BroadwayWorld/Arts Louisville Present the 5th Annual Arts Theatre Awards at the Spalding University's Columbia Theatre Ballroom

Arts-Louisville will be presenting the 5th Annual Arts-Louisville/Broadway World Theatre Awards at the Spalding University's Columbia Theatre Ballroom on February 25, 2019.

For the 5th consecutive year, Broadway World and its Regional Editor, Arts-Louisville.com, will host an awards ceremony honoring excellence in local theatre. For the second time, we will be including live entertainment in the form of musical numbers from award recipients, the Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Paul Owen, who was a theatrical designer for Actors Theatre of Louisville beginning in the 1960's and, most recently, Kentucky Shakespeare. The Theatre Educator's Award will be presented posthumously to Charlotte "Charlie" Douglas, who taught for over 30 years at Louisville's Presentation Academy. A select committee of individuals from the Louisville theatrical community chooses these honorees.

The 2019 ceremony will be a fundraiser for Arts-Louisville.com, a 501(c) 3 covering the Louisville arts community who serves as a Local Editor for Broadway World. We are also pleased to announce that Spalding University has signed on as our first sponsor by providing The Columbia Theater Ballroom as the venue for this year's ceremony. There are also plans for a silent auction and tickets will be available for a minimum donation.

Categories include, among others: Best Play, Best Musical, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Choreographer, Best Costume Design, Lighting Design, and Sound Design. Nominations and final voting were both open to the public and managed through the Broadway World website.

This year we are excited to announce that we have expanded the 18 and under student awards so that instead of just one performance by a student, we will now be honoring:

Best Student Play
Best Student Musical
Best Student Actor in a Play
Best Student Actress in a Play
Best Student Actor in a Musical
Best Student Actress in a Musical

There will also be awards for local playwriting in both the Short and Long Form categories, selected by a jury of local theatre professionals.

Sponsors who have signed on for 2019 include Broadway Across America Louisville, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Derby Dinner Playhouse, Louisville Water, and Tracee Dore Interiors.

Photo: 2018 Ceremony - Best Local Musical Winners Acting Against Cancer (Zachary Burrell Photography)