2009 Theatre World Award Winners Announced; Billy Elliot Boys, Rush, Hanks, Scaglione and More

The 65th annual Theatre World Award winners for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performances during the 2008-2009 theatrical season are:

David Alvarez / Trent Kowalik / Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Chad L. Coleman, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Jennifer Grace, Our Town
Josh Grisetti, Enter Laughing, The Musical
Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Colin Hanks, 33 Variations
Marin Ireland, reasons to be pretty
Susan Louise O'Connor, Blithe Spirit
Condola Rashad, Ruined
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story
Wesley Taylor, Rock of Ages

Special Award: To the Entire Cast of The Norman Conquests
Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Mangan, Ben Miles, Paul Ritter, and Amanda Root

The Theatre World Awards presentation will be held at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th Street, in an invitation-only ceremony, Tuesday, June 2, 2009 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Peter Filichia will host, Barry Keating will direct, and Scott Denny, Kati Meister and Erin Oestreich are the event's producers. John Willis, founder of the Theatre World Awards, will be in attendance.

First presented in 1945, the prestigious Theatre World Awards are the oldest awards given for Broadway and Off-Broadway debut performances. The Theatre World Award winners have been chosen by the Theatre World Awards committee, currently comprised of David Cote (Time Out New York and NY1), Peter Filichia (The Star-Ledger< /span> and TheaterMania), Harry Haun (Playbill), Matthew Murray (Talkin' Broadway), Frank Scheck (New York Post), Doug Watt(Critic Emeritus, New York Daily News), and Linda Winer (Newsday).

Theatre World remains the definitive annual record of the American theatre season, including photos and statistics from Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, and regional companies, in addition to special sections dedicated to obituaries, long-running productions, and major theatrical awards. Theatre World,Vol. 62 (2005-06) and Vol. 64 (2007-08) were published this past year and are on sale now. Volume 63 (2006-07) will be released May 29, and Volume 65, covering the current season, will be released in October 2009. Theatre World is edited by Ben Hodges and Scott Denny, and published by Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, a division of Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group.

The Theatre World Award Board of Directors is: Kati Meister (President), Erin Oestreich (Secretary), Scott Denny (Treasurer), Tom Lynch (Founding Board m ember), and Barry Keating. For more information about the Theatre World Awards (including a list of past recipients), please visit: theatreworldawards.org.

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.