Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater To Receive 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Award

deadline.com:

The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia will be the recipient of the 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Award, an annual honor recognizing a regional theatre company that has displayed “a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theatre nationally.” The award is accompanied by a grant of $25,000. “We are delighted to announce The Wilma Theater as the recipient of the 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Award,” said Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing and Jason Laks, interim president of the Broadway League. “The Wilma has made outstanding contributions to the world of theatre over the course of 45 years, maintaining an unwavering dedication to contemporary theatre and a commitment to the arts that began with its visionary introduction of avant-garde theatre to Philadelphia in 1979.” Established in 1973 as The Wilma Project, the Wilma challenged the Philadelphia cultural community to create theatrical productions of original material and to develop local artists.

From 1973 through 1979, the Wilma presented work with renowned avant-garde theater artists. In 1979, Blanka and Jiri Zizka, political refugees from Czechoslovakia, forged a creative relationship with the Wilma as artists-in-residence and gained acclaim for their bold, innovative productions.

With a dynamic, physical production style and original music accompaniment, the Zizkas’ original adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm focused a new spotlight on the Wilma.

The Zizkas assumed artistic leadership of the organization in 1981 and moved the Wilma to a 100-seat theater on Sansom Street.