Rose & Tartaglia Named 2004 Derwent Winners

Anika Noni Rose and John Tartaglia have been selected to receive the 58th Annual Clarence Derwent Awards. The awards, administered by the Actors' Equity Foundation, honor the most promising female and male performances on the New York metropolitan scene. The prizes are $1,000 each plus an engraved crystal trophy.

Rose was honored for her performance as Emmie Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change, a role which has previously won her a Lucille Lortel Award, a Theatre World Award and a nomination for a 2004 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She made her Broadway debut in the final company of Footloose and was seen off-Broadway in Eli's Comin', which won her an OBIE Award. She trained in drama at the American Conservatory Theatre, where she appeared in productions of Insurrection: Holding History, Tartuffe and Threepenny Opera.

Tartaglia was honored for his starring role in Avenue Q, playing both hopeful college graduate Princeton and closeted Republican Rod. A Sesame Street cast member since 1996, Tartaglia was able to combine his loves of puppeteering and musical theater for his performance in Avenue Q, for which he recently received a 2004 Tony Award nomination. Tartaglia was previously seen in the Encores! production of Carnival in 2002.

The Derwent Awards are the oldest awards on Broadway, established in 1944 by Clarence Derwent, distinguished actor and former president of Actors' Equity Association. Past recipients include Kerry Butler, Kristin Chenoweth, Calista Flockhart, Annette Bening, Gene Hackman, Dana Ivey, John Malkovich, Denis O'Hare, George C. Scott, Frances Sternhagen, Gene Wilder and James Woods.