New York, New York (April 9, 2014) – The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced this year’s recipients of 2014 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre. These honors will be presented at the Tony Honors Cocktail Party, a private cocktail reception, on Monday, June 2^nd at the Paramount Hotel’s Diamond Horseshoe. The 2014 Tony Awards will be broadcast live on Sunday, June 8^th on CBS, and are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

The Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre were established in 1990 and are awarded annually to institutions, individuals and/or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in theatre, but are not eligible in any of the established Tony Award categories. This year’s Tony Honors will be presented to:

• Joe Benincasa: Joe is the President & CEO of The Actors Fund, the national human services organization that helps everyone in entertainment and the performing arts; he joined The Fund in 1989.  Mr. Benincasa oversees innovative programs including comprehensive social services, health care services, employment and training, and affordable, supportive and senior housing. The Actors Fund’s headquarters are in New York City with regional offices in Los Angeles and Chicago, a nursing home in Englewood, NJ, and supportive housing residences in Manhattan, NY, West Hollywood, CA, and Brooklyn, NY. He is also President of the Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation which is building affordable, supportive and senior care residences for artists in major urban centers.  He serves on the boards of directors of several organizations, including Bio-Reference Laboratories, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Career Transition for Dancers, Learning Ally, the Human Services Council, National Executive Service Corps, Times Square Alliance, the YMCA of New York City and the Somerset Patriots, a minor league baseball team.

• Joan Marcus: Over the last twenty-five years, Joan has photographed almost 300 Broadway shows and hundreds of productions off-Broadway, at regional theaters and on national tours across the country.  In the years preceding, she served as the house photographer for the Kennedy Center, and also worked with other DC-based theater companies. Her work is theatrical, constantly alive and imaginative.  Through Joan's eyes photographs of plays and musicals have wallpapered the city and country;  from newspapers and magazines to television and the internet, from train platforms to Shubert Alley, from Playbill covers to Times Square billboards

• Charlotte Wilcox: Charlotte has been a leader in the industry for over 40 years.  As a General Manager and as the founder of The Charlotte Wilcox Company, she has given her guidance and leadership to over 100 shows.   Her credits, too many to list in their entirety, include serving as General Manager for productions of: Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, Cyrano, all three Broadway productions of Grease, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Full Monty, Taboo, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Drowsy Chaperone, Come Fly Away, West Side Story, Catch Me If You Can and this season Beautiful – The Carole King Musical.   Charlotte also serves on the Board of Governors, the Executive Committee and was a founding member of the Labor Committee for The Broadway League.

“We are thrilled to announce that Joe Benincasa, Joan Marcus and Charlotte Wilcox are this year’s recipients for the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.   This year’s honorees personify the heartbeat of the Broadway community.  Their passion, commitment and tireless dedication to the theatre shines through in their work – and we could not be more pleased to present them each with this year’s Tony Honors,” said Heather Hitchens, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing and Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League.    

The Tony Award Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, April 29^th.   The Tony Nominations can be viewed LIVE (8:30am ET) in their entirety at www.TonyAwards.com.  The Tony Awards, hosted by Hugh Jackman, will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from Radio City Music Hall, on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 8, 2014. For more information on the Tony Awards, please visit www.TonyAwards.com.

TonyAwards.com, developed, produced, and hosted by IBM, is centerpiece of the Tony Awards digital platform that includes an interactive Second Screen (TonyAwards.com/secondscreen) to complement the CBS telecast on June 8; a Spotlight Series on potential nominees; Google+ hangouts; a live webcast of the Nominations Announcement; multimedia coverage before, during, and after the Tony ceremony; and much more. Visit TonyAwards.com, and follow the Tonys at Facebook.com/TheTonyAwards, @TheTonyAwards on Twitter, and Instagram.com/TheTonyAwards. #TonyAwards

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About the Tony Awards

The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At The Broadway League, Nick Scandalios is Chairman and Charlotte St. Martin is Executive Director. At the American Theatre Wing, William Ivey Long is Chairman and Heather Hitchens is Executive Director. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment are the Executive Producers of the 2014 Tony Awards. Mr. Weiss will also serve as Director of the 2014 Tony Awards.

IBM, the official information technology partner of the Tony Awards, designs, develops, and hosts the official Tony Awards website, www.TonyAwards.com across digital platforms.  Audemars Piguet is the presenting sponsor of the Tony Awards Red Carpet.  United Airlines is the official airline of the Tony Awards.  The New York Times is the official and exclusive print media partner of the Tony Awards. Nexxus Salon Hair Care is the official beauty partner of the Tony Awards.  Paramount Hotel is the official hotel partner of the Tonys. PEOPLE is the official magazine partner of The Tony Awards.