Murphy, Jackman, and Marshall Named 2004 TDF/Astaire Award Winners
Hugh Jackman, and Donna Murphy
The TDF/Astaire Awards committee has announced the winners of its annual honors for outstanding achievement in dance on Broadway. This year’s awardees are: Kathleen Marshall, named “Best Choreographer” for her work on Wonderful Town; Donna Murphy, named “Best Female Dancer” for her performance in Wonderful Town; and Hugh Jackman, named “Best Male Dancer” for his performance in The Boy From Oz.
The awards will be presented later this month at a private reception. The winners were chosen from among those involved in the dance components of the Broadway shows Avenue Q, Bombay Dreams, The Boy From Oz, Caroline or Change, Fiddler on the Roof, Little Shop of Horrors, Never Gonna Dance, Taboo, Wicked, and Wonderful Town.
The 2004 TDF/Astaire Awards committee consists of Douglas Watt, New York Daily News (emeritus) chairman; Clive Barnes, New York Post; Howard Kissel, New York Daily News; Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press; Donald McDonagh, Ballet Review; Richard Philp, Dance Magazine; Charles L. Reinhart, director of the American Dance Festival; and Linda Winer, Newsday.
The Astaire Awards were established in 1982 by the Anglo-American Contemporary Dance Foundation with the cooperation of Fred Astaire to honor him and his sister, Adele, who starred with her brother in 10 Broadway musicals between 1917 and 1931. Before going to Hollywood, Fred Astaire appeared on Broadway (without Adele) in one more show: The Gay Divorcée (1932). The Theatre Development Fund has administered the Astaire Awards since 1991.
