The Off-Broadway League today announced nominations in 19 categories for the 33rd Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. The Lortel Awards will be presented on Sunday, May 6, 2018 at NYU Skirball Center beginning at 7:00 PM EST. This year's event will be hosted by actors Laura Benanti and Jason Jones and will once again serve as a benefit for The Actors Fund.
For the first time, the nominations were livestreamed by Playbill, announced by previous Lucille Lortel Award recipients Rachel Bay Jones (Dear Evan Hansen) and Steven Pasquale (The Robber Bridegroom).
Leading the nominations this year are: KPOP, the Korean Pop musical produced by Ars Nova in association with Ma-Yi Theater Company and Woodshed Collective, nominated for nine awards including Outstanding Musical; New York Theatre Workshop's play, Mary Jane, with six nominations; Bella: An American Tall Tale, from Playwrights Horizons, earned six nominations including Outstanding Musical; Signature Theatre's Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is the most nominated revival, including Outstanding Revival. This year includes a number of individual double nominees in the same category: Bray Poor in the category of Outstanding Sound Design, Dede M. Ayite in the category of Outstanding Costume Design, and Suzan-Lori Parks in the category of Outstanding Revival. Other individual double nominees in different categories and productions include Jeanette Oi-Sok Yew, nominated for both Outstanding Lighting Design (KPOP) and Outstanding Projection Design (Relevance), and Quincy Tyler Bernstine, nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play and Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, for her performances in The Amateurs and As You Like It, respectively.
Of particular note this year, 4 of the 5 nominated directors are women - Lileana Blain-Cruz (Pipeline), Anne Kauffman (Mary Jane), Lila Neugebauer (Miles for Mary), and Leigh Silverman (Harry Clarke) - joining Michael Greif for The Low Road.
As previously announced, celebrated playwright Eve Ensler will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award and composer Michael Friedman will be posthumously inducted onto the famed Playwrights' Sidewalk in front of the Lucille Lortel Theatre. WP Theater will be awarded as an institution for their Outstanding Body of Work.
A breakfast reception honoring the nominees will take place from 10 AM - 12 PM on Wednesday, April 25, at Playwrights Horizons (416 West 42nd Street, New York).
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, Seth Shepsle, and Casey York) produces the Lortel Awards Ceremony. Acclaimed writer/director Michael Heitzman returns to direct the Lortel Awards for the ninth consecutive year. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Foundation. Additional support is provided by TDF.
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.
2018 LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS NOMINATIONS
Outstanding Play
Cost of Living
Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club in association with Williamstown Theatre Festival
Written by Martyna Majok
Miles for Mary
Produced by Playwrights Horizons
Written by Marc Bovino, Joe Curnutte, Michael Dalto, Lila Neugebauer, and Stephanie Wright Thompson
Pipeline
Produced by Lincoln Center Theater
Written by Dominique Morisseau
School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play
Produced by MCC Theater
Written by Jocelyn Bioh
The Treasurer
Produced by Playwrights Horizons
Written by Max Posner
Outstanding Musical
Bella: An American Tall Tale
Produced by Playwrights Horizons
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Kirsten Childs
Desperate Measures
Produced by The York Theatre Company in association with Cecilia Lin and Hu Guo
Book and Lyrics by Peter Kellogg, Music by David Friedman
Hundred Days
Produced by New York Theatre Workshop
By The Bengsons and Sarah Gancher
Jerry Springer - The Opera
Produced by The New Group
Music and Lyrics by Richard Thomas, Book and Additional Lyrics by Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas
KPOP
Produced by Ars Nova in association with Ma-Yi Theater Company and Woodshed Collective
Conceived by Woodshed Collective and Jason Kim, Book by Jason Kim, Music and Lyrics by Helen Park and Max Vernon, Immersive Design by Woodshed Collective
Outstanding Revival
f-ing A
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
In The Blood
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis
The Government Inspector
Produced by Red Bull Theater
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from Revizor by Nikolai Gogol
Torch Song
Produced by Second Stage Theater in association with Richie Jackson
Written by Harvey Fierstein
Outstanding Solo Show
Harry Clarke
Produced by Vineyard Theatre in association with Audible
Written by David Cale
Performed by Billy Crudup
Who's Holiday!
