Photo Coverage: Theatre World Awards Celebrate This Season's Stunning Debuts!

Earlier this week, The Theatre World Awards celebrated this year's Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance honorees. Hosted annually by well-known theater journalist, Peter Filichia, the 72nd Annual Theatre World Awards ceremony was produced by Theatre World Awards, Inc. Board of Directors.

This year's honorees included: Danielle Brooks, Carmen Cusack, Khris Davis, Daniel Durant, Cynthia Erivo, John Krasinski, Sarah Charles Lewis, Austin P. McKenzie, Lupita Nyong'o, Mark Strong, Ana Villafañe, and Ben Whishaw. Broadway newcomer Nicholas Barasch was also honored with the 8th Annual Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater for his performance as Arpad Lazslo in the Roundabout Broadway revival of She Loves Me at Studio 54.

First presented in 1945, the prestigious Theatre World Awards, founded by John Willis, the Editor-in-Chief of both Theatre World and its companion volume, Screen World, are the oldest awards given for Outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway Debut Performances. The Theatre World Awards are presented annually at the end of the theatre season to six actors and six actresses for their significant, reviewable, debut performances in a Broadway or Off-Broadway production. The ceremony is a private, invitation-only event followed by a party to celebrate the new honorees and welcome them to the Theatre World "family." In what has become a highly entertaining and often touching tradition, 12 previous winners serve as the presenters, and often relive moments from past ceremonies and share wonderful stories rarely heard at other theatrical awards.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

The 2016 Theatre World Awards

The 2016 Theatre World Awards

Lupita Nyong'o

Peter Filichia and Lupita Nyong'o

Lupita Nyong'o

Lupita Nyong'o

Peter Filichia and Lupita Nyong'o

De'Adre Aziza

De'Adre Aziza

De'Adre Aziza

De'Adre Aziza

De'Adre Aziza

Phillip Boykin

Phillip Boykin and Danielle Brooks

Phillip Boykin and Danielle Brooks

Phillip Boykin and Danielle Brooks

Phillip Boykin and Danielle Brooks

Danielle Brooks

Danielle Brooks

Phillip Boykin and Danielle Brooks

Danielle Brooks