2024 THEATRE WORLD AWARD HONOREES
SPECIAL AWARD HONOREES
Len Cariou
John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement
Len Cariou is an internationally recognized, Tony Award-winning, Emmy-nominated actor whose career spans over six decades on Broadway and regional stages, in film, and television. A member of the Theatre Hall of Fame, he is celebrated in particular for originating the role of Frederick Egerman in Sondheim's A Little Night Music, and for his legendary performance as the title character in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He remains highly regarded for classical repertoires performed at the Stratford Festival and Guthrie theatres including King Lear, which he assayed twice. His one-man show Broadway and the Bard embraces both the dramatic and musical elements of his sojourn in his beloved profession. Len is also known for playing the patriarch of the family in Blue Bloods, one of CBS's highest rated primetime programs. Len is a member of the Order of Manitoba and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
A.J. Shively
Dorothy Loudon Award
Broadway: Paradise Square (Tony, OCC, Chita Rivera noms.); Bright Star (Drama Desk nom.); La Cage Aux Folles. Nat'l Tour: Bright Star; The Sound of Music. Off-Broadway/New York: Titanic (Encores); Philadelphia, Here I Come (Theatre World Award, Drama Desk, Lortel noms.), Brigadoon (Irish Rep); A Man Of No Importance (Lortel award, OCC nom.; CSC); February House (The Public); The Suitcase Under The Bed (Mint); Unlock’d (Prospect); …Guide To A Successful Marriage (Cherry Lane); Things To Ruin (Second Stage); Little Airplanes Of The Heart (EST); ReWrite (Urban Stages). Regional: Boston Pops; Berkeley Rep; Kennedy Center; CTG; Old Globe; PCLO. TV/Film: “Julia” (HBO Max); “Bull” (CBS); “Hunters” (Amazon Prime); “Homeland” (Showtime); “Madam Secretary” (CBS); “The Blacklist” (NBC); “Younger” (TV Land); Other People’s Bodies(upcoming); Nobody Walks In LA; From Nowhere; Syrup; HairBrained. Training: University of Michigan; RADA.
Peter Filichia
Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Theatre World
Peter is the theater critic emeritus for the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey, and a columnist for www.masterworksbroadway.com, www.mtishows.com and www.kritzerland.com.
He wrote Peter Filichia's Diary for www.theatermania.com for 10 years; Theatergoer’s Diary for www.theater.com for two years; Stagestruck for Theater Week magazine for its entire nine-year run, and for three years on Playbill-on-Line. He was the theater critic for television station News 12 New Jersey from 1995-2010.
Filichia is the author of Let's Put on a Musical, now in its third printing (Back Stage, 2007); Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit of the Season / The Biggest Flop of the Season: The Last 50 Years (Applause, 2010;, Broadway Musical MVPs 1960-2010: The Most Valuable Players of the Last 50 Seasons (Applause, 2011) and Strippers, Showgirls and Sharks: A Very Opinionated Look at the Musicals that Lost the Best Musical Tony (St. Martin’s Press, 2013).
Before joining the Theatre World Awards in 1996 as host and head of the selection committee, Filichia served four terms as president of the Drama Desk, where he wrote and hosted its annual awards ceremony.
In addition, Filichia has served on an assessment panel for the National Endowment for the Arts; has written liner notes for many Broadway cast albums; is the critic-in-residence for the University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music; annually serves on the ASCAP Awards program; and is a Theatre Hall of Fame voter.
