2025 THEATRE WORLD AWARDS HONOREES

SPECIAL AWARD HONOREES

Leslie Uggams
John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement

Leslie Uggams is a Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress and singer whose career has brought her from Harlem (The Apollo Theater) to Broadway (Hallelujah, Baby!), the big screen (Deadpool, American Fiction) to television (Empire, The Leslie Uggams Show). Perhaps best known for her stirring portrayal of Kizzy in the landmark TV mini-series Alex Haley’s Roots (Critics Choice Award, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations), Leslie has performed to critical and popular acclaim ever since her early professional appearances at the age of nine at the famed Apollo Theater in New York City. There she opened for such musical legends as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dinah Washington. Now, after seven decades on stage and screen, Leslie is a legend in her own right. She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Apollo, and she holds Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from the University of Connecticut and the University of Michigan. She is a 2021 inductee into the Theater Hall of Fame; the recipient of an American Artist Award from Arena Stage in Washington, DC; the recipient of the Inaugural Broadway League Juneteenth Legacy Award; and the 2022 Oscar Hammerstein Award honoree by the York Theatre Company.

  • On Broadway Leslie made her stunning musical theater debut starring in Hallelujah, Baby! earning both Tony and Theater World awards. Since then, she has starred on Broadway in Blues in the Night, Her First Roman with Richard Kiley, Jerry’s Girls, Anything Goes at the Lincoln Center Theatre (also the first national tour), King Headley II with Brian Stokes Mitchell (Tony Award nomination), Thoroughly Modern Millie, and On Golden Pond opposite James Earl Jones. Most recently she appeared in Jelly’s Last Jam at City Center Encores. Off-Broadway Leslie has won Audelco Awards for The Old Settler, Keb Mo’s blues musical Thunder Knocking on the Door, and First Breeze of Summer at the acclaimed Signature Theater. Favorite regional productions include Gypsy,Mame, A Little Night Music, The Rink, Into the Woods, Master Class, Call Me Madam, Blue, Hello, Dolly! and the national tour of Guys and Dolls. In addition, Leslie has toured nationally, performing to sold-out audiences, with her autobiographical one-woman musical Uptown/Downtown (LA Drama Critics Circle Award, NAACP Theatre Award, IRNE Award, Broadway World People’s Choice Award) which chronicles her extraordinary career in stories and song. From New York to Boston and Los Angeles, critics have raved, calling Leslie “dazzling,” “indefatigable,” and “delectable!” Leslie also made theater history by becoming the first African American actress to portray the iconic character of Mama Rose in Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s acclaimed production of Gypsy. She also starred in the Encores! presentation of Pipe Dream at New York City Center; and in the world premiere of Stormy Weather: The Lena Horne Story (Ovation nomination) at the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where she broke the all-time house attendance record.

    Leslie’s recent feature length films are Deadpooland Wolverine, American Fiction, Dotty & Soul, and Nanny. Streaming and television series include Fallout, Extrapolations, The Bite, New Amsterdam, and Empire. She is set to appear in Season 3 of The Gilded Age on HBO. She also has voiced characters for the Netflix animated series My Dad, the Bounty Hunter, the Disney animated series Minnie’s Bow-Tunes, and The Family Guy. Other prominent TV appearances include The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; Nurse Jackie; The Good Wife; Memphis Beat; and NYC 22.

    Leslie’s still vibrant television career, which began at the age of six portraying Ethel Waters’ niece on the TV series Beulah, spans decades. As a teenager she famously won a $12,500 college scholarship on Name That Tune, and as a regular on Sing Along with Mitch she was the first African American performer to be featured on a weekly national primetime television series. Other early guest appearances included Your Show of Shows, The Milton Berle Show, The Arthur Godfrey Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1970 she hosted her own primetime variety series, The Leslie Uggams Show. Later starring roles included her award-winning portrayal in Alex Haley’s Roots, the miniseries Backstairs at the White House, the ABC-TV movie Sizzle, the HBO special Christmas at Radio City Music Hall, and her Emmy-winning duties as co-host of the NBC-TV series Fantasy.

    While a student at Julliard School in New York, Leslie released the first of 10 solo albums she was to record for Columbia Records. Later she signed with Atlantic Records. Her newest CDs are Leslie Uggams: Uptown/Downtown; On My Way to You: The Songs of Marilyn and Alan Bergman; and Wishing You a Happy New Year with the Curtis McKonly Orchestra. She can also be heard on the cast album of Pipe Dream.

