Presented at at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center, the awards, which honor excellence in theatre and dance, are named for critic Clive Barnes, who died in 2008.

Along with Orsini, who was honored for his performance in Douglas Carter Beane's play The Nance, nominees for the theatre awards included Aaron Clifton Moten (The Flick), Phillipa Soo (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) and Amber Iman (Soul Doctor).

Talli Jackson, of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company; Mayor and Xiaochuan Xie, both of the Martha Graham Dance Company; and Calvin Royal III, of American Ballet Theater, were nominated for the dance award.

A panel of experts selects one winner from each field, and all finalists receive a cash prize. The winners in each category receive an award of $5,000 furnished by the Clive Barnes Foundation.

This year's Theater Award was presented by Susan Stroman, and this year's Dance Award was presented by Wendy Whelan.

Past presenters have included Frederic Franklin CBE, Cherry Jones, Nina Arianda (2010 Clive Barnes Award winner, 2012 Tony Award winner for Venus in Fur), Paloma Herrera and Maya Johansen Barnes.

Previous winners also include Chase Finlay (2010, New York City Ballet), MJ Rodriquez (2011, Rent), Isabella Boylston (2011, American Ballet Theater), Rob McClure (2012, Chaplin) and Lauren Lovette (2012, New York City Ballet.)

The Selection Committee for the Clive Barnes Awards includes Siobhan Burns, Diana Byer, Barbara Hoffman, Arthur Mitchell, Patrick Pacheco, James Sutton, Valerie Taylor-Barnes, Damian Woetzel and Craig Wright.