The Wilma Theater has been declared the winner of the 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Awards, an honor that includes a grant of $25,000 funded by City National Bank.
The Tony Awards Administration Committee chose the honor based on a recommendation from the American Theatre Critics Association.
According to a statement from the Tony Awards administration committee, the iconic venue is the first theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to receive the award. The award honors "a regional theatre company that has displayed a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theater nationally."
The Wilma has prioritized the development of original material and local artists since its founding as The Wilma Project in 1973. The group was founded in the 1980s by political refugees Blanka and Jiri Zizka from Czechoslovakia, who made theater history with an adaptation of 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell.
Since then, the Wilma has featured works by authors such as Danai Gurira, Paula Vogel, James Ijames, Tom Stoppard, and James Ijames. Wilma's stage has already featured hundreds of local Philadelphia performers, including actors David Straithairn, Zainab Jah, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
The company is led by co-artistic directors Lindsay Smiling, Yury Ornov, Morgan Green, and managing director Leigh Goldenberg.
'The Comeuppance' by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, a co-production with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company of Washington, DC., will open the Wilma's 2024-2025 season on Nov 19 and run through Dec. 8. Inua Ellams' 'The Half-God of Rainfall,' Rajiv Joseph's 'Archduke,' and Jon Fosse's 'A Summer Day' will round out the season.
Winners will be announced at the 77th Annual Tony Awards, scheduled for June 16 at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. The 77th Annual Tony Awards will be televised live on CBS and streamed live on Paramount+.
