Liza Minnelli, who won the Theatre World Award in 1963 for her Broadway debut in
Best Foot Forward, Ralph Fiennes, who won for
Hamlet in 1995 and
Patricia Neal, who won in 1947 for
Another Part of the Forest have joined the list of former Theatre World Award winners who will present 2005 – 2006 Awards at a star-studded ceremony on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 at 2:00pm at Studio 54 (254 W.54th St). Minnelli will present an Award to
Harry Connick, Jr., who has won for his role
The Pajama Game.The 62nd annual Theatre World Awards for Outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway Debut Performances have been won by: Connick, Jr.,
The Pajama Game;
Felicia P. Fields,
The Color Purple;
Maria Friedman,
The Woman in White; Richard Griffiths,
The History Boys; Mamie Gummer,
Mr. Marmalade; Jayne Houdyshell,
Well; Bob Martin,
The Drowsy Chaperone; Ian McDiarmid,
Faith Healer; Nellie McKay,
The Threepenny Opera; David Wilmot,
The Lieutenant of Inishmore; Elisabeth Withers-Mendes,
The Color Purple and
John Lloyd Young,
Jersey Boys.The Twelve awards will be presented by former award winners, including Lucie Arnaz (
They're Playing Our Song, 1979);
Maxwell Caulfield (
Class Enemy; 1980),
Ralph Fiennes (
Hamlet, 1995); Harry Groener (revival,
Oklahoma!, 1980); Minnelli (
Best Foot Forward, 1963);
Patricia Neal (
Another Part of the Forest, 1947);
Ken Page (revival
, Guys and Dolls, 1977);
John Rubinstein (
Pippin, 1973); and
Jonathan Pryce (
Comedians, 1977). Several presenters will perform songs they introduced from the shows for which they received their award, including
John Rubinstein ("Corner of the Sky" from
Pippin) and
Ken Page ("Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" from
Guys & Dolls).
The Theatre World Awards are the oldest awards given for Broadway and Off-Broadway debut performances, as well as one of the oldest awards bestowed on New York actors. The ceremony will be written and hosted by
Peter Filichia.
Walter Willison (
Two by Two, 1971) is director; Ben Hodges and Kati Meister are co-executive producers.
Winners are chosen by the Theatre World Awards committee, comprised of
Peter Filichia (Theatermania.com),
Harry Haun (Playbill), Matthew Murray (TalkinBroadway.com), Frank Scheck (
New York Post), Michael Sommers (
Newhouse Papers), Doug Watt (Critic Emeritus,
New York Daily News) and Linda Winer (
Newsday), and coordinated by
Peter Filichia.
The Theatre World Awards ceremony is by invitation only and will be held on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 at 2:00pm at Studio 54, 254 W.54th St. (between Broadway & 8th Avenues). For further information, visit
theatreworldawards.org.
