Ayckbourn, Seldes slated for special Tony Awards

[April 22, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Alan Ayckbourn and Marian Seldes will receive 2010 Lifetime Achievement Tony Awards.

The playwright and actress will be honored during the Tony ceremony June 13 at Radio City Music Hall. The announcement was made Wednesday by the Tony Awards Administration Committee.

Ayckbourn is the author of more than 70 plays, including "The Norman Conquests," a trilogy that was revived on Broadway last season, winning a 2009 Tony for best revival.

Seldes, a five-time Tony nominee, won the award in 1967 for her performance in Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance." She made her Broadway debut in 1947 in a production of "Medea," starring Judith Anderson, and later appeared in hits such as "Equus" and "Deathtrap."

David Hyde Pierce will also be honored, receiving the Isabelle Stevenson Award, which is given to a member of the theater community for philanthropic efforts. Pierce, a Tony winner for his performance in the musical "Curtains," has worked extensively in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

Also being honored for excellence in the theater are:

• The Alliance of Resident Theatres New York (A.R.T./New York), which assists members of the off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway community.

• B.H. Barry, one of the theater's premier fight directors, who has been teaching the art of stage combat to Broadway actors for nearly 30 years.

• Tom Viola, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA), a not-for-profit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization.

[Associated Press; By MICHAEL KUCHWARA]

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