    In concert, Leslie has toured with Peter Nero and Mel Torme; performed at the Hollywood Bowl in Jerry Herman’s Broadway; and appeared as a guest soloist with numerous symphony orchestras across the country, including The National Symphony Orchestra, The Cincinnati Pops, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and The Rhode Island Symphony. In addition, Leslie performed before 300,000 people during the Memorial Day Concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol which was also broadcast live by PBS to millions of viewers nationwide.

    For more information, please visit her online at www.leslieuggams.com , www.facebook.com/LeslieUggams , www.YouTube.com/SmagguProductions , on Threads and on Instagram @LeslieUggams1.

Shailene Woodley is one of the most multi-faceted and talented actors of her generation across film and television. She can seamlessly transition between genres: from drama, to action, to comedy, to romance.  

 Woodley solidified her status as a star in the “Divergent” film series, based on the
popular YA series from best-selling author Veronica Roth, as well as from her role in the
critically acclaimed film, “The Fault in Our Stars,” the big screen adaption of John
Green’s hugely popular novel. Woodley earned glowing reviews from the most respected critics in the country, and it dominated the box office on opening weekend.

This past December, Woodley made her Broadway debut in “Cult of Love,” written by
Leslye Headland and directed by Trip Cullman. The play also starred Zachary Quinto,
Barbie Ferreira, Molly Bernard, Chris Lowell, and Christopher Sears. Woodley recently wrapped production on the action-thriller “Motor City.” Woodley stars alongside Alan Ritchson, Ben Foster, and Pablo Schreiber.

Most recently, Woodley starred in the Amazon Studios film “Killer Heat,” based on Jo
Nesbø’s short story “The Jealousy Man.” She starred alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt
and Richard Madden.

Shailene Woodley
Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theatre
CULT OF LOVE

  • In 2023, Woodley co-starred in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” alongside Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz. The film was released in theaters by Neon on December 25, 2023.

    In September 2023, Woodley appeared in the Sony film “Dumb Money,” directed by Craig Gillespie, alongside Paul Dano, America Ferrera, Pete Davidson, Sebastian Stan, and
    Seth Rogan. Woodley also appeared in the Neon film “Robots” alongside Jack Whitehall and co-directed by Anthony Hines and Casper Christensen, as well as in the indie thriller film “To Catch A Killer,” for which she also served as a co-producer. The film was directed by Damián Szifron and co-produced alongside Stuart Manashil and Aaron Ryder. 

    In 2022, Woodley appeared in “The Fallout,” Megan Park’s directorial debut starring Jenna Ortega. The film, which follows a high school student navigating emotional trauma following a school shooting, was released on HBO Max on January 27, 2022.

    In 2021, Woodley starred and produced in the romantic period drama “The Last Letter from Your Lover,” directed by Augustine Frizzell. The film is a dual-narrative love story set between London and the Riviera in 2003 and the 1960s, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Jojo Moyes. Felicity Jones, Callum Turner, and Joe Alwyn also star. Also in 2021, Woodley joined Benedict Cumberbatch, Jodie Foster, and Tahar Rahim in Kevin Macdonald’s award nominated and critically acclaimed film, “The Mauritanian” for STX. The film tells the story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Rahim), who was imprisoned by the U.S. government for years without charge or trial. 

    In 2020, Woodley starred opposite Jamie Dornan and Sebastian Stan in director Drake Doremus’ indie film “Endings, Beginnings.” The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and was subsequently released by Samuel Goldwyn Films on April 17, 2020. 

    Additional film credits include “Adrift,” which Woodley produced and starred in alongside Sam Claflin, “Snowden,” and “The Spectacular Now” alongside Miles Teller. Woodley and Teller shared the Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Acting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and Woodley was nominated for a Gotham Award, and an Independent Spirit Award® for Best Actress.  

    In television, Woodley notably starred as ‘Jane’ in HBO’s critically acclaimed limited series “Big Little Lies” for director David E. Kelly and Jean Marc Vallee. The series was adapted from Liane Moriarty’s 2014 novel of the same name about three women who meet as parents at a local school and become entangled in each other’s secrets. Woodley received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. The series received critical praise and accolades and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film. Season 2 of the series premiered on HBO in June 2019.  

    Other roles include playing the lead character in the hit ABC Family series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” for five years; the lead in the popular WB movie “Felicity: An American Girl Adventure,” which was produced by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Julia Roberts; and recurring roles on “Crossing Jordan,”, “The O.C.,” and “Jack & Bobby.”

