NEW YORK CITY: The board of directors for the Theatre World Awards has announced the 2016 honorees, recognizing six actors and six actresses for outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway debut performances.The honorees and additional award winners will be celebrated at the awards ceremony on May 23 at Circle in the Square Theatre.
The 2016 honorees are: Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple; Carmen Cusack, Bright Star; Khris Davis, The Royale; Daniel Durant, Spring Awakening; Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple; John Krasinski, Dry Powder; Sarah Charles Lewis, Tuck Everlasting; Austin P. McKenzie, Spring Awakening; Lupita Nyong’o, Eclipsed; Mark Strong, A View From The Bridge; Ana Villafañe, On Your Feet; and Ben Whishaw, The Crucible.
![Bernadette Peters. (Photo by Andrew Eccles)](https://www.americantheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/Bernadette-Peters2.jpg)
Bernadette Peters will receive the John Willis Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement in the theatre.
Nicholas Barasch will be awarded the Dorothy Laudon Award for Excellence in the Theater for his performance as Arpad Lazslo in Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of She Loves Me. The awardee is selected by the Dorothy Loudon Foundation executive director and trustees, per recommendations from the Theatre World Awards committee.
The performers being recognized for their debut performances were selected by the Theatre World Awards committee, which is comprised of theatre journalists and critics Roma Torre, David Cote, Joe Dziemianowicz, Peter Filichia, Harry Haun, Matthew Murray, and Frank Scheck.