TV: Inside the 2013 Theatre World Awards with Ben Vereen, Tom Hanks & More!

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Theatre World Award Alumni Courtney B. Vance, Anika Noni Rose, Ben Vereen, Christine Lahti, Tony Sheldon, Lea Salonga, Isabel Keating, Phillip Boykin, Jessie Mueller, Jackie Hoffman, Wesley Taylor, Patricia Elliott, Meg Bussert, Crystal A. Dickinson, with special guestNathan Lane, all took part in the 69th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony last night, June 3, 2013 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), home of the current Broadway revival of Pippin. BroadwayWorld was there for the celebration and you can check out highlights and interviews with the honorees below!

The 2013 Theatre World Award Honorees for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance included: 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) and Tom Sturridge (Orphans). Jonny Orsini (The Nance) will receive the 5th Annual Dorothy LoudonAward, and Alan Alda will be honored with the newly established John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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 or 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.

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