2009 Lucille Lortel Nominees, Honoring Off-Broadway Excellence, Announced
The nominees for the 24th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards, which honor outstanding performance in theater off-Broadway, were announced April 2. Theater for a New Audience’s Othello led the pack with six nominations, including Best Outstanding Revival and Outstanding Lead Actor, with multiple nominations going to such popular productions as Becky Shaw, Ruined, Our Town and The Cripple of Inishmaan. The awards will be presented on May 3 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in a ceremony benefitting The Actors' Fund.
Representatives from the Off-Broadway League, Actors’ Equity Association, Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, as well as theater journalists, academics and additional off-Broadway professionals serve as the voting committee.
A complete list of 2009 Lucille Lortel Award nominees follows:
Outstanding Play
Animals Out of Paper, by Rajiv Joseph Second Stage Theatre
Becky Shaw, by Gina Gionfriddo Second Stage Theatre
Ruined, by Lynn Nottage Manhattan Theatre Club
The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson The Public Theater in association with Dallas Theater Center
The Sound and the Fury April Seventh, 1928 by William Faulkner New York Theatre Workshop and Elevator Repair Service
Outstanding Musical
Fela! A New Musical music and lyrics by Fela Anikulapo Kuti; additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean; book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones
My Vaudeville Man! music by Bob Johnston; lyrics by Bob Johnston and Jeff Hochhauser; book by Jeff Hochhauser
Road Show music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; book by John Weidman
Saved music and lyrics by Michael Friedman; book and lyrics by John Dempsey and Rinne Groff
This Beautiful City music and lyrics by Michael Friedman; book by Steve Cosson and Jim Lewis; created by The Civilians
Outstanding Solo Show
Humor Abuse, by Lorenzo Pisoni and Erica Schmidt, performed by Lorenzo Pisoni
Sleepwalk With Me, written and performed by Mike Birbiglia
Outstanding Revival
Enter Laughing, The Musical York Theatre Company
Othello Theatre for a New Audience
Our Town
The Cripple of Inishmaan Atlantic Theater Company
The Glass Cage Mint Theater Company
Outstanding Director
Arin Arbus, Othello
David Cromer, Our Town
Garry Hynes, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Kate Whoriskey, Ruined
Robert Woodruff, Chair
Outstanding Choreographer
Martha Clarke, Garden of Earthly Delights
Bill T. Jones, Fela! A New Musical
Janet Miller, The Marvelous Wonderettes
Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Shonn Wiley, My Vaudeville Man!
Sergio Trujillo, Saved
Outstanding Lead Actor
Ned Eisenberg, Othello
Brian d’Arcy James, Port Authority
Josh Grisetti, Enter Laughing, The Musical
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela! A New Musical
John Douglas Thompson, Othello
Outstanding Lead Actress
Ellen Burstyn, The Little Flower of East Orange
Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Ruined
Carmen M. Herlihy, crooked
Kellie Overbey, The Savannah Disputation
Annie Parisse, Becky Shaw
Outstanding Featured Actor
Utkarsh Ambudkar, Animals Out of Paper
Francois Battiste, The Good Negro
John McMartin, Saturn Returns
Aaron Monaghan, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Thomas Sadoski, Becky Shaw
Outstanding Featured Actress
Annika Boras, Chair
Kerry Condon, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Lisa Emery, Distracted
Mamie Gummer, Uncle Vanya
Juliet Rylance, Othello
Outstanding Scenic Design
Beowulf Boritt, Animals Out of Paper
Marina Draghici, Fela! A New Musical
Roger Hanna, The Glass Cage
James Schuette, Wig Out!
David Zinn, Chair
Outstanding Costume Design
Marina Draghici, Fela! A New Musical
Ann Hould-Ward, Road Show
Toni-Leslie James, Wig Out!
Karen Perry, The First Breeze of Summer
Theresa Squire, Rafta, Rafta…
Outstanding Lighting Design
Christopher Akerlind, Garden of Earthly Delights
Mark Barton, Chair
Lap Chi Chu, The Good Negro
Marcus Doshi, Othello
Jason Lyons, Mourning Becomes Electra
Outstanding Sound Design
Quentin Chiappetta, Irena’s Vow
John Gromada, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment
Robert Kaplowitz, Wig Out!
Jane Shaw, The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd
Matt Tierney, The Sound and the Fury April Seventh, 1928