2013 Theatre World Award Winners Announced - Carvel, Hanks, McClure, Settle & More Plus Alan Alda to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

The 2013 Honorees for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance, the 5th Annual Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater for an Outstanding Performance in a Broadway or Off-Broadway Production, and the newly established John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, were announced today. The winners will be celebrated at the 69th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony set for a new day and time, representing a change from past years, on Monday evening, June 3, 2013 beginning at 6:45 p.m. at the Music Box Theater (239 West 45th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin.

Hosted annually by well-known theater journalist, Peter Filichia, the awards ceremony will be directed by Theatre World Awardrecipient John Tartaglia. Following the success of last year's ceremony, Board Members Mary K. Botosan and Erin Oestreich return to produce the annual event.

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. TheTheatre 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.

The Theatre World Award winners were chosen by the Theatre World Awards Committee that includes David Cote (Time Out New Yorkand "NY1"), Joe Dziemianowicz (New York Daily News), Peter Filichia (The Newark Star-Ledger, Emeritus) Harry Haun(Playbill), Matthew Murray (Talkin' Broadway), Frank Scheck (New York Post), and Linda Winer (Newsday).

The Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater honors an Outstanding Performance in a Broadway or Off-Broadway production. Dorothy Loudon, who had the unique talent of being able to make audiences laugh and cry, made her Broadway debut inNowhere to Go But Up for which she received a Theatre World Award for her performance. She received a Tony Award for her incomparable performance as 'Miss Hannigan' in Annie, and went on to triumphs originating roles in Noises Off, Westside Waltz, and Michael Bennett's Ballroom.

The Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence is chosen by the Trustees of The Dorothy Loudon Foundation, Lionel Larner, Executive Director, together with recommendations from the Theatre World Awards Committee.

The newly established John Willis Award is given for lifetime achievement in the theatre to honor the man who created and maintained the Theatre World tradition for 66 years, encouraging new talent in an often challenging business. The John Willis Award will be presented annually by the Theatre World Award Board of Directors to the man or woman whose lifetime achievements and personal generosity to the Theatre Community merit special recognition and acknowledgement.

2013 Theatre World Award Winners

Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance during the 2012-2013 theatrical season

Bertie Carvel, Matilda The Musical
Carrie Coon, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Brandon J. Dirden, The Piano Lesson
Shalita Grant, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Tom Hanks, Lucky Guy
Valisia LeKae, Motown: The Musical
Rob McClure, Chaplin
Ruthie Ann Miles, Here Lies Love
Conrad Ricamora, Here Lies Love
Keala Settle, Hands on a Hardbody
Yvonne Strahovski, Golden Boy
Tom Sturridge, Orphans

2013 Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater Winner

Outstanding Performance in a Broadway or Off-Broadway Production
Jonny Orsini, The Nance

2013 John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre Winner

Alan Alda

Previous winners who have won the prestigious Theatre World Award at the beginning of their careers include Meryl Streep, RoseMary Harris, Marlon Brando, Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Anne Bancroft, James Earl Jones, Liza Minnelli, Alan Alda, Zoe Caldwell, Christopher Walken, Alec Baldwin, Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Al Pacino, Grace Kelly, and so many more.

The Theatre World Award Board of Directors is headed by Tom Lynch (President) with Dale Badway (Vice-President), Alden Fulcomer (Secretary), Tabitha Falcone (Treasurer), Mary K. Botosan, Kimothy Cruse, Michael Kostel, Erin Oestreich, Lisa Rothe and Stephen Wilde.

The Theatre World Awards Board encourages theater lovers to "LIKE" the Theatre World Awards fan page on Facebook and follow on twitter at @TWAwards.

The annual published book, Theatre World, remains the definitive 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 is edited by Ben Hodges and Scott Denny, published by Theatre World Media and distributed by Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, a division of Hal Leonard Performing Arts

Publishing Group. Theatre World Volume 68: 2011-2012, the most complete pictorial and statistical record of the American theatre season, will soon be available at all major booksellers and online.

For additional information about the Theatre World Awards (including a list of past recipients), visit www.theatreworldawards.org.