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Home , Beth Malone, David Cale, Francis Jue, Lachanze, Lucille Lortel Awards, Lucille Lortel Theatre

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

35TH ANNUAL AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

VIRTUAL CEREMONY TO BE PRESENTED SUNDAY, MAY 3, AT 7:00PM

A Strange Loop most nominated production with 7, including Outstanding Musical

Heroes of the Fourth Turning receives most nominations for a play with 6, including Outstanding Play; tied with musical, In The Green, which also earned a nom for Outstanding Musical

Of 101 eligible productions during the 2019 – 2020 season, 41 shows were recognized with a total of 95 nominations

New York, NY (April 14, 2020) – Nominations for the 35th Annual for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were announced today by theatre veterans Jeremy Jordan and Ashley Spencer. The Awards will be presented during a special online event on Sunday, May 3, broadcast on the official website – www.LortelAwards.org – beginning at 7:00pm ET. A virtual “host” and presenters will be announced at a later date. As always, the Lortel Awards will be a benefit for The Actors Fund and fans are encouraged to make donations at actorsfund.org/Lortel. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and the Foundation. Additional support is provided by TDF.

Leading the nominations this year with seven is Michael R. Jackson’s , produced by in association with Page 73 Productions. The Outstanding Musical nominee also earned nominations for Stephen Brackett as Outstanding Director, as as three acting nominations, Costume Design, and Choreographer.

Just behind with six nominations each – Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning, produced by Playwrights Horizons, received nominations for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Director Danya Taymor; and Theater/LCT3’s In The Green earned a nomination for Outstanding Musical for writer Grace McLean, who was also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical.

As previously announced, special honorees this year include Playwrights Horizons’ Tim Sanford, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award; and , who will be inducted onto the famed Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the historic Lucille Lortel Theatre.

The Off-Broadway League 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 about the ceremony and media releases, visit www.LortelAwards.org. Follow the Lortel Awards (#LortelAwards) on (https://twitter.com/OffBroadwayNYC), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/offbroadwayleague/), Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OffBroadwayNYC. Subscribe to the Lortel Awards YouTube channel to watch clips from previous ceremonies.

2020 LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS NOMINATIONS

Outstanding Play BLKS Produced by MCC Theater Written by Aziza Barnes

Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven Produced by Atlantic Theater 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 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

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

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

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

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 , Adapted by Erica Schmidt

Outstanding Solo Show Bella Bella Produced by Written and Performed by Harvey Fierstein

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 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 Tippe, , 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 , 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 , 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 , 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 , 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, Assurance Clint Ramos, Soft Power

Outstanding Costume Design Dede Ayite, BLKS Montana Levi Blanco, A Strange Loop , 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

NOMINATIONS BY SHOW

A Strange Loop 7 Heroes of the Fourth Turning 6 In The Green 6 for colored girls who have considered 5 suicide/when the rainbow is enuf Octet 5 Soft Power 5 Is This A Room 4 Little Shop of Horrors 4 Mrs. Murray's Menagerie 4 Dana H. 3 Fires in the Mirror 3 The Confession of Lily Dare 3 The Secret Life of Bees 3 The Wrong Man 3 A Bright Room Called Day 2 BLKS 2 Greater Clements 2 Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven 2 Seared 2 The Headlands 2 Toni Stone 2 All the Natalie Portmans 1 Anatomy of a Suicide 1 Bella Bella 1 Cambodian Rock Band 1 Continuity 1 Emojiland the Musical 1

London Assurance 1 MAC BETH 1 Mojada 1 Our Dear Dead Drug Lord 1 Power Strip 1 Scotland, PA 1 Sing Street 1 Socrates 1 The Pain of My Belligerence 1 The Unsinkable Molly Brown 1 the way she spoke 1 We're Gonna Die 1 We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time 1 Where We Stand 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 well 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. ###