Daytime talk show host and soon-to-be Broadway star Wendy Williams will serve as the host of the 14th Annual Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards. The ceremony will take place on May 5 at the Allen Room in Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall, Time Warner Center in New York City. The outgoing and quick-witted TV personality is gearing up to make her Broadway debut in Chicago this summer.
"I am thrilled to be joining the Broadway community this year both on stage and as a host for the 2013 Audience Choice Awards," Williams said, who follows in the footsteps of previous hosts Darren Criss, Daniel Radcliffe and Vanessa Williams. "We in the entertainment indsutry understand the value of our fans, so to be hosting a show that is based entirely on their votes is something I am really looking forward too."
"Wendy has become a daytime TV favorite thanks to her amazing connection to her fans and her infectious sense of fun," said Broadway.com Editor in Chief Paul Wontorek. "These qualities make her the perfect hostess for the Audience Choice Awards, the biggest party of the Broadway award season."
Williams is best known as the host of her daytime TV series The Wendy Williams Show. She will take on the role of Mama Morton in Chicago from June 25 through August 11. Williams previously appeared on Dancing with the Stars as well as VH1's The Wendy Williams Experience.
In an invitation-only ceremony, the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards will feature the presentation of awards in traditional categories such as Favorite New Musical and Favorite New Play, in addition to categories unique to the event such as Favorite Diva Performance, Favorite Breakthrough Performance and Favorite Broadway Tour. All awards are decided solely by the voting of theater fans on Broadway.com. Phantom of the Opera star Sierra Boggess and Les Miserables hunk Aaron Tveit will be among the presenters, with more to be announced shortly. To vote for your favorites, click here.