Fishburne, Wolfe, Etc. Win NAACP Theatre Awards

Laurence Fishburne, Valarie Pettiford, Usher Raymond and director George C. Wolfe are among the winners of the 17th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards.

The winners were announced on Monday, February 19th at the Directors Guild of Los Angeles, with "Grey's Anatomy" star Chandra Wilson and Steve Harris ("The Practice") as co-hosts.

In the awards' Equity category, Fishburne won Best Lead Actor for Without Walls, while Pettiford (in the Local category) received Best Lead Actress for her turn in The Wild Party, which joined Da Kink in My Hair, Intimate Apparel and Demeter in the City as L.A.-based productions receiving multiple NAACP Awards.  As previously announced, Jason C. White won Best Local Playwright for The Dance: The History of American Minstrelsy.

Wolfe (Angels in America, Caroline, or Change), the former artistic director of New York's Public Theater, won the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award and Raymond, the R&B star who played Billy Flynn in Chicago last year, was honored with the Spirit Award.

Visit www.bhwdnaacptheatreawards.com for a full list of NAACP Award-winners in theatrical categories.

Photo of George C. Wolfe by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.