FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: Chris Kanarick [email protected] O: 646.893.4777 35TH ANNUAL LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED Heroes of the Fourth Turning and Octet 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 Lucille Lortel Awards 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 Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation, with additional support provided by TDF. Top recipients, earning three awards each, were Dave Malloy’s Octet produced by Signature Theatre for Outstanding Musical; and Heroes of the Fourth Turning, produced by Playwrights Horizons, 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 Anna Deavere Smith, 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, Nathan Lane, Tatiana Maslany, Debra Messing, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Nyambi Nyambi, Kelli O'Hara, Orfeh, Steven Pasquale, Lauren Patten, Alison Pill, Jeremy Pope, Condola Rashad, Krysta Rodriguez, Phillipa Soo, Sonya Tayeh, Marisa Tomei, Michael Urie, 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, Twitter, 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 Atlantic Theater Company 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 Vineyard Theatre Conceived by Tina Satter Mrs. Murray's Menagerie Produced by Ars Nova Created by The Mad Ones and Phillip James Brannon, Brad Heberlee, Carmen M. Herlihy, January LaVoy Outstanding Musical A Strange Loop Produced by Playwrights Horizons in association with Page 73 Productions Book, Music, and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson In The Green Produced by Lincoln Center 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 The Public Theater and Center Theatre Group Play and Lyrics by David Henry Hwang, Music and Additional Lyrics by Jeanine Tesori The Secret Life of Bees Produced by Atlantic Theater Company Book by Lynn Nottage, 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 Howard Ashman, Music by Alan Menken MAC BETH Produced by Red Bull Theater Written by William Shakespeare, Adapted by Erica Schmidt Outstanding Solo Show Bella Bella Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club Written and Performed by Harvey Fierstein Dana H. Produced by Vineyard Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and Center Theatre Group Written by Lucas Hnath 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 Les Waters, 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, Soft Power Travis Wall, The Wrong Man Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play Charles Busch, 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 Francis Jue, 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 Jonathan Groff, 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 LaChanze, 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** Christian Borle, Little Shop of Horrors Alex Gibson, Octet Gus Halper, Sing Street Jay Armstrong Johnson, 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