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Home , Francis Jue, Lucille Lortel, Lucille Lortel Awards, Lucille Lortel Theatre, MCC Theater, Michael Urie

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: Chris Kanarick [email protected] O: 646.893.4777

35TH ANNUAL AWARDS

RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED

Heroes of the Fourth Turning and Top the Awards with Three Each, Including Outstanding Play and Outstanding Musical, Respectively

Presentations Were Made as Part of a Historic Livestream Event

Lucille Lortel Foundation Pledges Grants Totaling $100,000 to TDF and The Actors Fund Emergency Grant Program

New York, NY (May 3, 2020) – The 35th Annual for Outstanding Achievement Off- Broadway were presented this evening in 19 categories, and two honorary awards were bestowed. Award recipients were announced during a special livestream broadcast hosted by Mario Cantone as a benefit for The Actors Fund, with the Lortel Foundation pledging $50,000 to their Emergency Grant Program, and an additional $50,000 to TDF. Donations can still be made at www.actorsfund.org/lortel. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and the Foundation, with additional support provided by TDF.

Top recipients, earning three awards each, were ’s Octet produced by Signature Theatre for Outstanding Musical; and Heroes of the Fourth Turning, produced by , for Outstanding Play. There were also two ties this year – in the categories of Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and Outstanding Costume Design.

Special honorees this year included Playwrights Horizons’ Tim Sanford, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award; and , inducted onto the famed Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the historic Lucille Lortel Theatre.

Featured presenters included: Jelani Alladin, Rachel Dratch, Jordan Fisher, Jackie Hoffman, Andy Karl, , Tatiana Maslany, Debra Messing, Lin-Manuel Miranda, , Nyambi Nyambi, Kelli O'Hara, Orfeh, Steven Pasquale, Lauren Patten, , Jeremy Pope, Condola Rashad, Krysta Rodriguez, Phillipa Soo, Sonya Tayeh, , , and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

The Lortel Awards hosted a “Virtual Red Carpet” where anyone watching the show at home could submit their own “red carpet” photo of them “attending” the event. Photos were posted on social media using #LortelAwards. A collection of images are available for download at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bdd4ytvfifbsfe3/AADPIw3SC5r1rBD7nyPPJ-Fqa?dl=0.

As the event was pre-recorded, award recipients were encouraged to film and post their acceptance speeches on Facebook, , or Instagram also at #LortelAwards. The show will be re-edited to include recipients’ acceptance speeches and will be available in its entirety on the Lortel Awards YouTube channel.

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

For updates and news visit www.LortelAwards.org. Follow the Lortel Awards (#LortelAwards) on Twitter (https://twitter.com/OffBroadwayNYC), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/offbroadwayleague/), and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OffBroadwayNYC. Subscribe to the Lortel Awards YouTube channel to watch clips from previous ceremonies.

NOMINEES AND RECIPIENTS OF THE 35TH ANNUAL LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS

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

Outstanding Play BLKS Produced by MCC Theater Written by Aziza Barnes

Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven Produced by and LAByrinth Theater Company Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis

Heroes of the Fourth Turning Produced by Playwrights Horizons Written by Will Arbery

Is This A Room Produced by Conceived by Tina Satter

Mrs. Murray's Menagerie Produced by Created by The Mad Ones and Phillip James Brannon, Brad Heberlee, Carmen M. Herlihy, January LaVoy

Outstanding Musical Produced by Playwrights Horizons in association with Page 73 Productions Book, Music, and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson

In The Green Produced by Theater/LCT3 Book, Music, and Lyrics by Grace McLean

Octet Produced by Signature Theatre Book, Music, and Lyrics by Dave Malloy

Soft Power Produced by and Center Theatre Group Play and Lyrics by , Music and Additional Lyrics by

The Secret Life of Bees Produced by Atlantic Theater Company Book by , Music by Duncan Sheik, Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead Based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd

Outstanding Revival A Bright Room Called Day Produced by The Public Theater Written by Tony Kushner

Fires in the Mirror Produced by Signature Theatre Written by Anna Deavere Smith Performed by Michael Benjamin Washington for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf Produced by The Public Theater Written by Ntozake Shange

Little Shop of Horrors Produced by Tom Kirdahy, Robert Ahrens, Hunter Arnold, Mickey Liddell, Caiola Productions, Curt Cronin, John Joseph, DDM Productions, DeSantis-Baugh Productions, Elizabeth Dewberry & Ali Ahmet Kocabiyik, Wendy Federman, Roy Furman, Deborah Green, Kayla Greenspan, Marguerite Hoffman, Sally Cade Holmes, Latitude Link, Seriff Productions, Silva Theatrical Group, Eric Gelb/Oliver Roth Book and Lyrics by , Music by Alan Menken

MAC BETH Produced by Red Bull Theater Written by , Adapted by Erica Schmidt

Outstanding Solo Show Bella Bella Produced by Theatre Club Written and Performed by

Dana H. Produced by Vineyard Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and Center Theatre Group Written by Performed by Deirdre O'Connell the way she spoke Produced by Audible Written by Isaac Gómez Performed by Kate del Castillo

We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time Produced by The Public Theater and Goodman Theatre Written and Performed by David Cale, Lyrics by David Cale, Music by David Cale and Matthew Dean Marsh

Where We Stand Produced by WP Theater in association with Baltimore Center Stage Written and Performed by Donnetta Lavinia Grays

Outstanding Director Stephen Brackett, A Strange Loop Tina Satter, Is This A Room Danya Taymor, Heroes of the Fourth Turning Annie Tippe, Octet , Dana H.

