WOLF PLAY, TITANIQUE & More Win at the 2023 Lucille Lortel Awards

The 2023 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were handed out this evening to recipients in 15 categories, with four honorary awards also bestowed. The Awards were distributed in a ceremony at NYU Skirball hosted by stars of stage and screen: Kevin Cahoon (Tony nominee, "Shucked"), D'Arcy Carden ("The Thanksgiving Play"), Crystal Lucas-Perry (Tony nominee, "Ain't No Mo'"), Bonnie Milligan (Tony nominee, "Kimberly Akimbo"), Arian Moayed (Tony nominee, "A Doll's House"), and Tamara Tunie (The New Group's "Bernarda's Daughters"). The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by TDF.

"Wolf Play" was the big winner with a total of five Lortel Awards including Outstanding Play, Director, Ensemble, Scenic Design, and Sound Design. "Titaníque," the Celine Dion-inspired comedy musical took home three awards including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical, and Outstanding Costume Design. Oskar Eustis accepted the Outstanding Revival award for The Public Theatre's production of "A Raisin in the Sun." In a surprise moment, the Edith Oliver Service to Off-Broadway Award was presented by Off-Broadway League President, Casey York, and Lucille Lortel Theatre Executive Director, George Forbes, to Victoria Bailey, who has served for 20+ years as Executive Director of TDF.

Special honorees this year included Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Stephen McKinley Henderson, Playwrights' Sidewalk posthumous inductee Ntozake Shange, and A.R.T./New York, honored for their Body of Work.

The Off-Broadway League's Lortel Awards Producing & Administration Committee (Jeremy Adams, Tisa Chang, Carol Fishman, George Forbes, Danielle Karliner Naish, Kenneth Naanep, Ralph Peña, Catherine Russell, Lindsey Sag, and Casey York) and the Lucille Lortel Theatre (George Forbes, Jeffrey Shubart, Nancy Hurvitz, Alana Canty-Samuel, Maura Le Viness, and Karla Liriano) produce the Lortel Awards Ceremony. Acclaimed writer/director Michael Heitzman returns to direct the Lortel Awards for the twelfth consecutive year. Representatives of the Off-Broadway League, Actors' Equity Association, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, United Scenic Artists, the Lucille Lortel Theatre, in addition to theatre journalists, academics and other Off-Broadway professionals, serve on the Voting Committee.

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NOMINEES AND RECIPIENTS OF THE 2023 LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS

*Please note: all nominees are listed with the award recipient in BOLD.

Outstanding Play

A Case for the Existence of God
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by Samuel D. Hunter

Dark Disabled Stories
Produced by The Bushwick Starr, presented by The Public Theater
Written by Ryan J. Haddad

Downstate
Produced by Playwrights Horizons
Written by Bruce Norris

Epiphany
Produced by Lincoln Center Theater
Written by Brian Watkins

Wolf Play
Produced by MCC Theater, a Soho Rep production, in collaboration with Ma-Yi Theater Company
Written by Hansol Jung

Outstanding Musical

Dreaming Zenzile
Produced by New York Theatre Workshop & National Black Theatre
Written by Somi Kakoma

Harmony
Produced by National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene in association with Ken Davenport & Sandi Moran, Garry C. Kief, Amuse Inc., Patty Baker, Tom & Michael D'Angora, Susan DuBow, Michelle Kaplan, Mapleseed Productions, Harold Matzner and Neil Gooding Productions
Music by Barry Manilow, Book and Lyrics by Bruce Sussman

SUFFS
Produced by The Public Theater
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Shaina Taub

Titaníque
Produced by Eva Price, James L. Nederlander, Diamond Dog Entertainment LLC, Benj Pasek, Blumenthal Performing Arts, Penny Rousouli, Jodi & Howard Tenenbaum, Philip Byron, Marcia Ellis, Iris Smith, Stellar Live, Inc.
Book by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue, Music by Various Authors

Weightless
Produced by WP Theater
Written by The Kilbanes

Outstanding Revival

A Bright New Boise
Produced by Signature Theatre
Written by Samuel D. Hunter

Endgame
Produced by Irish Repertory Theatre
Written by Samuel Beckett

A Man of No Importance
Produced by Classic Stage Company
Book by Terrence McNally, Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

Merrily We Roll Along
Produced by New York Theatre Workshop
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by George Furth

