HAMILTON's Taran Killam Will Host the 2017 Lucille Lortel Awards

The Off-Broadway League today announced that Taran Killam will host the 32nd Annual Lucille Lortel Awards on Sunday, May 7, 2017 at NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts.

Killam is currently starring on Broadway in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Lortel Award-winning musical Hamilton as "King George III." On stage, he previously starred in Encores! Off-Center's production of Little Shop of Horrors as "Orin Scrivello - D.D.S."

Killam will join previously announced honorees William Ivey Long, Lynn Nottage, and Harold Wolpert.

"I'm honored to be hosting this year's Lucille Lortel Awards," said Killam. "I look forward to being a part of celebrating the best of theatre in the city that is the best at theatre. Calm down, London."

Lucille Lortel Awards Important Dates:

March 31, 2017 - 2016-2017 Off-Broadway season ends

April 4, 2017 - Nomination Meeting - Nominations announced via press release late afternoon

April 26, 2017 - Nominees' Breakfast at Playwrights Horizons

May 7, 2017 - Award Ceremony at NYU Skirball Center

The Off-Broadway League's Lortel Awards Producing & Administration Committee (Pamela Adams, Terry Byrne, Margaret Cotter, Carol Fishman, George Forbes, Danielle Karliner Naish, Michael Page, Catherine Russell, Lindsey Sag, and Seth Shepsle) produces the Lortel Awards Ceremony. Acclaimed writer/director Michael Heitzman returns to direct the Lortel Awards for the eighth consecutive year. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Foundation. Additional support is provided by Theatre Development Fund.

Public tickets to the ceremony are $75.00 and are now sale, via phone at 212-998-4941, online at NYU Skirball, and in person at the Skirball Center's Shagan Box Office (556 LaGuardia Pl) from Tuesday - Saturday from 12 - 6 PM, and two hours before showtime.

For updates and news about the ceremony, visit www.LortelAwards.org. Follow the Lortel Awards (#LortelAwards) on Twitter at twitter.com/OffBroadwayNYC and like on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LortelAwards.

Throughout the course of his career, Taran Killam has established himself as one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. Perhaps best-known for his scene-stealing work on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE for six seasons, Taran extends his talents even further in 2017 as he makes both his Broadway and feature directorial debuts. He can currently be seen on stage as "King George III" in Lin-Manuel Miranda's award-winning Broadway hit HAMILTON at Richard Rogers Theater. Although HAMILTON will be Taran's Broadway debut, he has appeared off-Broadway in the City Center Encores! presentation of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS as Orin Scrivello opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Ellen Greene in 2015. In addition, Taran wrote, directed, and will star in the action-comedy WHY WE'RE KILLING GUNTHER opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cobie Smulders, and Bobby Moynihan, set to release in 2017. He also joins J.K. Simmons, Analeigh Tipton, and Emile Hirsch in the comedy ALL NIGHTER to be released on March 17, 2017. Taran's previous feature film credits include 12 YEARS A SLAVE, THE HEAT, GROWN UPS 2, MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL, BIG FAT LIAR, JUST MARRIED, EPIC MOVIE, and BROTHER NATURE, which he co-wrote with Mikey Day. On television, Taran was most recently seen as a series regular on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE for six seasons. He has also appeared on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, COMMUNITY, SCRUBS, NEW GIRL, DRUNK HISTORY, MADtv and the Disney Channel Original Movie, STUCK IN THE SUBURBS. Taran voiced the lead in the PBS series, NATURE CAT, as well as multiple characters in the Weinstein Company's animated film, UNDERDOGS. Originally from Culver City and Big Bear Lake, California, Taran graduated from Los Angeles High School for the Arts and attended UCLA in 2000.

The Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were created in 1985 by the Off-Broadway League. The Lortel Awards recognize excellence in Off-Broadway by honoring the invaluable contribution of artists to the theatre community. Representatives of the Off-Broadway League, Actors' Equity Association, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, in addition to theatre journalists and academics and other Off-Broadway professionals, serve on the Voting Committee. Awards may be given in the following categories: Play, Musical, Solo Show, Revival, Alternative Theatrical Experience, Director, Choreographer, Lead Actor and Actress in a Play and Musical, Featured Actor and Actress in a Play and Musical, Scenic, Costume, Lighting and Sound Design. The following honorary awards may also be given: Lifetime Achievement Award, Body of Work (awarded to an institution), the Edith Oliver Service to Off-Broadway Award and induction onto the Playwrights' Sidewalk in front of the historic Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City. For more information, please see www.LortelAwards.org.

Lucille Lortel Foundation was created by Lucille Lortel to foster excellence and diversity in the theatre, as well as to faithfully preserve the rich history and support the continued prosperity of Off-Broadway. The Foundation has several major programs, including its general operating support program that has provided millions of dollars to small to mid-size theatres in New York City, universities, and theatre service organizations. The Foundation created and maintains the Internet Off-Broadway Data Base (www.IOBDB.com). For a listing of all the Foundation's programs, previous Lortel Award nominees and recipients, information on the Lucille Lortel Theatre and Playwrights' Sidewalk, and much more, visit www.lortel.org.

NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for New York University and lower Manhattan. NYU Skirball's mission is to showcase and support diverse and eclectic talent from around the world, while cultivating audiences for live performance through deeper engagement opportunities. For more information, go to www.nyuskirball.org.

THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND (TDF) was created in the conviction that the live theatrical arts afford a unique expression of the human condition that must be sustained and nurtured. It is dedicated to developing diverse audiences for live theater and dance and strengthening the performing arts community in New York City. Since 1968, TDF's programs have provided over 92 million people with access to performances at affordable prices and have returned over $2.7 billion to thousands of productions. Best known for its TKTS Discount Booths, TDF's membership, outreach, access (including its newly formed Autism Theatre Initiative), and education programs-as well as its Costume Collection-have introduced thousands of people to the theater and helped make the unique experience of theater available to everyone, including students and people with disabilities. Recent TDF honors include a 2011 Mayor's Award for Arts and Culture, a 2012 Tony Honor for Excellence for its Open Doors Arts Education Program, a 2012 New York Innovative Theatre Award for its support of the Off-Off-Broadway community, a 2013 Lucille Lortel honor for "Outstanding Body of Work" in support of the Off-Broadway community, a 2016 "Friend of Off-Broadway" honor from The Off-Broadway Alliance, and New York City's 2016 TITLE II ADA Sapolin Public Service Award. For more information, go to tdf.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride