The Stage

McDiarmid, Griffiths and Friedman scoop Theatre World Awards

Published Tuesday 16 May 2006 at 18:20 by Judd Hollander

Ian McDiarmid, Richard Griffiths and Maria Friedman were among the 12 recipients of a 2006 Theatre World Award, an honour accorded for an Outstanding New York Theatrical Debut.

Covering both Broadway and Off-Broadway, the Theatre World Awards are one of the oldest and most prestigious honours for the New York theatrical scene and were first given out 62 years ago. McDiarmid, Griffiths and Friedman won for their roles in Faith Healer, The History Boys and The Woman in White respectively

Meanwhile, The National Theatre’s production of The History Boys has won the New York Drama Critic Circle Award for Best Play of the 2005/6 theatre season. The prize comes with a cash award of $2,500. 

The NYDCC consists of 19 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York metropolitan area. The awards have been presented every year since 1936 to the best new play of the season and is the nation’s second oldest theatre award, after the Pulitzer Prize for drama. 

Receiving special citations this year were John Doyle, for his direction of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, which had its world premiere at The Watermill Theatre in 2004, and Christine Ebersole for her work in the Off-Broadway musical Grey Gardens. Best Musical was awarded to The Drowsy Chaperone.