He can be reached at pfilichia@aol.com
2024 CLASS OF HONOREES
ALI LOUIS BOURZGUI (THE WHO’S TOMMY) is making his Broadway Debut to critical acclaim playing Tommy Walker in the hit Broadway revival of The Who’s Tommy. For this role, he has received a 2024 Theatre World Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, a Drama League Award nomination and won Chicago’s Jeff Award for Outstanding Performer in a Leading Role at the Goodman Theater. Prior to NYC, Ali most recently starred in the First National Tours of Company (Paul) and The Band’s Visit (Haled). Other theater includes the World Premiere of Martin Yousif Zebari’s Layalina (Young Mazin/Yousif) Goodman Theater; Fun Home (Theaterworks Hartford); West Side Story, The Importance of Being Earnest and Shakespeare in Love (Hope Rep). Voiceover/ Film:Quiet Part Loud (Jordan Peele/ Gimlet), The Ghost Light (Tiny Viking Productions). BFA from Ithaca College. ألف شكر @ali.louis.
COLE ESCOLA (OH, MARY!) is a comedian, actor, and writer. They’ve received a Drama Desk Award, a Theatre World Award, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards for Oh, Mary! and they’re thrilled to be making their Broadway debut with the show. Notable TV includes: “Search Party,” “At Home with Amy Sedaris,” “Difficult People” (on which they also wrote), “Man Seeking Woman,” “Mozart in the Jungle,” and “Ziwe” (for which they were also a writer). Cole consulted on “Hacks” for HBO and also wrote for “The Other Two” for Comedy Central. They were the co-creator, writer, and star of the lo-fi cult-hit TV show “Jeffrey and Cole Casserole,” and were named one of Vanity Fair's “25 Best Performances of 2023" for their special "Our Home Out West,” and “Best Sketch Comic of 2020” by the New York Times for their special “Help! I’m Stuck!,” which they filmed alone in their apartment during quarantine. Both self-produced specials are available on YouTube. Follow Cole on Instagram at @coleescola.
BRODY GRANT (THE OUTSIDERS) a New York based multi-hyphenate artist, is making his Broadway debut in The Outsiders as Ponyboy for which he has received a Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, and Dorian Theater Awards nomination. Grant is also one of this year’s recipients of the Theatre World Award (for Broadway debut). Selected work includes Parade (New York City Center) and The Outsiders (La Jolla – winner of the 2023 Craig Noel Award by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle). Brody is also an independent recording artist.
MICHAEL IMPERIOLI (AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE) For six seasons, Michael Imperioli was an explosive fixture on HBO's critically acclaimed Mafia chronicle "The Sopranos" earning him 5 Emmy and 2 Golden Globe nominations before winning an Emmy win for Outstanding Supporting Actor. In addition to playing Christopher, Michael also wrote 5 episodes of the series. Prior to making his mark on pop culture history with his finely drawn portrait of an Italian-American thug with suppressed artistic instincts, Imperioli was an active figure in the New York independent film scene of the 1990s. He was often seen in street-smart character roles for directors like Martin Scorsese, Walter Hill, Hal Hartley, Abel Ferrara, The Hughes brothers and Spike Lee, with whom he also co-scripted and co-produced the feature, Summer of Sam. Michael also wrote and directed the independent feature The Hungry Ghosts. More recently, Michael was seen in HBO's 2nd season of Mike White’s acclaimed hit series “The White Lotus” as Dominic Di Grasso, a role for which he received a 2023 Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Currently Michael can be seen repeating his role of Minister Payne in season 2 of Hulu's hit series “This Fool.” Michael recently completed shooting Paul Schrader's film Oh Canada alongside Richard Gere and Uma Thurman. Among his numerous film and television credits, he was featured in Regina King’s Oscar nominated film One Night in Miami after starring on the NBC series “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector” and the ABC series “Detroit 1-8-7.” Prior to that, Michael played Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Showtime miniseries, “Escape at Dannemora” opposite Patricia Arquette. Currently, Imperioli is the guitarist and vocalist for the band Zopa, and the co-host, alongside Steve Schirripa, on the very popular podcast and tour, Talking Sopranos. He is a NY Times Best Selling Author of Woke Up This Morning, The Definitive Oral History of the Sopranos (with Steve Schirripa), and wrote the novel The Perfume Burned His Eyes, which he is currently adapting as a screenplay. He also served as artistic director of Studio Dante, an off-Broadway theatre company.
