Miles Wilkin & the National Endowment for the Arts to Receive 2016 Special Tony Awards

Six-time Tony Winner Miles Wilkin and the National Endowment for the Arts will both be honored with the 2016 Special Tony Awards. The 70th Annual Tony Awards, hosted by James Corden, is scheduled to take place on June 12; nominations will be announced by Andrew Rannells and Nikki M. James on May 3.

Wilkin is the COO and Executive Vice President of Key Brand Entertainment, the parent company of Broadway.com and Broadway Across America. At Key Brand, he provides the vision for theater and e-commerce, building on Broadway Across America’s significant touring network and Broadway.com’s vast e-commerce network. Wilkin, an original founder of Broadway Across America, is more broadly recognized as one of the founders of North American Touring Theater. During his most recent stint at Broadway Across America, he revitalized its North American Presenting and Theater operation. Prior to that, he was an executive with Clear Channel Entertainment and its predecessors (SFX Entertainment, PACE Entertainment and PACE Theatrical) responsible for company-wide operations and company-wide divisions, including, North American Music, North American Theater, Motorsports, Sports, International Music, International Theatre and Sports and Properties including Corporate Sponsorship and TV. Wilkin is the recipient of numerous awards including: six Tony Awards (Spamalot, Hairspray, The Producers, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway), and a Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award from the Broadway League.

“Miles paved ‘the road’ for the modern Broadway touring system, and his accomplishments have been monumental and central to the success and economic growth of our industry,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, President of the American Theatre Wing, in a statement. “Because of his innovative and groundbreaking touring systems, theatre fans across the country have been able to experience the magic of Broadway."

Celebrating its 50th Anniversary, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America.

“The National Endowment for the Arts’s contribution to the theater community is incalculable,” added Hitchens and St. Martin. “Over the past 50 years, since its inception, the agency has funded 18 Tony Award-winning plays and 15 Tony award-winning musicals, not to mention offering vital support to hundreds of theatre professionals. They are invaluable to our industry, and to our nation’s cultural legacy!"