The 2024 Lucille Lortel Award nominations were announced May 4 by Lempicka stars Amber Iman and George Abud. Playwrights Horizons and MCC Theater's Wet Brain leads the nominations for the Off-Broadway honors, with eight nods including Outstanding Play and Director. Watch the full announcement above, and read on for the full list of nominees.
Winners will be named at the annual awards ceremony May 5 at NYU Skirball. The event is open to the public, with tickets set to go on sale April 11 at Tickets.NYU.edu. The evening is also a benefit for The Entertainment Community Fund. Fans are encouraged to make their own donations via LortelAwards.org.
Nominations for Outstanding Play also include Signature Theatre's The Comeuppance, The Public Theater's Plays for the Plague Year, Roundabout Theatre Company's Primary Trust, and Playwrights Horizons' Stereophonic.
The shows up for Outstanding Musical include Ars Nova and National Black Theatre's (pray), Atlantic Theater Company's Buena Vista Social Club, Audible Theater's Dead Outlaw, The Public's Hell's Kitchen, and Playwrights Horizons' Teeth.
See the full list of nominees below:
Outstanding Play
The Comeuppance, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Plays for the Plague Year, by Suzan-Lori Parks
Primary Trust, by Eboni Booth
Stereophonic, by David Adjmi
Wet Brain, by John J. Caswell, Jr.
READ: How the Company Cast Recording Documentary Inspired Stereophonic
Outstanding Musical
(pray), by nicHi douglas, with music by S T A R R Busby and JJJJJerome Ellis
Buena Vista Social Club, book by Marco Ramirez, music by Buena Vista Social Club
Dead Outlaw, by David Yazbek, music and lyrics by Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, book by Itamar Moses
Hell's Kitchen, music and lyrics by Alicia Keys, book by Kristoffer Diaz
Teeth, book and music by Anna K. Jacobs, book and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson
Outstanding Revival
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, 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
I Can Get It for You Wholesale, Classic Stage Company
Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Irish Repertory Theatre Company
Sunset Baby, Signature Theatre Company
Translations, Irish Repertory Theatre Company
READ: Alicia Keys Has Been Working on Her Musical Hell's Kitchen For a Decade
Outstanding Solo Show
All the Devils Are Here - How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, written and performed by Patrick Page
I Love You So Much I Could Die, written and performed by Mona Pirnot
Make Me Gorgeous!, written by Donnie with additional material by Wade McCollum, performed by McCollum
Sorry for Your Loss, written and performed by Michael Cruz Kayne
Triple Threat, 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
READ: Hell is Empty: Patrick Page on Villains and Vices
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
READ: To William Jackson Harper, Acting On Stage Is 'Awful,' But He Finds Value In the Process
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
READ: 'It's Gonna Be Hard': Gabby Beans and Rachel Bonds on the Beautiful Challenge of Jonah
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)
READ: Dead Outlaw Composer David Yazbek Uses a Dead Body for a Lesson in Living
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
Productions with multiple nominations:
Wet Brain - 8
Buena Vista Social Club - 7
Stereophonic - 7
(pray) - 6
Dead Outlaw - 6
Hell's Kitchen - 5
The Comeuppance - 5
Teeth - 4
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea - 3
I Can Get It for You Wholesale - 2
Philadelphia, Here I Come! - 2
Primary Trust - 2
The Connector - 2
The Gardens of Anuncia - 2
This year's Lortels are considering Off-Broadway productions that opened between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. The awards are voted on by representatives of the theatrical unions, the Off-Broadway League, theatre journalists, academics, and other Off-Broadway professionals.
Three non-competitive honors have already been announced, including a Lifetime Achievement Award for actor-director Ruben Santiago-Hudson, a Playwrights' Sidewalk Award for Dominique Morisseau, and an Outstanding Body of Work Award for Off-Broadway nonprofit theatre Ars Nova.
Produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre with additional support provided by TDF, this year's ceremony will again be directed by Michael Heitzman, helming the evening for the 13th consecutive year. Heitzman will be joined by co-director Terry Berliner.
The awards are produced by The Off-Broadway League's Lortel Awards Producing and Administration Committee, comprising Jeremy Adams, Alana Canty-Samuel, Tisa Chang, Carol Fishman, George Forbes, Kenneth Naanep, Ralph Peña, Catherine Russell, Michael Sag, Jonathan Whitton, and Casey York, along with chair Jeffrey Shubart.
Visit LortelAwards.org.
