George C. Wolfe, Jack O’Brien To Receive Lifetime Achievement Tonys

Tony-winning directors George C. Wolfe and Jack O’Brien will each receive the 2024 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre next month, Tony administrators announced today.

“Honoring these two gentlemen for their outstanding achievements and contributions to theatre is not only a recognition of their innate talent and dedication but to a lifetime of brilliant work,” said Jason Laks, interim president of The Broadway League.

“With credits such as Hairspray and The Invention of Love, Jack O’Brien has showcased astounding diversity, skill and passion throughout his esteemed career,” Laks said “In his role as Artistic Director of the Old Globe Theatre for 25 years, he also leaves a lasting legacy of strengthening the relationship between the commercial and nonprofit worlds.”

Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, said Wolfe’s “stellar contributions as a playwright, director, producer and artistic director, including his unforgettable direction in productions like Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk, have left a lasting impression on audiences. Beyond his tremendous dedication to storytelling, he has shown an unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion throughout his illustrious career that has shifted culture and elevated the theatre community.”

O’Brien was Tony-nominated last year for his direction of Shucked, and has won three Tonys for his direction of Hairspray, Henry IV, and The Coast of Utopia. Other Broadway credits include Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, Carousel, The Front Page, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, It’s Only a Play, Macbeth, The Nance, Dead Accounts, Catch Me If You Can, Impressionism, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Invention of Love, The Full Monty, Two Shakespearean Actors and Porgy and Bess, among others.

Writer, director and producer Wolfe’s expansive career has earned him 3 Tony Awards (Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk, and Elaine Stritch at Liberty). He was the producer of The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival from 1993-2005, and directed and co-wrote the HBO film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Lackawanna Blues. For Netflix, he directed Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and most recently Rustin.

The 77th Annual Tony Awards, hosted by Ariana DeBose, will air live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City on Sunday, June 16, on the CBS, streaming on Paramount+.