Lucille Lortel Awards

The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre.^[1] The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986.^[1][2] They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Foundation, with additional support from the Theatre Development Fund.^[1]

Lucille Lortel Awards
Awarded for	Excellence in Off-Broadway theatre
Country	United States
Presented by	the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers
First award	1986; 39 years ago (1986)
Website	http://www.lortelaward.com

Other awards for off-Broadway theatre (although not necessarily exclusive to off-Broadway theatre) include the Drama League Award, Outer Critics Circle Awards, Drama Desk Awards and the Obie Awards, as well as the Henry Hewes Design Awards presented by the American Theatre Wing.

Voting committee

The voting committee is composed of representatives from the Off-Broadway League, Actors' Equity Association, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, as well as theatre journalists, academics, and other Off-Broadway professionals.^[3]

Ceremonies

The awards ceremony for the 2008–2009 season was held on May 3, 2009, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel (New York City); the nominations were announced on April 2.^[4]

The nominations for the 2009–2010 season were announced on April 1, 2010, and the winners were announced at a ceremony on May 2, 2010, held at Terminal 5 in New York City.^[5]

The nominations for the 2010–2011 season were announced on March 31, 2011, and the winners were announced on May 1, 2011, at the NYU Skirball Center, with hosts Zach Braff and Samantha Bee.^[6] Special Awards were given to Lynne Meadow (Lifetime Achievement Award); Gary Glaser (Service to Off-Broadway Award); Gatz – Produced by The Public Theater (Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience).

The nominees for the 2011–2012 season were announced on March 29, 2012; the award ceremony was held on May 6, 2012, at the Skirball Center with host Mario Cantone.^[7] Special (non-competitive) awards were announced: Richard Frankel (Lifetime Achievement Award); Richard Foreman (Playwrights' Sidewalk Inductee); Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) (Service to Off-Broadway Award); and Voca People – Produced by Doron Lida, Revital Kalfo, Leeorna Solomons and Eva Price (Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience).^[8]

The awards for the 2012–2013 season were announced on May 5, 2013, with hosts Aasif Mandvi and Maura Tierney. Special Awards were presented to: Todd Haimes, Lifetime Achievement Award; Neil LaBute, Playwrights' Sidewalk Inductee; Theatre Development Fund, Outstanding Body of Work Award; and Old Hats by Bill Irwin and David Shiner, Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience.^[9]

The awards for the 2013–2014 season were announced on May 4, 2014, with hosts Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman. Special Awards were presented to: producer Robyn Goodman, Lifetime Achievement Award and Richard Nelson, Playwrights' Sidewalk Inductee.^[3]

The award nominations for the 2014–15 season were announced on April 2, 2015. Special Awards were given to Terrence McNally (Lifetime Achievement Award), Jeanine Tesori (Playwrights' Sidewalk Inductee) and general manager Nancy Nagel Gibb (Edith Oliver Service to Off-Broadway Award).^[10] The winners were announced on May 10, 2015, with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Anna Chlumsky hosting.^[11]

The 2015–2016 awards were announced on May 8, 2016, at the NYU Skirball Center. Special Awards were presented to: Oskar Eustis, Lifetime Achievement Award; The Wooster Group, Outstanding Body of Work Award.

The 2016–2017 awards were announced on May 7, 2017. Special Awards were presented to: David Hyde Pierce, Lifetime Achievement Award; Elevator Repair Service, Outstanding Body of Work Award.

The 2017–2018 awards were announced on May 6, 2018. Special Awards were presented to: Kathleen Chalfant, Lifetime Achievement Award; The York Theatre Company, Outstanding Body of Work Award.

The 2018–2019 awards were announced on May 5, 2019. Special Awards were presented to: Edward Albee (posthumously), Lifetime Achievement Award; Page 73 Productions, Outstanding Body of Work Award.

The 2019–2020 awards were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the widespread impact on the theater industry.

The 2020–2021 awards were held virtually, recognizing the adaptation of theater to digital platforms during the pandemic.

The 2021–2022 awards returned to an in-person format, recognizing a full season of live performances.

The 2022–2023 awards were held on May 7, 2023, recognizing ongoing contributions to Off-Broadway theater as it continues to recover and innovate.