    Most recently, Woodley starred in the television adaptation of Lisa Taddeo’s best-selling novel “Three Women” for Starz alongside Betty Gilpin and DeWanda Wise. The series premiered on September 13, 2024.

    Woodley began her career at the age of 5 where she began working in commercials and then earned her first TV role in the 1999 MOW "Replacing Dad" which starred two-time Oscar® nominee Mary McDonnell. 

    Woodley is a committed activist for social justice, a staunch environmentalist and focused on discovering ways to better the world.

George Clooney is making his Broadway debut with Good Night, and Good Luck. The play, which he also co-wrote with Grant Heslov, is based on the 2005 film version, which earned Clooney Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Clooney was last seen in Jon Watts’ Wolfs alongside Brad Pitt, and Ticket to Paradise, in which he co-starred with Julia Roberts. Upcoming, Clooney will star opposite Adam Sandler and Billy Crudup in Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly. Other acting credits include Michael Clayton; The Descendants; Syriana; Up in the Air; the Oceans series; Gravity; The Ides of March; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; and “ER.”

Clooney made his directorial debut with the spy drama Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and went on to helm Good Night, and Good Luck; The Ides of March; The Monuments Men; Suburbicon; Leatherheads; The Midnight Sky; The Tender Bar; and most recently, The Boys in the Boat.

George Clooney
2025 TWA Special Award
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK

  • Clooney’s achievements as a performer and a filmmaker have earned him two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes including the Cecil B. DeMille Award, four SAG Awards, one BAFTA award, two Critics’ Choice Awards, an Emmy, four National Board of Review Awards and an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award.

     In 2006, Clooney and Heslov founded their film and television production company, Smokehouse Pictures. Under the banner, the company has produced a wide variety of titles, including Argo, The Ides of March, Leatherheads, Money Monster, August: Osage County, Ticket to Paradise, The Boys in the Boat, Wolfs, as well as “Catch-22” and “The Agency.” Clooney and Heslov first worked together at Section Eight, a company in which Clooney was partnered with Steven Soderbergh. Section Eight productions included Ocean’s 11; Ocean’s 12; Ocean’s 13; Michael Clayton; The Good German; Good Night, and Good Luck; Syriana; Confessions of a Dangerous Mind; and Welcome to Collinwood.

    George Clooney is recognized as much for his global humanitarian efforts as he is for his accomplishments in the entertainment industry. Among the many honors received as a result of his humanitarian efforts in Darfur, one of them was the 2007 Peace Summit Award, given at the eighth World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. In 2008, Clooney was designated a U.N. Messenger of Peace, one of eight individuals chosen to advocate on behalf of the U.N. and its peacekeeping efforts. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded Clooney with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 2010 Primetime Emmys. Later that year, Clooney received the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award for his dedication to humanitarian efforts in Sudan and Haiti.

2025 CLASS OF HONOREES

ALANA ARENAS (PURPOSE) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2007 and created the role of Pecola Breedlove for the Steppenwolf for Young Adults production of The Bluest Eye, which also played at the New Victory Theatre Off-Broadway. Recent Steppenwolf appearances include Head of Passes and the titular role in Marie Antoinette. Television and film credits include “David Makes Man” and Canal Street. Purpose marks Ms. Arenas’ Broadway debut, and she thanks her husband, mother, godmother and her entire family for the overwhelming support that makes this all possible.

KIT CONNOR (ROMEO & JULIET) Screen International Star of Tomorrow actor Kit Connor landed his first film role aged eight in the lead role of Tom in Warner Bros. Pictures’ Get Santa (2014).  Notably, he played Older Reggie in Rocketman (2019), taking on the role of young Elton John. He also appeared in Little Joe (2019) as Joe. Kit is well-known for voicing Pantalaimon in His Dark Materials (2019 -2020). 

His theatre credits include Welcome Home, Captain Fox! at the Donmar Warehouse and Fanny & Alexander, where he played Alexander at The Old Vic. Kit made his Broadway debut playing Romeo in Sam Gold’s Romeo & Juliet in Fall 2024. 

Kit is best known for his lead role of Nick Nelson in the global hit TV adaptation of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper, with the third season launching in October 2024 on Netflix. Kit won the Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in 2022 and the RTS Award for Leading Actor Male in 2023. In 2024, The Hollywood Reporter named Kit one of their Next Gen Talent. 