Produced by Whoville Theatrical, Scott and Jenny Beck, Jason Shaw, Ken Fakler, Drew Desky/Dane Levens, Darren Bagert
Written by Matthew Lombardo
Performed by Lesli Margherita
Outstanding Director
Lileana Blain-Cruz, Pipeline
Michael Greif, The Low Road
Anne Kauffman, Mary Jane
Lila Neugebauer, Miles for Mary
Leigh Silverman, Harry Clarke
Outstanding Choreographer
Camille A. Brown, Bella: An American Tall Tale
Bill Castellino, Desperate Measures
Byron Easley, X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation
Sonya Tayeh, The Lucky Ones
Jennifer Weber, KPOP
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play
Sean Carvajal, Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train
Peter Friedman, The Treasurer
Chukwudi Iwuji, The Low Road
Namir Smallwood, Pipeline
Michael Urie, Torch Song
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, The Amateurs
MaameYaa Boafo, School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play
Carrie Coon, Mary Jane
Cristin Milioti, After the Blast
Karen Pittman, Pipeline
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Marc Bovino, Miles for Mary
Edi Gathegi, Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train
Gregg Mozgala, Cost of Living
Paul Sparks, Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo: Homelife and The Zoo Story
John Tufts, Pride and Prejudice
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Vanessa Aspillaga, Amy and the Orphans
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, As You Like It
Liza Colón-Zayas, Mary Jane
Mirirai Sithole, School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play
Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical
Damon Daunno, The Lucky Ones
Steven Eng, Pacific Overtures
Terrence Mann, Jerry Springer - The Opera
Wade McCollum, Ernest Shackleton Loves Me
James Seol, KPOP
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
Abigail Bengson, Hundred Days
Ashley D. Kelley, Bella: An American Tall Tale
Julia Knitel, A Letter to Harvey Milk
Lauren Molina, Desperate Measures
Ashley Park, KPOP
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Sean Patrick Doyle, Jerry Springer - The Opera
Brandon Gill, Bella: An American Tall Tale
Paolo Montalban, Bella: An American Tall Tale
Thom Sesma, Pacific Overtures
Jason Tam, KPOP
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Vanessa Kai, KPOP
Tiffany Mann, Jerry Springer - The Opera
Maryann Plunkett, The Lucky Ones
Myra Lucretia Taylor, The Lucky Ones
Adina Verson, The Lucky Ones
Outstanding Scenic Design
Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, KPOP
Anna Fleischle, Hangmen
Laura Jellinek, Mary Jane
Amy Rubin, Miles for Mary
Louisa Thompson, In The Blood
Outstanding Costume Design
Dede M. Ayite, Bella: An American Tall Tale
Dede M. Ayite, School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play
Tricia Barsamian, KPOP
Tilly Grimes, The Government Inspector
Emily Rebholz, The Low Road
Outstanding Lighting Design
Alan C. Edwards, Harry Clarke
Bradley King, The Treasurer
Ben Stanton, The Low Road
Japhy Weideman, Mary Jane
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, KPOP
Outstanding Sound Design
Mikhail Fiksel, The Treasurer
Leah Gelpe, Mary Jane
Bray Poor, The Last Match
Bray Poor, Office Hour
Brandon Wolcott, After the Blast
Outstanding Projection Design
Lucy Mackinnon, After the Blast
Alexander V. Nichols, Ernest Shackleton Loves Me
Brad Peterson, The Stone Witch
Hannah Wasileski, Pipeline
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Relevance
HONORARY AWARDS
Lifetime Achievement Award
Eve Ensler
Playwrights' Sidewalk Inductee
Michael Friedman
Outstanding Body of Work
WP Theater
NOMINATIONS BY SHOW
TITLE |
TOTAL |
KPOP |
9 |
Bella: An American Tall Tale |
6 |
Mary Jane |
6 |
The Lucky Ones |
5 |
Pipeline |
5 |
Jerry Springer - The Opera |
4 |
The Low Road |
4 |
Miles for Mary |
4 |
School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play |
4 |
The Treasurer |
4 |
After the Blast |
3 |
Cost of Living |
3 |
Desperate Measures |
3 |
Harry Clarke |
3 |
Jesus Hopped The "A" Train |
3 |
Ernest Shackleton Loves Me |
2 |
The Government Inspector |
2 |
Hundred Days |
2 |
In the Blood |
2 |
Pacific Overtures |
2 |
Torch Song |
2 |
The Amateurs |
1 |
Amy and the Orphans |
1 |
As You Like It |
1 |
Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo: Homelife and The Zoo Story |
1 |
f-ing A |
1 |
Hangmen |
1 |
The Last Match |
1 |
A Letter to Harvey Milk |
1 |
Office Hour |
1 |
Pride and Prejudice |
1 |
Relevance |
1 |
The Stone Witch |
1 |
Who's Holiday! |
1 |
X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation |
1 |
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, Sound, and Projection 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, please visit www.lortel.org.
Photo Credit: Ben Arons
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