BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dale Badway
President

Professional Actor (SAG-AFTRA, AEA), Singer, Producer. Executive Producer- Badway On Broadway LLC.

Dale is a Two-time TONY Award® Winner 2013/ 2012, Three-time EMMY® Award Winner 2014, OLIVIER Award® Winner 2017, 2015/ 2013 Drama League Award and Outer Critics Circle Award Winner, 2013 Drama Desk Award Winner, 2013 Broadway Global Producer of the Year.

Broadway Producer: TOOTSIE The Musical, GROUNDHOG DAY, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (PARIS / BROADWAY/LONDON), PIPPIN, ON THE TOWN: A Helluva Musical, The Gershwins’© PORGY AND BESS©, BONNIE & CLYDE, PIPPIN Tour - US/TOKYO
“From Broadway With Love” -Sandy Hook (Concert/ TV)

  • Creative Consultant, FEMA -The White House

    As an Actor: Curly- Oklahoma!, Harold Hill- The Music Man, Joe/ Josephine- Sugar, Lover/ Hawker- The Who’s Tommy, Pharaoh- Joseph /Technicolor Dreamcoat, Nick Arnstein- Funny Girl, Billy Bigelow- Carousel, Trevor Graydon - Thoroughly Modern Millie, Richard Henry Lee- 1776, and Conrad Birdie in the National Tour of Bye, Bye Birdie, which played in 26 states

    Dale, a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Acting, appeared on ABC’s Loving and The City, and feature films Passenger 57, Lethal Weapon III, Cop and a Half, and Matinee. Dale is currently in development as Creator/ Host for the TV Show - Fame-Wall® featuring artwork of Grammy Award winning Artist Jim Warren.

    Fame-Wall® celebrates those who have made a significant impact in the world of Entertainment and the Arts and inspired others through their craft, by presenting them with a Fine Art Portrait by Jim Warren. Fame-Wall® Art Galleries are located in NYC and Hollywood. www.Fame-Wall.com.

    Executive Producer, DUE PROCESS - Weekly Television Series/ PBS

    Dale is the official “Voice of God” / MC for many Entertainment and high profile Corporate Events.

Tom Lynch
Vice President

Thomas Lynch (Vice-President) has been with Theatre World since 1988, when he became an assistant to “Big Daddy” (and Theatre World co-founder) John Willis.

He edited over a dozen volumes of the Theatre World books with Mr. Willis, as well as working with press agents, photographers, dramaturgs, researchers, and talent.

Tom is proudest of working (along with the late Patricia Elliott and Marianne Tatum) with pro bono lawyers for the arts to get this organization official 501(c)(3) standing in the 1990s. Achieving non-profit status was essential for Theatre World to continue its mission of encouraging promising talent in a challenging, often unfair, profession.

In addition, Tom is an educator in Woodbridge, NJ, helping high school students discover what the arts can bring to their lives.

Mike Kostel
Vice President

Michael Kostel is an Emmy Award-winning television producer and media executive with a career spanning more than four decades. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcasting from Fordham University.

He served as Supervising Producer of This Week in Baseball and was a key producer on nearly 100 episodes of Inside the Actors Studio on Bravo, earning three Primetime Emmy nominations for the series. His career has encompassed live event production, public television, sports broadcasting, and interfaith programming.

He currently serves as Executive Director of the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NY NATAS), administering the New York Emmy Awards. He has also served as Producer for major New York City broadcasts including the NYC Pride March, the Veterans Day Parade, and 9/11 Memorial coverage from Ground Zero.

Michael has been a member of the Theatre World Awards Board of Directors since 2012.

Stephen Wilde
Secretary

Stephen Wilde is a professionally trained actor, singer, music director, and producer whose career spans the stage, screen, recording studio, and the boardroom. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management with an additional major in Economics from Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business — a rare dual foundation in artistic excellence and rigorous business discipline. He also holds a Graduate Degree in Acting from the Moscow Art Theatre School in Moscow, Russia, where he trained in the Stanislavski tradition under People's Artist of Russia, Yuri Ivanovich Yeremin.

  • On stage, Stephen has been lauded by John Simon of Bloomberg News and Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News for his portrayal of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marc Connelly in the Peccadillo Theater Company's Off-Broadway production of The Talk of the Town at The Oak Room of The Algonquin Hotel. He spent two years on the road in the First National Tour of Meredith Willson's The Music Man, directed by Ray Roderick, logging over 500 performances of the Tony Award-winning show, and has performed with the Chicago, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras under the baton of the late Marvin Hamlisch.

    An ASCAP Award recipient and world champion barbershop quartet singer, Stephen has served as vocal arranger and session director for multiple PBS concert television specials, and has produced recordings recognized with a Bistro Award in New York. He has been a member of Theatre World Awards, Inc. since 2004 — first as a volunteer, then as volunteer coordinator, and since 2011 as a member of the Board of Directors, serving as Secretary since 2013, making him the second longest-serving member of the current board.