Kit voiced a role in The Wild Robot for DreamWorks alongside Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Bill Nighy out in September 2024. Kit starred in Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland’s film for A24, Warfare, alongside Will Poulter, Charles Melton and Joseph Quinn in April 2025. 

PATSY FERRAN (A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) made her West End debut in 2014, playing Edith in Blithe Spirit at the Gielgud Theatre, opposite Angela Lansbury as Madame Arcati. That same year, she also made her National Theatre debut, taking on the role of Jim in a stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The next couple of years saw Ferran continually on stage, but it wasn’t until 2018 that Ferran would become a household name.

In 2018, she played Alma Winemiller in Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke, originally at the Almeida Theatre. In a review for LondonTheatre.co.uk, Will Longman said: “Ferran takes centre stage, building up one of Alma’s all-encompassing panic attacks, gulping and gasping hysterically into a microphone, you know she is going to deliver something special. From Alma’s shy, timid demeanour, to outbursts or maniacal laughter, her convincing performance is reason alone to see this production.” After an acclaimed start at the Almeida, the production transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre in November 2018 for a two month run. The following year, Ferran won her first Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play, beating the likes of Gillian Anderson, Sophie Okonedo and Katherine Parkinson.

Since her Olivier win, Ferran has returned to the Almeida to star in an adaptation of Three Sisters as Olga. She briefly made her Broadway debut in a revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but the production was postponed after nine previews due to the Coronavirus pandemic and ultimately cancelled.

Recently, Ferran has starred in A Christmas Carol at the Bridge Theatre and Camp Siegfried at the Old Vic.

TOM FRANCIS (SUNSET BLVD.) is an Olivier Award winner and Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominee for his performance as Joe Gillis in Sunset Blvd. (St. James Theatre, Broadway; Savoy Theatre, West End). Other theatre credits include & Juliet (Shaftesbury), What’s New Pussycat? (Birmingham Rep), Rent (Hope Mill), Hair – The Concert (London Palladium) and I Could Use a Drink (Gartland Productions). Screen credits include “You” (Netflix) and the upcoming untitled Noah Baumbach Picture (Netflix). Training: Arts Educational School. Instagram: @realtomfrancis

JAK MALONE (OPERATION MINCEMEAT) is an Olivier Award winning actor best known for originating the role of Hester in the hit musical - Operation Mincemeat. His work in the show has recently earned him a nomination for a TONY award for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical. Jak studied Acting at The Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts in his native Merseyside before establishing himself in the London theatre scene. In addition to his work in Theatre, Jak has extensive experience in voiceover and radio and has several ongoing writing projects that he’s very excited about. When Jak is not performing, he is an avid fan of The Muppets, a keen artist and a collector of horror movie memorabilia.  Jak is the proud owner of an adorable little Italian Greyhound named Dracula.

LOUIS MCCARTNEY (STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW) made his theatre debut in the Olivier Award-winning production Stranger Things: The First Shadow (West End) and has been nominated for Tony, Drama League, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards and received a Theatre World Award for his performance on Broadway. Louis previously starred in Silent Roar directed by Johnny Barrington, and his TV credits include “Hope Street” (BBC) and “William of Orangedale” (Channel 4).

PAUL MESCAL (A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) Theatre includes: The Plough and the Stars (Lyric Hammersmith/ Abbey Theatre, Dublin); The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Gaiety Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Kilkenny Arts Festival); A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Dublin Theatre Festival); Asking for It (Abbey Theatre, Dublin); The Great Gatsby; The Red Shoes (Gate Theatre, Dublin); Children of the Sun; Mojo; Three Winters; The Garden; Portia (The Lir).

Film includes: Strangers; Foe; Aftersun; God’s Creatures; Carmen; The Lost Daughter.

Television includes: Normal People (BAFTA for Best Actor).

MARJAN NESHAT (ENGLISH) is a 2025 Tony Award nominee for Featured Actress in a Play for her critically acclaimed performance in the Pulitzer Prize winning play, English. For her performance, she also has won a 2025 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut and received a 2025 Drama League Award nomination. Off Broadway, Marjan won the Obie Award for her role in English at the Atlantic Theater and the 2022 Sam Norkin Drama Desk Award for her starring roles in both Pulitzer Prize Finalist Selling Kabul and Pulitzer Prize-winning English in the same season. Other Theater: Sandra (Vineyard Theater); Sanaz Toossi’s Wish You Were Here (Playwrights Horizons) & Shakespeare in the Park Julius Caesar (NYSF).

