Emanuel Azenberg to Be Honored with 'Lifetime Achievement' Tony Award!

The Tony Awards® Administration Committee has announced this year's recipient for the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. This year's award will be presented to producer Emanuel "Manny" Azenberg. The Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre will be presented at the 2012 Tony Awards on Sunday, June 10th. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Emanuel "Manny" Azenberg has produced 65 productions for Broadway, receiving 25 Tony Award nominations and 8 Tony Awards. Collectively, elements of those productions have received 49 Tony Awards from more than 150 nominations. Mr. Azenberg has produced more than twenty Neil Simon shows, including all productions from 1970 through 2009. Additional credits include The Lion in Winter, Master Harold…and the boys, Stoppard's The Real Thing, Sunday in the Park with George, Ain't Misbehavin', among others. Additionally, he has acted as the General Manager for over 150 shows. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Mr. Azenberg served as a First Lieutenant with the 25th US infantry and is a graduate of New York University. He has been a professor at Duke University for the past 25 years and he is married with five children.

"When you look at the criteria for the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award, you'll see that it reads 'Manny Azenberg,' Charlotte St. Martin Executive Director of The Broadway League and Heather Hitchens Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing, said jointly. "It is our absolute honor to pay tribute to the man that exemplifies the gold standard of Broadway."

The 2012 Tony Award Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, May 1st. The Tony Nominations can be viewed LIVE (8:30am ET) in their entirety at www.TonyAwards.com. Follow the Tony Awards on Twitter for real-time updates on the nominees as they are announced (Twitter.com/TheTonyAwards). The entire announcement will be viewable on TonyAwards.com following the live event.

The 66th Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from the Beacon Theatre on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 10, 2012. For more information on the Tony Awards, please visit www.TonyAwards.com.

The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At The Broadway League, Nick Scandalios is Chairman and Charlotte St. Martin is Executive Director. At the American Theatre Wing, Theodore S. Chapin is Chairman and Heather Hitchens is Executive Director. For Tony AwaRD Productions, Alan Wasser and Allan Williams of Alan Wasser Associates are the General Managers. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment are the Executive Producers of the 2012 Tony Awards. Mr. Weiss will also serve as Director of the 2012 Tony Awards.

IBM, an official information technology partner of the Tony Awards, develops, designs, and hosts the official Tony Awards website, www.TonyAwards.com. Audemars Piguet is the presenting sponsor of the Tony Awards Red Carpet and Green Room. United Airlines is the official airline of the Tony Awards. Avis is the official rental car of the Tony Awards. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is the official hotel partner of the Tony Awards, sponsor of the Creative Arts Awards and host of the Tony Nominee Luncheon, and Tony Eve Cocktail Party presenting the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre. The New York Times is the official media partner of the Tony Awards.