilliant turn in Well). Neal received a warm, spontaneous standing ovation that afternoon – the only one that afternoon. Houdyshell was moved to tears to be receiving the award from the legend; ultimately it was the highlight of the afternoon. The second time was that very weekend: I attended the dress rehearsal for the Tony Awards. Sitting up in the tiers at that barn Radio City Music Hall, there is a dry run (with fake winners selected) and a sense of great fun. Well, Neal rehearsed her presentation with Bill Irwin. That evening though, I was as surprised as everyone else when she was presented with a Tony award to replace the compact (original award) that was stolen from her the very first Tony night. Neal was the last surviving member of the first Tony Awards; winning the first-ever prize for Best Featured Actress for Another Part of the Forest.

Neal was interviewed by Rick McKay for his documentary Broadway: The Golden Age and he compiled this video montage of Neal discussing her career as a tribute. It focuses on her early career, and it is fascinating to hear her talk of how she got started in the business. After Another Part of the Forest she went to Hollywood, but returned to Broadway three times: a 1952 revival of The Children’s Hour, a shortlived comedy A Roomful of Roses and her last appearance: as Kate Keller in the original production of The Miracle Worker. Enjoy:

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The 2010 Theatre World Awards – Recap

For the first time since I started blogging I made it to the 66th annual Theatre World Awards with considerable ease; no train chasing or train hopping this year! The ceremony was once again held at New World Stages (where it was in 2007), in the theatre which currently houses Avenue Q (seeing the set made me want to see it again).

This year it was very important for me to be there as the awards were handed out, as it’s not been the easiest year for the organization. Financial troubles left the future of the awards ceremony in doubt, but thanks to Meryl Streep, Mamie Gummer as well as the Dorothy Loudon Foundation and others, this year’s ceremony went on as planned. While still not out of the woods yet, things are looking up (To make a tax deductible donation to the Theatre World Awards, click here).

Continue reading The 2010 Theatre World Awards – Recap

The 66th Annual Theatre World Award Winners!

It’s time to celebrate some of the breakthrough performances and debuts of the 2009-2010 theatre season! The ceremony will go on as planned this year: June 8 at New World Stages. As always, Peter Filichia will be there to host and previous winners will be on hand to present and perform.

Congratulations to the winners!!

Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur
Chris Chalk, Fences
Bill Heck, The Orphans’ Home Cycle
Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Keira Keeley, The Glass Menagerie
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!
Eddie Redmayne, Red
Andrea Riseborough, The Pride
Heidi Schreck, Circle Mirror Transformation
Stephanie Umoh, Ragtime
Michael Urie, The Temperamentals

The Theatre World Awards Need Our Help

Earlier this afternoon, it was brought to my attention that the Theatre World Awards is facing some financial difficulties this season. In an exclusive item on Playbill, the committee discussed the precarious nature of the not-for-profit organization’s future, and that they are in the middle of a fund raising drive to keep the establishment afloat. This particular award, given for notable debuts and breakthrough performances, is the oldest award given for NY theatre, both on and off Broadway.

John Willis, along with Daniel Blum and Norman McDonald, established the award during the 1944-45 season. Mr. Willis, now 93, is still active with the Theatre World committee and is still very much the heart and soul of the organization. Each year, winners talk with great love and pride about Mr. Willis, who continues to send each and every living recipient a card on his or her birthday.

It’s imperative to maintain the award, with its rich history and legacy. The list of winner is immense. Just some of the recipients include: Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, James Earl Jones, Patricia Neal, Audrey Hepburn, Richard Burton, Rosemary Harris, Janet McTeer, Michael Douglas, Laura Linney, Alec Baldwin, Jane Fonda, Zoe Caldwell, Audra McDonald, Bernadette Peters, Cynthia Nixon, Annette Bening, and so on and so forth. (Here’s a complete list of the winners by year).

I first attended the Theatre World Awards in 2004, and have made it a point to return ever since. There is something incredibly special about the afternoon. Falling in the middle of the awards season, this particular ceremony allows the actors a chance to breathe. Of all the ceremonies that happen in May and June, this is best exemplification of community in the NY theatre district. Even the Tony Awards fall short of the sense of family and tradition found here. Every year there are performances by formers, often recreating numbers from the shows for which they won. But the really classy touch comes in the presentations themselves. Only winners of the award are allowed to present to the actors; a sort of passing of the torch. The afternoon turns into a relaxed, off-the-cuff, moving and funny experience that can best be described as loving. Attending the ceremony is the highlight of my season.

Due to the nature of the economy, and rising costs for putting the annual ceremony, hosted by my pal Peter Filichia, the Theatre World’s future appears to be in jeopardy. The good news is that the 2010 event will go on as scheduled on June 8 at a venue to be determined. However, it doesn’t mean that they are out of the woods quite yet, and right now they need the help of those in and around the theatre community.

The organization’s statement to Playbill was as follows:

“As recently as early April, we had serious concerns as to whether this year’s Theatre World Awards ceremony would take place. In the past, the Theatre World Awards organization has relied almost entirely upon the founder John Willis and donations from former winners. With rising costs and the downturn in the economy, we now have begun an outreach to the theatre community for support and are planning our first major fundraising event for this fall (as well as seeking corporate and private sponsorship).

“While exploring alternative venues outside the Broadway theatre district, we have implemented cost-cutting measures and look forward to making an announcement soon about the venue of this year’s ceremony.”

The goal is “to create an endowment to ensure that the recognition of important new performers continues into perpetuity.” Currently, a mailing signed by winners Meryl Streep and (her daughter) Mamie Gummer has gone out seeking financial support offering donors the chance to attend the awards ceremony and after party.

To make a 100% tax deductible donation to the Theatre World Awards, you can do so by clicking here. Or you can snail mail it to:

The Theatre World Awards, Inc.
P.O. Box 246
Radio City Station
New York, NY 10101-0246