 Film: Leading roles in the multi-award winning Rockaway, Almost in Love, Cry Funny Happy (Sundance),  Robocop, and Sex and the City 2 among others. TV: Recurring as ‘Azita Taheri’ on season 2 of the hit Netflix series The Night Agent, Quantico, New Amsterdam, and Bull, among others.

JASMINE AMY ROGERS (BOOP!) makes her Broadway debut as the titular role in BOOP! The Musical, after originating 'Betty Boop' in the pre-Broadway Chicago run. This star turning performance has garnered Rogers an Outer Critics Circle Awards win and nominations for the Drama Desk Awards and the Tony Awards for the "Best Leading Actress in a Musical" category. Rogers is further nominated for a Drama League Award for “Distinguished Performance”, a Chita Rivera Award for “Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show”, and honored by the Theater World Awards for "Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance”.

 Additional credits include 'Anita' in Jelly’s Last Jam (Pasadena Playhouse), 'Gretchen Wieners' in the National Tour of Mean Girls, 'Melody Green' in The Wanderer (Paper Mill Playhouse), and 'Francis' in the world premiere of Becoming Nancy (Alliance Theatre). Television credits include “Evil” on Paramount+. Rogers was a Jimmy Awards finalist and appeared in Cabaret as 'Sally Bowles' at the Manhattan School of Music where she studied Musical Theatre.

NICOLE SCHERZINGER (SUNSET BLVD.) is a Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling singer, actress and dancer. Scherzinger revisits her critically acclaimed, Olivier Award-winning performance as Norma Desmond in Jamie Lloyd’s reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Blvd. The West End production won seven Olivier Awards, including Best Musical Revival. Scherzinger also won the Best Musical Performance award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. On Broadway, she has received the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance and been nominated for Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations. She made her West End debut in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. Additional theatre credits include Guys and Dolls, Chicago and Show Boat. She also played Maureen in Rent at the Hollywood Bowl. Television credits include “The X Factor,” “The Masked Singer” and NBC’s live musical special “Annie Live!” Scherzinger is also the voice of Moana’s mother Sina in Disney’s popular Moana films. She is a global artist and a former member of one of the world’s best-selling music groups of all time, The Pussycat Dolls.

HELEN J SHEN (MAYBE HAPPY ENDING) is an actor, musician, and writer who has quickly established herself as a force within the theatre industry. Helen currently stars in MCC Theater’s musical The Lonely Few by Zoe Sarnak and Rachel Bonds, directed by Trip Cullman and Ellenore Scott, following their acclaimed performance in the show’s world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in 2022. For their portrayal of JJ, Entertainment Weekly described them as a “force to be reckoned with.” Recently, she captivated audiences in Anna K. Jacobs and Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson’s musical Teeth at Playwrights Horizons, directed by Sarah Benson. Helen’s regional credits also include starring in Anna Ouyang Moench’s Man of God at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and as Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard at ACT of Connecticut. Helen earned a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan, receiving the esteemed Earl V. Moore Award.

SARAH SNOOK (THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY) is a Tony-nominated and Olivier, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning performer. She has established herself as one of the most dynamic actors in television, film, and theater. She last starred on television in the HBO award-winning series “Succession.” Her film credits include Academy Award-nominated animated feature Memoir of a Snail, for which she won an AACTA Award for Best Actress this year; Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs; Kornél Mundruczó’s Pieces of a Woman; Jocelyn Moorhouse’s The Dressmaker; Daina Reid’s Run Rabbit Run; Michael and Peter Spierig’s Predestination, for which she received both the AACTA Award and the Film Critics Circle of Australia award for Best Actress. Her additional television credits include the upcoming NBC/Universal limited series “All Her Fault;” AMC’s anthology drama series “Soulmates;” Netflix’s hit series “Black Mirror;” and mini-series “The Secret River.”
A trained actress, Sarah established herself in the world of theatre through her performances in King Lear with the State Theatre Company of South Australia; three productions for the Griffin Theatre Company including Crestfall; S27; The Master Builder at London’s iconic Old Vic Theatre; Saint Joan for the Sydney Theatre Company, for which she was nominated for Best Female Actor in a Play at Australia’s 2019 Helpmann Awards; and most recently, the West End run of The Picture of Dorian Gray.