Tony Award winner Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Applause) and theatre journalist Peter Filichia will be honored at the 78th Annual Theatre World Awards June 10 at 7 PM at a venue to be announced.
Cariou will receive the 11th Annual John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, while Filichia will receive a 2024 TWA Special Award for his quarter-century of service to the organization. Former Theatre World Award winner Ken Jennings, who played Tobias in the original Broadway production of Sweeney Todd, will perform in a musical tribute to Cariou.
The recipients of the 15th Annual Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater and the 2024 Theatre World Award Honorees for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance will be announced in early May.
“Daniel Blum did it for 19 years. John Willis did it for 33. And soon, Peter Filichia will have done it for the 25th time,” states Dale Badway, president of Theatre World Awards, in a statement. “Since 1998—aside from the year that the pandemic stalled us all—Peter has searched through the season’s Broadway and Off-Broadway productions to see which performers have made significant debuts. He’s then made a ballot which he’s given to his committee of theatre journalists, tallies their results, and then releases the names of the 12 recipients who will each receive a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut. He then takes the stage to emcee the ceremony in which the winners receive their prizes. Not only do we hope you’ll be with us, but that you’ll also give a donation to The Theatre World Awards in Peter’s name.”
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Hosted by theatre journalist Filichia, the upcoming ceremony will be produced by Theatre World Awards, Inc. Board of Directors and Badway. The musical director is Michael Lavine.
Honorees are chosen by the Theatre World Awards Committee: Linda Armstrong (Amsterdam News), David Cote (The Observer), Joe Dziemianowicz (New York Daily News, Emeritus), Peter Filichia (The Newark Star-Ledger, Emeritus), David Finkle (New York Stage Review), Elysa Gardner (USA Today, Emeritus), Harry Haun (The Observer), Cary Wong (Freelance), and Frank Scheck (The Hollywood Reporter).
The Theatre World Awards, Inc. Board of Directors is headed by Badway (president) with Tom Lynch (vice-president), Michael Kostel (vice-president), Stephen Wilde (secretary), Ilene Zatkin-Butler (treasurer), James Sheridan, and Karen Johnston.
Visit TheatreWorldAwards.org.
