Nicholas Barasch, Jessica Hecht and More to Receive Actors' Equity 2025 Performance Awards

The Actors’ Equity Foundation has revealed the recipients of its awards for performers for the 2024–2025 season.
 
The Richard Seff Award for two veteran actors is awarded to Jessica Hecht (Suzanne in Eureka Day), and Francis Jue (HYH and others in Yellow Face). The Seff Award has been presented annually since 2004 to character actors, 50 years old or older, who have been members of Actors’ Equity Association for 25 years or longer, for the best performance in a featured or unfeatured supporting role in a Broadway or off-Broadway production. Recent recipients include Kecia Lewis, Ciarán O'Reilly, Linda Lavin and Francis Guinan.
 
The Clarence Derwent Award for the two most promising performances of the season is given to Nicholas Barasch (Frederic in Pirates! The Penzance Musical) and Julia Lester (Wilma in All Nighter). Established in 1945, the Clarence Derwent Award has previously been presented to future luminaries at the early stages of their careers including Judy Holliday, Frederick O’Neal, Gene Wilder, Morgan Freeman and, most recently, Andrew Durand and Hannah Cruz.
 
The Joe A. Callaway Award for the two best performances in a classical play is awarded to Steven Epp (Earl of Worcester/Francis/Silence in Henry IV) and Kimber Elayne Sprawl (Emilia in Othello). The Callaway Award was established in 1989, with past recipients including Alfre Woodard, Victor Garber, Frank Langella, Kate Burton and, most recently, Marin Ireland and Jonathan Hadary.
 
The Michael McCarty Recognition Award, honoring Los Angeles-based Equity actors who have built their lives in the theatre, is awarded to Jennifer Leigh Warren. This award is named for Michael McCarty, a veteran Equity actor who intended the award to be given to an established mature actor in Los Angeles.
 
The Foundation will hold a ceremony to present these awards on June 23 at Green Fig in New York City. That ceremony will also include the Foundation’s humanitarian Patrick Quinn Award, as well as the presentation of Actors’ Equity Association’s ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus (winners to be announced) and the Paul Robeson Award, a humanitarian honor jointly administered by the Foundation and Actors' Equity Association. Leslie Ishii was previously announced as the recipient of this year's Robeson.
 
The Judges Panel for the seasonal performance awards included: Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Theatre Guide; Adam Feldman, Time Out New York; Elysa Gardner, New York Sun, New York Stage Review; Harry Haun, The Observer; Kobi Kassal, Theatrely; and Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter, New York Stage Review.