WILL KEEN (PATRIOTS) has just closed the West End transfer of Peter Morgan’s Patriots, directed by Rupert Goold for which he won the Olivier Award for Supporting Actor last year. He most recently wrapped “My Lady Jane” and the second series of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” both for Amazon, as well as indie feature Borderland opposite Felicity Jones and Mark Strong. He is currently on screens in “The Gold” (BBC1/Viacom), “Ridley Road” (BBC) and “The Pursuit of Love” (BBC) opposite Andrew Scott and Emily Beecham. His other TV credits include “His Dark Materials” seasons 1 and 2, “The Crown” seasons one and two, “Genius,” “Picasso,” “Wolf Hall” and “The Musketeers.” Stage credits include Ghosts, Waste (Almeida), Quartermaine’s Terms (Wyndham's Theatre), The Arsonists (Royal Court) and Mary Stuart (National Theatre).
NICHELLE LEWIS (THE WIZ) is a 24 year old native of Virginia, and thrilled to portray Dorothy in the revival of The Wiz, marking her Broadway debut. The New York based singer-songwriter has performed in the national tour of Hairspray (Dynamite/Cindy Watkins); Little Shop of Horrors (Chiffon/Crystal); Bare: A Pop Opera (Ivy); and most recently Labelless, a new musical. Nichelle always felt she had a calling much bigger than herself. It wasn’t until she was asked to sing a solo tribute to her late father at age 10 that she realized what that calling was. She mustered up as much courage as she could to sing, “My Help,” and by the end of the song the whole church was crying, not tears of sadness but of love and joy. In that moment, she knew she was called to inspire others through song. Nichelle truly believes that the voice she sang with that day could have only been a gift. A gift she continues to hone and discover new things about over the years. She started her career singing in church and show choir, and booking gigs at weddings before “American Idol” reached out to her on Instagram to audition her on the show last summer. Nichelle says all of this to say that she is unbelievably grateful for the amazing opportunity to portray Dorothy. A character, who much like herself and others, overcomes many trials and tribulations in life that only help to make her stronger, wiser, and more determined. Nichelle is grateful to her mother who raised her children with a will like no other and encouraged Nichelle to stay on the path, to remain hardworking and kind, and to never stop listening to her heart. And finally, she would like to thank her friends and family, both present and looking down from above, for their love and immense support. TikTok & IG @iamnichellelewis
RACHEL McADAMS (MARY JANE) Academy Award nominated Rachel McAdams’ transformative performances have established her as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after and respected actors. Films: adaptation of Judy Blume’s best-selling novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Game Night alongside Jason Bateman and Kyle Chandler; Sebastián Lelio’s Disobedience, co-starring opposite Rachel Weisz; starred alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen and Chiwetel Ejiofor in Scott Derrickson’s Marvel film, Doctor Strange; Dr. Christine Palmer opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, directed by Sam Raimi; Thomas McCarthy’s critically acclaimed Spotlight, alongside Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo (Oscar Nom, Critics’ Choice Award Nom, Screen Actors’ Guild Award Nom); Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris (SAG nomination) opposite Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Marion Cotillard, Carla Bruni, and Michael Sheen; Irene Adler in Sherlock Homes: A Game of Shadows opposite Robert Downey Jr.; The Little Prince opposite Jeff Bridges, Paul Rudd, and Benicio del Toro; Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright and Willem Dafoe; Cameron Crowe’s Aloha opposite Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone; She played Sigrit Ericksdóttir opposite Will Ferrell in Netflix’s Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga; Southpaw opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Forest Whitaker, Wim Wenders’ Everything Will Be Fine opposite James Franco, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Robert Naylor; Michael Sucsy’s The Vow, opposite Channing Tatum; Richard Curtis’ About Time opposite Domnhall Gleeson and Bill Nighhy; Terrance Mallick’s To The Wonder opposite Ben Affleck and Olga Kurylenko; Brian De Palma’s Passion opposite Noomi Rapace; Roger Michell’s Morning Glory opposite Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford; Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes; The Time Traveler’s Wife; Neil Burger’s The Lucky Ones; Married Life (Toronto Film Festival 2007 Premiere); The Family Stone opposite Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker; Wes Craven’s Red Eye opposite Cillian Murphy; Wedding Crashers opposite Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Christopher Walken; Nick Cassavettes’ The Notebook opposite Ryan Gosling and Mean Girls.