Categories

At the beginning, the Lead Actor/Actress and Featured Actor/Actress awards encompassed both plays and musicals. Starting in 2014, the acting awards were split into separate play and musical categories.^[12]

Starting in the 2022 awards, the acting categories were made gender-neutral.^[13]

Current categories

Awards are given in the following categories:

• Outstanding Play
• Outstanding Musical
• Outstanding Revival
• Outstanding Solo Show
• Outstanding Alternative Theater Experience
• Outstanding Director
• Outstanding Choreographer
• Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play
• Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play
• Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical
• Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical
• Outstanding Ensemble
• Outstanding Scenic Design
• Outstanding Costume Design
• Outstanding Lighting Design
• Outstanding Sound Design
• Outstanding Projection Design (permanently added 2017)^[14]

Discontinued Categories

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Award winners in key categories

Source:^[15]

Production Awards

Outstanding Play

1987: The Common Pursuit 1989: The Cocktail Hour 1991: Aristocrats 1992: Lips Together, Teeth Apart 1993: The Destiny of Me 1994: Three Tall Women 1995: Camping with Henry & Tom 1996: Molly Sweeney 1997: How I Learned to Drive 1998: Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde 1999: Wit 2000: Dinner With Friends 2001: Proof 2002: Metamorphoses 2003: Take Me Out 2004: Bug 2005: Doubt 2006: The Lieutenant of Inishmore 2007: Stuff Happens 2008: Betrayed 2009: Ruined 2010: The Orphans' Home Cycle

2011: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity 2012: Sons of the Prophet 2013: The Whale 2014: Bad Jews 2015: Between Riverside and Crazy 2016: Guards at the Taj 2017: Oslo 2018: Cost of Living and School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play 2019: Pass Over 2020: Heroes of the Fourth Turning 2022: English 2023: Wolf Play 2024: The Comeuppance (produced by Signature Theatre, written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins)[16] 2025: Here There Are Blueberries, written by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich (produced by New York Theatre Workshop and Tectonic Theater Project)

Outstanding Musical

1991: Falsettoland 1992: And the World Goes Round… 1993: Forbidden Broadway 1994: Wings 1995: Jelly Roll! 1996: Floyd Collins 1997: Violet 2000: James Joyce’s The Dead 2001: Bat Boy: The musical 2002: Urinetown 2003: Avenue Q 2004: Caroline, or Change 2005: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 2006: The Seven 2007: In the Heights and Spring Awakening 2008: Adding Machine 2009: Fela! A New Musical 2010: The Scottsboro Boys

2011: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson 2012: Once 2013: Dogfight 2014: Fun Home 2015: Hamilton 2016: FUTURITY 2017: The Band's Visit 2018: KPOP 2019: Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future 2020: Octet 2022: Kimberly Akimbo 2023: Titanique 2024: (pray) 2025: Three Houses

Outstanding Revival

1991: Measure For Measure 1992: Boesman and Lena 1993: Henry V 1994: Owners, Traps 1995: Merrily We Roll Along 1996: Entertaining Mr. Sloan 1997: June Moon 1998: All My Sons 1999: The Mystery of Irma Vep 2000: The Torch-Bearers 2001: Tiny Alice 2002: Cymbeline 2003: Fifth of July 2005: Counsellor-At-Law 2006: The Trip to Bountiful 2007: Two Trains Running 2008: Ohio State Murders 2009: Our Town 2010: The Glass Menagerie

2011: Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes/Part 1: MillenniumApproaches, Part 2: Perestroika 2012: The Cherry Orchard 2013: The Piano Lesson 2014: Good Person of Szechwan 2015: Into the Woods 2016: The Robber Bridegroom 2017: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2018: Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train 2019: Carmen Jones 2020: for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf 2022: Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 2023: A Raisin in the Sun 2024: Translations 2025: Our Class

Honorary Awards

Outstanding Lifetime Achievement

1988: Paul Libin 1991: Rosetta LeNoire 1992: Ellen Stewart 1993: Wynn Handman 1995: Uta Hagen 1996: Gene Feist 1997: Jane Alexander 1998: Arthur Miller 1999: Harold Pinter 2000: Jason Robards 2001: Kitty Carlisle Hart 2002: Edward Albee 2003: Stephen Sondheim 2006: Wendy Wasserstein 2007: Kevin Kline 2010: Daryl Roth

2011: Lynne Meadow 2012: Richard Frankel 2013: Todd Haimes 2015: Terrence McNally 2016: Robyn Goodman 2017: William Ivey Long 2018: Eve Ensler 2020: Tim Sanford 2022: Deirdre O’Connell 2023: Stephen McKinley Henderson 2024: Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Playwright Sidewalk Inductee(s)

1999: Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt 2000: Charles Busch & Israel Horowitz 2002: Romulus Linney 2004: Tony Kushner 2005: Charles Ludlam 2006: John Patrick Shanley 2007: Christopher Durang 2012: Richard Foreman 2013: Neil LaBute 2014: Richard Nelson 2015: Jeanine Tesori

2016: Suzan-Lori Parks 2017: Lynn Nottage 2018: Michael Friedman 2019: María Irene Fornés 2020: Anna Deavere Smith 2022: David Henry Hwang 2023: Ntozake Shange 2024: Dominique Morisseau

See also

• Drama Desk Award
• Drama League Award
• Tony Awards