Steggert will be honored with the award for his performances in Broadway's Ragtime and Off-Broadway's Yank!
Starbaby, according to press notes, "was a term of endearment used by Dorothy's most intimate friends from her early days in the theater and it stuck with her throughout her career."
The Dorothy Loudon Foundation, which was founded five years ago, recently offered generous support to the financially struggling Theatre World Awards. The Theatre World Award Board of Directors "greatly appreciates this support and notes that this donation will help to ensure that the Theatre World Awards continues its mission of presenting its annual debut awards. The Board also wishes to acknowledge producer Eric Krebs and the School Theatre Ticket Program for its support," according to a press statement.
Last season the Loudon Foundation presented the first Dorothy Loudon Starbaby Award in connection with the Theater Hall of Fame's Spring Fellowship Luncheon. The recipient was Susan Louise O'Connor for her role in the Broadway production of Blithe Spirit. O'Connor also received a Theatre World Award for that performance.
* Theatre World Award winners for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performances during the 2009-2010 theatrical season follow:
Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur
Chris Chalk, Fences
Bill Heck, The Orphans' Home Cycle
Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Keira Keeley, The Glass Menagerie
Sahr Ngaujah, FELA!
Eddie Redmayne, Red
Andrea Riseborough, The Pride
Heidi Schreck, Circle Mirror Transformation
Stephanie Umoh, Ragtime
Michael Urie,The Temperamentals
The Theatre World Awards ceremony will be held in Manhattan June 8 at New World Stages from 2-4 PM ET. Theatre critic-writer Peter Filichia will host the annual event; Barry Keating will direct.
Past winners will perform and also present awards at the ceremony. Presenters will be announced late May.
First presented in 1945, the Theatre World Awards are among the oldest theatrical awards. Traditionally, a committee of theatre writers chooses six men and six women. On occasion, the awards bestow a Special Theatre World Award on "performers, casts or others who have made a particularly lasting impression on the New York theatre scene," as stated on the official Theatre World Awards website.
The Theatre World Award winners are chosen by the Theatre World Awards committee, which includes David Cote (Time Out New York, NY1), Joe Dziemianowicz (New York Daily News), Peter Filichia (Newark Star-Ledger, Theatermania.com), Harry Haun (Playbill), Matthew Murray (Talkin' Broadway), Frank Scheck (The Hollywood Reporter) and Linda Winer (Newsday).
The Theatre World Awards board of directors includes Kati Meister (president), Erin Oestreich (vice-president), Steven Bloom (treasurer), Mary K. Botosan (secretary), Randall Hemming, Barry Keating, Tom Lynch and Jane Stuart.
