'Billy Elliot' boys and Geoffrey Rush among honored Gotham stage newcomers
The Theatre World Awards — now in their 65th year — go to performers deemed outstanding in their New York stage debuts over the past year. Among this year's honorees are five Tony Award contenders: lead actor in a musical trio David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kurish and featured actress nominee Haydn Gwynne ("Billy Elliot"), lead actress in a musical nominee Josefina Scaglione ("West Side Story"), lead actor in a play nominee Geoffrey Rush ("Exit the King") and featured actress in a play nominee Marin Ireland ("reasons to be pretty").
The other Broadway newcomers chosen were Chad L. Coleman ("Joe Turner's Come and Gone"), Susan Louise Connor ("Blithe Spirit"), Colin Hanks ("33 Variations") and Wesley Taylor ("Rock of Ages").
From off-Broadway, the honorees were Jennifer Grace ("Our Town"), Josh Grisetti ("Enter Laughing") and Condola Rashad ("Ruined").
By tradition, six men and six women are chosen for this award. This year, the committee — comprising theater journos like Frank Scheck (New York Post) and Linda Winer (Newsday) — also honored the cast of "The Norman Conquests." This British sextet — Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Mangan, Ben Miles, Paul Ritter and Amanda Root — are all making their Broadway debuts.
All winners will be feted June 2 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
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Photo: Imperial Theatre
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