A Raisin in the Sun
Produced by The Public Theater
Written by Lorraine Hansberry

Outstanding Director

Zi Alikhan - On That Day in Amsterdam
David Cromer - A Case for the Existence of God
Robert O'Hara - A Raisin in the Sun
Whitney White - soft
Dustin Wills - Wolf Play

Outstanding Choreographer

Andy Blankenbuehler - Only Gold
Warren Carlyle - Harmony
Edgar Godineaux - The Harder They Come
Jerry Mitchell - Kinky Boots
Ellenore Scott - Titaníque

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play

Kyle Beltran - A Case For the Existence of GodMarylouise Burke - Epiphany
K. Todd Freeman - Downstate
Ryan J. Haddad - Dark Disabled Stories
Bill Irwin - Endgame
Tonya Pinkins - A Raisin in the Sun
John Douglas Thompson - Endgame

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play

Mia Barron - The Coast Starlight
Susanna Guzmán - Downstate
Ryan J. Haddad - american (tele)visions
Dickie Hearts - Dark Disabled Stories
Patrice Johnson Chevannes - Endgame
Maureen Sebastian - The Best We Could (a family tragedy)
Eddie Torres - Downstate

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical

Nicholas Barasch - The Butcher Boy
Callum Francis - Kinky Boots
Natey Jones - The Harder They Come
Somi Kakoma - Dreaming Zenzile
Lindsay Mendez - Merrily We Roll Along
Marla Mindelle - Titaníque
Jim Parsons - A Man of No Importance

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical

Krystal Joy Brown - Merrily We Roll Along
Darren Goldstein - The Bedwetter
Nikki M. James - SUFFS
Jacob Ming-Trent - The Harder They Come
John Riddle - Titaníque
Reg Rogers - Merrily We Roll Along
A.J. Shively - A Man of No Importance

Outstanding Ensemble

The Nosebleed
Drae Campbell, Ashil Lee, Chris Manley, Aya Ogawa, Saori Tsukada, Kaili Y. Turner

soft
Leon Addison Brown, Biko Eisen-Martin, Dharon Jones, Essence Lotus, Travis Raeburn, Shakur Tolliver, Dario Vazquez, Ed Ventura

Wolf Play
Christopher Bannow, Esco Jouléy, Brian Quijada, Nicole Villamil, Mitchell Winter

Outstanding Scenic Design

John Lee Beatty - Epiphany
You-Shin Chen - Wolf Play
dots - You Will Get Sick
Arnulfo Maldonado - A Case for the Existence of God
Clint Ramos - The Far Country

Outstanding Costume Design

Enver Chakartash - THE TREES
Sarah Laux - Wish You Were Here
Orla Long - Endgame
Qween Jean - Soft
Alejo Vietti - Titaníque

Outstanding Lighting Design

Isabella Byrd - Epiphany
Jiyoun Chang - The Far Country
Tyler Micoleau - A Case for the Existence of God
Barbara Samuels - Wolf Play
Cha See - On That Day in Amsterdam

Outstanding Sound Design

Mikhail Fiksel - How To Defend Yourself
Daniel Kluger - Epiphany
Kate Marvin - Wolf Play
Theater Mitu - american (tele)visions
Sinan Refik Zafar - LETTERS FROM MAX, a ritual

Outstanding Projection Design

Alex Basco Koch - The Orchard
Yee Eun Nam - ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME
Kameron Neal - Dark Disabled Stories
Theater Mitu - american (tele)visions
S Katy Tucker - LETTERS FROM MAX, a ritual

HONORARY AWARDS

Lifetime Achievement Award

Stephen McKinley Henderson

Playwrights' Sidewalk Inductee

Ntozake Shange

Body of Work

A.R.T./New York

AWARD RECIPIENTS BY SHOW

Wolf Play	5
Titaníque	3
The Coast Starlight	1
Dark Disabled Stories	1
Downstate	1
Epiphany	1
A Man of No Importance	1
Only Gold	1
A Raisin in the Sun	1

ABOUT THE LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS

The Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were created in 1985 by the Off-Broadway League and are produced by the Off-Broadway League and the Lucille Lortel Theatre. 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, United Scenic Artists, the Lucille Lortel Theatre, in addition to theatre journalists, 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 Performer in a Play and Musical, Featured Performer in a Play and Musical, Ensemble, 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), 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.lortelaward.com.