Chita Rivera to Receive the 2015 John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Theatre World Awards

The 71st annual Theatre World Awards will be announced Tuesday, May 5, 2015, and the awards themselves will be handed out in a Monday, June 1, 2015 ceremony at Broadway's Lyric Theatre. Theatre journalist Peter Filichia will once again host the ceremony. Each year the Theatre World Awards recognize six men and six women who made outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway debuts during the previous season. In addition, this year, the Theatre World Awards will also honor The Visit star Chita Rivera, who will get the 2015 John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Their seventh annual Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater for an Outstanding Performance in a Broadway or Off-Broadway Production will also be announced Tuesday, May 5, 2015.

Chita Rivera.

First presented in 1945, the Theatre World Awards, founded by John Willis, the editor-in-chief of Theatre World and Screen World, are the oldest awards given for Outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway debut performances. The Theatre World Awards are presented annually at the end of the theatre season to six actors and six actresses for "their significant, reviewable, debut performances in a Broadway or Off-Broadway production."

The Theatre World Award winners were chosen by the Theatre World Awards Committee that includes Roma Torre (Time Warner-NY1 News), David Cote (Time Out New York and Time Warner-NY1 News), Joe Dziemianowicz (New York Daily News), Peter Filichia (The Newark Star-Ledger, Emeritus), Harry Haun (Playbill), Matthew Murray (Talkin’ Broadway) and Frank Scheck (The New York Post).

The John Willis Award is given for lifetime achievement in the theatre to honor the man who created and maintained the Theatre World tradition for 67 years, encouraging new talent. For more information, click here.