Rozanne Scarpelli, CPA
Treasurer

Rozanne Scarpelli is a CPA with more than 30 years of senior financial leadership experience at Citigroup, where she provided global strategic leadership across Treasury, Finance, Liquidity, Risk Management, Regulatory Capital Adequacy, and regulatory governance. She was recognized for synthesizing complex financial, systemic, and operational processes into pragmatic, streamlined solutions while driving effective execution within highly regulated environments. She began her career providing audit and tax services at CPA firms, including PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Serving as Treasurer of Theatre World Awards and The Lambs, Rozanne provides strategic financial oversight and governance leadership to arts-focused institutions. She is a longstanding advocate for the performing arts. In addition to her board service, she has supported independent film projects in development and production, reflecting her broader engagement with the creative community.

James Sheridan
Director-At-Large

James Sheridan currently works on a variety of New York-based television productions. He is an associate producer and writer for Turner Classic Movies' acclaimed podcast THE PLOT THICKENS, which has chronicled the lives and careers of Lucille Ball, Pam Grier, and John Ford. Previously he worked for The Paley Center for Media; curating events with such luminaries as Lucie Arnaz, Tony Bennett, Carol Burnett, and Cloris Leachman.

James is the co-author (with Barry Monush) of Lucille Ball FAQ: Everything Left to Know About America's Favorite Redhead, which was published one month after he graduated from Fordham University at Lincoln Center.

Karen Johnston
Director-At-Large

Karen Johnston is an Executive Producer of the 80th Annual Theatre World Awards.

Karen is a two-time Tony-nominated Broadway Producer.

Broadway: Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, The Wiz, Tootsie — Broadway / National Tour.

Other Broadway and theatrical credits include: Groundhog Day the Musical on Broadway / London / Australia, staged readings in New York City and Nashville, and producing the concert Broadway Our Way, starring Theatre World Awards President Dale Badway, Theatre World Award Winner Phillip Boykin, and Broadway's James Barbour.

She is also the Executive Producer for the short film Brenda and Billy (and the Pothos Plant).

Karen enjoys a life on and off the stage and is active in theatre in the Tampa Bay area, where she is on the Board of the Eight O'Clock Theatre in Largo, Florida. Karen lives in Tampa and is married to Matthew. They have 6 children between them, 11 grandchildren and 2 dogs.

Dr. Jeffrey S. Grove

Director-At-Large

A love of science and medicine runs in the family of Dr. Grove — his father, grandfather and uncle all practiced osteopathic family medicine. After completing his internship and family medicine residency at Sun Coast Hospital in 1993, Dr. Grove joined Suncoast Family Medical Associates.

He is board certified in family medicine with added certification in geriatrics. He is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

  • Active in the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, Dr. Grove was inaugurated as the 60th President in March 2013. In 2016 he was awarded the Marcelino Oliva Excellence in Advocacy Award. Dr. Grove received his Fellow Award from the ACOFP in 2002 and his Distinguished Fellow Award in 2013. In 2020, Dr. Grove was honored with the title of Physician of the Year. In 2023, Dr. Grove was honored with the presentation of their ACOFP's Distinguished Service Award.

    Dr. Grove served on the National American Osteopathic Foundation Board of Trustees from January 2017 – December 2025, serving as its President for the year of 2021.

    In 2012 Dr. Grove joined his former medical school roommate, Michael Jackowitz, in forming Witzend Productions as Managing Partners. In 2019 Dr. Grove became an Associate Member of The Broadway League. He was proud to join the Theatre World Awards Board of Directors in 2024.

    Credits include:

    Off Broadway

    DADDY LONG LEGS (2015) Davenport Theatre — Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Musical

    Broadway

    TUCK EVERLASTING (2016) Broadhurst Theatre

    ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (2017) Circle in the Square Theatre — Winner of the 2018 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical

    ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE (2018) Marquis Theatre

    GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER (2018) Belasco Theatre

    THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT (2018) Studio 54 Theatre

    DIANA: A TRUE MUSICAL STORY (2019) Longacre Theatre

    SOME LIKE IT HOT (2022) Shubert Theatre — Tony Award Nominee for Best Musical

    CABARET (2024) August Wilson Theatre — Tony Award Nominee for Best Revival of a Musical

    CALL ME IZZY (2025) Studio 54 Theatre

    Currently Dr. Grove and Witzend Productions are premiering DARK OF THE MOON - A NEW MUSICAL at the Charing Cross Theatre in London. Later this year brings the premiere of HIIAKA - HAWAIIAN GODDESS on Oahu, Hawaii.

    Dr. Grove has two children, Garrett and Victoria.

Arthur Makar

Director-At-Large

Arthur Makar is a retired nonprofit executive with a lifelong passion for theatre. He received a baccalaureate degree in Theatre and English from Boston College, did graduate studies in Theatre from the University of Denver and received an MEd in Higher Education Administration from Suffolk University. Arthur is President/Chair Emeritus of The Players, a private club founded by Edwin Booth in 1888 to bring together theatre and industry, and a past Cherry Lane Theater Board member. He has produced fundraising events honoring a number of Broadway luminaries including Kaye Ballard, Helen Gallagher, Tammy Grimes, Danny Aiello and Donna Murphy.