The 35th Anniversary Elliot Norton Awards

Awards were presented to more than two dozen outstanding actors, directors, designers and ensembles on May 15 by The Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA), at the 35th Anniversary Elliot Norton Awards ceremony, held at Huntington Theatre Company's BU Theatre.

This year's recipient of the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence is Diane Paulus, the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University. Paulus was selected for the 2014 TIME 100, TIME Magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Two-time Tony Award-winning actress Cherry Jones was the Guest of Honor. Cherry last appeared on Broadway inTHE GLASS MENAGERIE which originated at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is a founding member and where earlier in her career she appeared in more than 25 productions.

Joyce Kulhawik, President of the BTCA, stated, "Tonight was a spectacular celebration of the extraordinary artists who give it their all, heart and soul, every night in and around Boston. Companies large, small, and fringe were joined by artists visiting, returning, and up and coming, all of them with the same purpose: to shine a light on what it is to be human. Tonight the BTCA was proud to shine a light on them."

In addition to the presentation of the awards, nominated musicals, cast members of Wicked, and young artists from the Boston Arts Academy performed in the spirit of the evening's theme Alternative Acts, which Kulhawik described as "a call to art in a climate where the contributions of artists are being devalued and the NEA is being threatened with extinction." City of Boston Chief of Arts and Culture Julie Burros read a Mayoral Proclamation in honor of The 35th Anniversary Elliot Norton Awards! A gala afterparty sponsored by the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University, followed in the Huntington Theatre's Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley Studio 210. A portion of the evening's proceeds will be donated to the Boston Arts Academy to support the region's next generation of artists.

The Elliot Norton Awards are presented annually by The Boston Theater Critics Association (Don Aucoin, Jared Bowen, Terry Byrne, Carolyn Clay, Iris Fanger, Jeremy D. Goodwin, Joyce Kulhawik, Kilian Melloy, Bob Nesti, and Ed Siegel) to honor the outstanding productions, directors, designers, and performers that audiences have seen on Greater Boston stages throughout the year.

Special and honored guests at the awards in past years comprise a Who's Who of distinguished artists who have graced Boston's stages, including: Lea DeLaria, Mary Louise Wilson, Olympia Dukakis, Chita Rivera, Tommy Tune,Al Pacino, Edward Albee, Brian Dennehy, August Wilson, Julie Harris, Sir Ian McKellen, Lynn Redgrave, and JasonRobards, Jr.

For more details on the 35th Annual Elliot Norton Awards, including a full list of awardees and nominees, visithttp://www.elliotnortonawards.com