The annual Theatre World Awards ceremony is presented virtually July 11 at 7 PM ET. Due to the pandemic that shuttered New York theatre in March 2020, the awards, which annually honor debut performances, instead celebrates Broadway’s best.
Honorees include Tony winners Patti LuPone and André De Shields, who will both receive the 8th annual John Willis Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, and six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, who will receive the Dorothy Loudon Special Award for Excellence in the Theatre.
Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora, who produce with Tim Guinee, direct Theatre World Awards: Special Event Celebrating 75 Years!, which includes performances by Christy Altomare, Phillip Boykin, Ann Hampton Callaway, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, De Shields, Anna Villafañe, Andrea McArdle, Bonnie Milligan, Adam Pascal, Ethan Slater, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and John Lloyd Young.
Viewers can also expect appearances from Iain Armitage, Lucie Arnaz, Hank Azaria, Alec Baldwin, Dylan Baker, Bonnie Bedelia, Ceila Keenan-Bolger, Bryan Cranston, Kristin Chenoweth, Giancarlo Esposito, Tovah Feldshuh, Harvey Fierstein, Peter Gallagher, Jackie Hoffman, Ernestine Jackson, Nathan Lane, Andrea Martin, Rob McClure, Bernadette Peters, Jerry Mitchell, Hayley Mills, Jim Parsons, Chita Rivera, Daphne Rubin-Vega, William Shatner, Brooke Shields, Cobie Smulders, John Stamos, Marisa Tomei, Jennifer Tilly, and Chandra Wilson.
“When the universe allows, we will bestow Theatre World Awards to 12 New York stage newcomers who made their significant debuts on or Off-Broadway in the 2021–2022 season, with special honors to those who made their debuts in 2019–2020,” Theatre World Awards President Dale Badway said in an earlier statement.
Although the virtual event is free, donations will be used to present the eventual in-person 76th Theatre World Awards.
The Theatre World Awards, the oldest awards given for outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway debut performances, were first presented in 1945. The most recent ceremony, in 2019, honored Jeremy Pope (Choir Boy), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), Bonnie Milligan (Head Over Heels), Gbenga Akinnagbe (To Kill a Mockingbird), Tom Glynn-Carney (The Ferryman), Sophia Anne Caruso (Beetlejuice), Paddy Considine (The Ferryman), James Davis (Oklahoma!), Micaela Diamond (The Cher Show), Simone Missick (Paradise Blue), Colton Ryan (Girl From the North Country), and Stephanie Styles (Kiss Me, Kate).
(Updated July 11, 2021)