Television: McAdams guest starred in FX’s popular series “Dave” in three episodes as herself, alongside Brad Pitt and Dave Burd; Nic Pizzolatto’s “True Detective” where she starred alongside Colin Farrell, Taylor Kitsch, and Vince Vaughn.
In 2005, McAdams received ShoWest’s Supporting Actress of the Year Award as well as the Breakthrough Actress of the Year at the Hollywood Film Awards. In 2009, she was awarded with ShoWest’s Female Star of the Year.
McAdams was born and raised in a small town outside of London, Ontario. Involved with theater growing up, she went on to graduate with honors with a BFA degree in Theater from York University.
MALEAH JOI MOON (HELL’S KITCHEN) Hailed as one of New York Times’ Breakout stars of 2023 and Theatre artists to watch, Maleah Joi Moon recently closed out her professional debut in the Off-Broadway lead role of "Ali" in Alicia Keys' musical, Hell’s Kitchen. In a rare feat, Maleah is stepping out in a principal role as a Broadway transfer at The Shubert and has been nominated for ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical’ at the 2024 Tony Awards. She made a splash as an exciting new face that showcased her range and vocal ability in 2022's ABC/Disney Discovery Showcase and starred in Mystic Christmas.
TOM PECINKA (STEREOPHONIC) Additional stage work includes Stereophonic (Playwrights Horizons); He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box, Timon of Athens, Henry IV (TFANA); Troilus and Cressida, Richard II (The Public); The Soldier’s Tale (Carnegie Hall); Ghosts (Williamstown); Father Comes Home From the Wars… (Yale Rep, A.C.T.); and Arcadia (Yale Rep). Television and film credits include “American Rust” and The Kill Room. MFA: Yale School of Drama.
SARAH PIDGEON (STEREOPHONIC) Carnegie Mellon graduate, Sarah is reprising her role as Diana in Stereophonic (Playwrights Horizons). Television credits include Hulu’s “Tiny Beautiful Things” (Hollywood Critics Association Award nomination) and Amazon’s series “The Wilds” (2021 GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Drama). Film credits include Alec Tibaldi’s upcoming independent feature Lazareth opposite Ashley Judd and David Siegel/ Scott McGehee’s The Friend, alongside Naomi Watts and Bill Murray.
PHILLIP JOHNSON RICHARSON (THE WIZ) is a native of North Carolina and a graduate of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Phillip can be seen in the A24 feature film ‘Sharper' starring with Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan and John Lithgow streaming now on Apple+. He was a series regular in the Apple+ series 'Little Voices'. His first job out of school was with the Chicago Company of ‘HAMILTON'. His television appearances were guest appearances on 'The Last O.G’, 'Chicago PD', 'Provent Innocent' and 'The Other Two'. Phillip has released several of his own singles on Apple Music and all streaming platforms under the moniker of “Phil" IG: @philsgoodmusic
CHRIS STACK (STEREOPHONIC) Off-Broadway: Stereophonic, Your Mother’s Copy of the Kama Sutra (Playwrights Horizons); Marie Antoinette (Soho Rep); The Secret Life of Bees, Blue Ridge (Atlantic); Ugly Lies the Bone (Roundabout); AZAK (Rising Phoenix); Killers and Other Family (Rattlestick); The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (Goodman). Film/television: Samantha Soule and Daniel Talbott’s 2023 debut feature Midday Black Midnight Blue with Merritt Wever, A Better Half, “Interview With the Vampire,” School of Rock, “One Life to Live,” Roger Dodger.