Outstanding Choreographer Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf Camille A. Brown, Toni Stone Raja Feather Kelly, A Strange Loop Sam Pinkleton, Travis Wall, The Wrong Man

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play , The Confession of Lily Dare Edmund Donovan, Greater Clements Raúl Esparza, Seared Hamish Linklater, The Pain of My Belligerence Aaron Yoo, The Headlands

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play Liza Colón-Zayas, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven Emily Davis, Is This A Room April Matthis, Toni Stone Zoë Winters, Heroes of the Fourth Turning Kara Young, All the Natalie Portmans

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Christopher Borg, The Confession of Lily Dare Marc Bovino, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie Garcia, Continuity , Cambodian Rock Band Ken Narasaki, Greater Clements

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Okwui Okpokwasili, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf Estelle Parsons, A Bright Room Called Day Michele Pawk, Heroes of the Fourth Turning Stephanie Wright Thompson, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie Alexandria Wailes, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical , Little Shop of Horrors Joshua Henry, The Wrong Man Francis Jue, Soft Power Larry Owens, A Strange Loop Conrad Ricamora, Soft Power

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical Eisa Davis, The Secret Life of Bees , The Secret Life of Bees Beth Malone, The Unsinkable Molly Brown Janelle McDermoth, We're Gonna Die Grace McLean, In The Green

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical - **TIE** , Little Shop of Horrors Alex Gibson, Octet Gus Halper, Sing Street , Scotland, PA John-Andrew Morrison, A Strange Loop

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Ashley Pérez Flanagan, In The Green Ari Groover, Little Shop of Horrors L Morgan Lee, A Strange Loop Ciara Renée, The Wrong Man Kuhoo Verma, Octet

Outstanding Scenic Design You-Shin Chen and Laura Jellinek, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie Yu-Hsuan Chen, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord Tim Mackabee, Seared James Noone, London Assurance Clint Ramos, Soft Power

Outstanding Costume Design - **TIE** Dede Ayite, BLKS Montana Levi Blanco, A Strange Loop Oana Botez, In The Green Toni-Leslie James, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf Rachel Townsend and Jessica Jahn, The Confession of Lily Dare

Outstanding Lighting Design Isabella Byrd, Heroes of the Fourth Turning Alan C. Edwards, Fires in the Mirror Tyler Micoleau, Socrates Barbara Samuels, In The Green Jen Schriever, Power Strip

Outstanding Sound Design Justin Ellington, Heroes of the Fourth Turning Mikhail Fiksel, Dana H. Lee Kinney and Sanae Yamada, Is This A Room Hidenori Nakajo, Octet Nicholas Pope, In The Green

Outstanding Projection Design Stephan Mazurek, Mojada Lisa Renkel and POSSIBLE, Emojiland the Musical Ruey Horng Sun, The Headlands Hannah Wasileski, Anatomy of a Suicide Hannah Wasileski, Fires in the Mirror

HONORARY AWARDS Lifetime Achievement Award Tim Sanford

Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee Anna Deavere Smith

AWARD RECIPIENTS BY SHOW

Heroes of the Fourth Turning 3 Octet 3 A Strange Loop 2 Dana H. 2

for colored girls who have considered 2 suicide/when the rainbow is enuf Cambodian Rock Band 1 Greater Clements 1 In The Green 1 Is This A Room 1 Little Shop of Horrors 1 Mrs. Murray's Menagerie 1 The Confession of Lily Dare 1 The Headlands 1 The Wrong Man 1

ABOUT THE LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS 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, United Scenic Artists, the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation, 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 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), Edith Oliver Service to Off-Broadway Award and induction onto the Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the historic Lucille Lortel Theatre in . For more information, please see www.LortelAwards.org.

ABOUT THE OFF-BROADWAY LEAGUE The Off-Broadway League was founded in 1959 to foster theatrical productions produced in Off-Broadway theatres (productions in Manhattan in venues with 100-499 seats), to assist in the voluntary exchange of information among its members, and to serve as a collective voice of its membership in pursuit of these goals. In the recent years the League has grown to represent an average of 150 individual members and theatres and 100 non-for-profit and commercial shows per season.

ABOUT THE LUCILLE LORTEL THEATRE FOUNDATION The Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation's mission is to sustain and advance Off-Broadway by creating awareness, appreciation, and encouraging the continued growth of Off-Broadway; assisting with theatrical infrastructure and capacity building; and developing educational programs fostering the next generation of theatre makers. The Foundation has several major programs, including the Lucille Lortel Awards and Playwrights’ Sidewalk, Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB.com), Non-Profit Theatre Strategic and Management Services, Live at the Lortel podcast, NYC Public High School Playwriting Fellowship, Subsidized Theatre Space, and Fellowships in Theatre with Bennington College. For more information, please visit www.lortel.org.

ABOUT TDF TDF is a not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, dedicated to bringing the power of the performing arts to everyone. Founded in 1968, TDF’s mission is to sustain live theatre and dance by engaging and cultivating a broad and diverse audience and eliminating barriers to attendance. TDF fulfills its mission with a variety of programs that expand access, cultivate communities and support the makers of the performing arts. Best known for its theatregoing programs (including the TKTS by TDF Discount Booths and TDF Membership Programs), TDF’s accessibility (including open captioned, audio described and autism-friendly performances), school (serving over 12,000 New York City students annually), community engagement and information programs — as as the TDF Costume Collection Rental and Research Programs — have introduced millions of people to the theatre and helped make the unique experience of theatre available to everyone. TDF envisions a world where the transformative experience of attending live theatre and dance is essential, relevant, accessible and inspirational. To learn more about TDF, go to: www.tdf.org. ###