Nominations for the 2024 Lucille Lortel Awards for Off-Broadway

On Thursday, April 4, nominations for the 39^th annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were announced by Amber Iman and George Abud, two stars of the new Broadway musical Lempicka. Created in 1985 by the Off-Broadway League, the Lortel Awards recognize excellence in Off-Broadway theater (productions in Manhattan venues with 76-499 seats).

For the 2023-24 Off-Broadway season, 39 of the 75 eligible productions earned at least one Lortel Award nomination. Representatives of the Off-Broadway League, Actors’ Equity Association, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, United Scenic Artists, the Lucille Lortel Theatre, in addition to theater journalists, academics, and other Off-Broadway professionals, serve on the Voting Committee.

Leading the nominations this year are Wet Brain with eight, Buena Vista Social Club and Stereophonic with seven each, followed by (pray) and Dead Outlaw with six. In addition to the nominees in the competitive categories, special honorees this year include Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Playwrights’ Sidewalk inductee Dominique Morisseau, and Ars Nova, who will be honored for their Outstanding Body of Work.

And the 2024 Lucille Lortel Awards nominations are:

Outstanding Play: The Comeuppance, produced by Signature Theatre, written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; Plays For The Plague Year, produced by The Public Theater, written by Suzan-Lori Parks; Primary Trust, produced by Roundabout Theatre Company, written by Eboni Booth; Stereophonic, produced by Playwrights Horizons, written by David Adjmi; Wet Brain, produced by Playwrights Horizons and MCC Theater, written by John J. Caswell, Jr.

Outstanding Musical: (pray), produced by Ars Nova and National Black Theatre, created by nicHi douglas, with music by S T A R R Busby and JJJJJerome Ellis; Buena Vista Social Club, produced by Atlantic Theater Company, book by Marco Ramirez, music by Buena Vista Social Club; Dead Outlaw, produced by Audible Theater, music and lyrics by David Yazbek & Erik Della Penna, book by Itamar Moses, conceived by David Yazbek; Hell’s Kitchen, produced by The Public Theater, music and lyrics by Alicia Keys, book by Kristoffer Diaz; Teeth, produced by Playwrights Horizons, book and music by Anna K. Jacobs, book and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson

Outstanding Revival: Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, produced by Play Hooky Productions, Seaview, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Jayne Baron Sherman, Stella La Rue, Roth-Manella Productions, Sony Music Masterworks, Jillian Robbins, David Binder, Folk Productions, Antonio Marion, Daniel Schwartz, Wessex Grove, Stephanie Choate, Hillary Wyatt, written by John Patrick Shanley; I Can Get It for You Wholesale, produced by Classic Stage Company, book by Jerome Weidman (based on his novel), music and lyrics by Harold Rome, book revisions by John Weidman; Philadelphia, Here I Come!, produced by Irish Repertory Theatre Company, written by Brian Friel; Sunset Baby, produced by Signature Theatre Company, written by Dominique Morisseau; Translations, produced by Irish Repertory Theatre, written by Brian Friel

Outstanding Solo Show: All The Devils Are Here – How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, produced by Mara Isaacs, Thomas M. Neff, Willette and Manny Klausner, 42nd.Club, Daryl Roth, written and performed by Patrick Page; I Love You So Much I Could Die, produced by New York Theatre Workshop, written and performed by Mona Pirnot; Make Me Gorgeous!, produced by triangle productions!, written by Donnie, additional material by Wade McCollum, performed by Wade McCollum; Sorry For Your Loss, produced by Audible, written and performed by Michael Cruz Kayne; Triple Threat, produced by Brendan Gaul, Brett Henenberg, James T. Lane, and T32 Theatrical, written and performed by James T. Lane

Outstanding Director: Daniel Aukin – Stereophonic; David Cromer – Dead Outlaw; nicHi douglas – (pray); Eric Ting – The Comeuppance; Dustin Wills – Wet Brain

Outstanding Choreographer: Camille A. Brown – Hell’s Kitchen; Graciela Daniele and Alex Sanchez – The Gardens of Anuncia; Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck – Buena Vista Social Club; nicHi douglas – (pray); Raja Feather Kelly – Teeth

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play: Christopher Abbott – Danny and the Deep Blue Sea; Gabby Beans – Jonah; William Jackson Harper – Primary Trust; Nicole Ari Parker – The Refuge Plays; Josh Radnor – The Ally; A.J. Shively – Philadelphia, Here I Come!; Paco Tolson – The Knight of the Burning Pestle

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play: Arnie Burton – Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors; Eli Gelb – Stereophonic; Carmen M. Herlihy – The Apiary; Florencia Lozano – Wet Brain; Julio Monge – Wet Brain; Bubba Weiler – Swing State; Frank Wood – Toros

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical: Natalie Venetia Belcon – Buena Vista Social Club; Jeb Brown – Dead Outlaw; Andrew Durand – Dead Outlaw; Santino Fontana – I Can Get It for You Wholesale; Priscilla Lopez – The Gardens of Anuncia; Alyse Alan Louis – Teeth; Maleah Joi Moon – Hell’s Kitchen

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical: Shoshana Bean – Hell’s Kitchen; Rodrick Covington – Rock & Roll Man; Kecia Lewis – Hell’s Kitchen; Jessica Molaskey – The Connector; Steven Pasquale – Teeth; Mel Semé – Buena Vista Social Club; Thom Sesma – Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Ensemble: (pray) – Ariel Kayla Blackwood, S T A R R Busby, Ashely De La Rosa, Tina Fabrique, Satori Folkes-Stone, Amara Granderson, Taylor Symone Jackson, Ziiomi Louise Law, Aigner Mizzelle, Gayle Turner, Darnell White, D. Woods; The Comeuppance – Brittany Bradford, Caleb Eberhardt, Susannah Flood, Bobby Moreno, Shannon Tyo; Flex – Brittany Bellizeare, Christiana Clark, Eboni Edwards, Renita Lewis, Erica Matthews, Ciara Monique, Tamera Tomakili

Outstanding Scenic Design: Jason Ardizzone-West – shadow/land; Arnulfo Maldonado – Buena Vista Social Club; Arnulfo Maldonado – Dead Outlaw; Kate Noll – Wet Brain; David Zinn – Stereophonic

Outstanding Costume Design: Dede Ayite – Buena Vista Social Club; Enver Chakartash – Stereophonic; Linda Cho – The Half-God of Rainfall; DeShon Elem – (pray); Lux Haac – Manahatta

Outstanding Lighting Design: Amith Chandrashaker – The Comeuppance; Jiyoun Chang – Stereophonic; Jen Schriever – Spain; Cha See – Wet Brain; John Torres – Danny and the Deep Blue Sea

Outstanding Sound Design: Tei Blow & John Gasper – Wet Brain; Jonathan Deans – Buena Vista Social Club; Palmer Hefferan – The Comeuppance; Ryan Rumery – Stereophonic; Mikaal Sulaiman – (pray)

Outstanding Projection Design: 59 Productions – Corruption; Nick Hussong – Wet Brain; Jared Mezzocchi – Poor Yella Rednecks; Jared Mezzocchi – Russian Troll Farm; Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew – The Connector.

Honorary Awards:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ruben Santiago-Hudson;

Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee: Dominique Morisseau;

Outstanding Body of Work: Ars Nova.

Congratulations to all the nominees for their recognized contributions to Off-Broadway theater.

The 2024 Lucille Lortel Awards will be presented on Sunday, May 5, 2024, beginning at 7 pm, at NYU Skirball, 566 LaGuardia Place, NYC. The event is open to the public. For tickets, available for purchase beginning on April 11, go online.