Nominations for the 37th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway, produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre with additional support provided by TDF, were announced today by Lilli Cooper and Lea DeLaria, stars of Broadway’s POTUS. The 2022 Awards are the first to feature non-gender specific performance categories and an award for Outstanding Ensemble.
The abbreviated 2021-22 Off-Broadway season featured 44 eligible productions, 30 of which earned a total of 72 nominations across all categories. Atlantic Theater Company’s Kimberly Akimbo and Ars Nova’s Oratorio for Living Things received the most nominations for musicals, with six each. New York Theatre Workshop’s On Sugarland is the most nominated play, with five. As previously announced, this year’s special honorees are Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Deirdre O’Connell and Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee, David Henry Hwang.
The nominations are:
Outstanding Play: Coal Country, produced by Audible and The Public Theater, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen; English, produced by Atlantic Theater Company and Roundabout Theatre Company, written by Sanaz Toossi; Letters of Suresh, produced by Second Stage Theater, written by Rajiv Joseph; On Sugarland, produced by New York Theatre Workshop, written by Aleshea Harris; and Prayer for the French Republic, produced by Manhattan Theatre Club, written by Joshua Harmon;
Outstanding Musical: Black No More, produced by The New Group, book by John Ridley, lyrics by Tariq Trotter, music by Tariq Trotter, Anthony Tidd, James Poyser, and Daryl Waters; Intimate Apparel, produced by Lincoln Center Theater, music by Ricky Ian Gordon, libretto by Lynn Nottage; Kimberly Akimbo, produced by Atlantic Theater Company, book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, music by Jeanine Tesori, based on the play by David Lindsay-Abaire; and Oratorio for Living Things, produced by Ars Nova, by Heather Christian;
Outstanding Revival: ASSASSINS, produced by Classic Stage Company, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman, from an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr.; The Chinese Lady, produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company, presented by The Public Theater, a Barrington Stage Company and Ma-Yi Theater Company production, written by Lloyd Suh; and TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992, produced by Signature Theatre, written by Anna Deavere Smith;
Outstanding Solo Show: Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, produced by New York Theatre Workshop, written and performed by Kristina Wong; and LITTLE GIRL BLUE, produced by Rashad V. Chambers, Willette & Manny Klausner, E. Clayton Cornelious/Joshua Morgan, Victoria Bondoc, McCabe Productions LLC, Live & In Color, written by Laiona Michelle, additional materials by Devan and Janki, music and lyrics by various composers, performed by Laiona Michelle;
Outstanding Director: David Cromer, Prayer for the French Republic; John Doyle, ASSASSINS; Lee Sunday Evans, Oratorio for Living Things; Taibi Magar, TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992; and Whitney White, On Sugarland;
Outstanding Choreographer: Bill T. Jones, Black No More; Raja Feather Kelly, On Sugarland; Danny Mefford, Kimberly Akimbo; Josh Prince, Trevor: A New Musical; and Randy Skinner, Cheek to Cheek: IRVING BERLIN IN HOLLYWOOD;
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play: Stephanie Berry, On Sugarland; W. Tré Davis, Tambo & Bones; Elizabeth Marvel, Long Day’s Journey Into Night; Shannon Tyo, The Chinese Lady; and Mary Wiseman, At the Wedding;
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play: Abena, Nollywood Dreams; Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic; Francis Benhamou, Prayer for the French Republic; Jacob Ming-Trent, The Alchemist; and Thom Sesma, Letters of Suresh;
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical: Kearstin Piper Brown, Intimate Apparel; Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo; Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo; Tamika Lawrence, Black No More; and Ahmad Maksoud, The Visitor;
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical: Steven Boyer, Kimberly Akimbo; Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo; Ethan Slater, ASSASSINS; Will Swenson, ASSASSINS; and Lillias White, Black No More;
Outstanding Ensemble: English, Tala Ashe, Ava Lalezarzadeh, Pooya Mohseni, Marjan Neshat, Hadi Tabbal; Oratorio for Living Things, Johnny Butler, Kirstyn Cae Ballard, Jane Cardona, Sean Donovan, Carla Duren, Clérida Eltimé, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Brian Flores, Odetta Hartman, Quentin Oliver Lee, Angel Lozada, Divya Maus, Barrie Lobo McLain, Ben Moss, John Murchison, Onyie Nwachukwu, Dito Van Reigersberg, Peter Wise; and TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992, Elena Hurst, Wesley T. Jones, Francis Jue, Karl Kenzler, Tiffany Rachelle Stewart;
Outstanding Scenic Design: Wilson Chin, Space Dogs; Marsha Ginsberg, English; Adam Rigg, cullud wattah; Adam Rigg, On Sugarland; and David Rockwell, Christopher and Justin Swader, SEVEN DEADLY SINS;
Outstanding Costume Design: Ari Fulton, Confederates; Gregory Gale, Fairycakes; Dominique Fawn Hill, Tambo & Bones; Márion Talán de la Rosa, Oratorio for Living Things; and Catherine Zuber, Intimate Apparel;
Outstanding Lighting Design: Isabella Byrd, Sanctuary City; Lap Chi Chu, Morning Sun; Jeff Croiter, Black No More; Stacey Derosier, sandblasted; and Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Oratorio for Living Things;
Outstanding Sound Design: Mikhail Fiksel, Tambo & Bones; Nick Kourtides, Oratorio for Living Things; Fabian Obispo, The Chinese Lady; Mikaal Sulaiman, Sanctuary City; and Darron L West, TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992;
Outstanding Projection Design: David Bengali and Hana S. Kim, The Visitor; Shawn Duan, Letters of Suresh; Shawn Duan, The Chinese Lady; Yee Eun Nam, Long Day’s Journey Into Night; and Caite Hevner, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord;
Honorary Awards: Lifetime Achievement: Deirdre O’Connell; and Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee: David Henry Hwang.
With COVID safety in mind, rather than having one host and multiple presenters, this year the Awards will be handed out by a few Host/Presenter pairs on Sunday, May 1, 2022, at NYU Skirball, 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square, NYC, beginning at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the in-person event will be available online.
