The 2023 Lucille Lortel Awards were handed out May 7 in a ceremony at NYU Skirball Center, with Wolf Play and Titaníque leading the pack with five and three wins respectively. The two productions were the only to take multiple honors over the evening.
Hansol Jung's Wolf Play, a Soho Rep production (in collaboration with Ma-Yi Theater Company) produced by MCC Theater, took Outstanding Play, Director (for Dustin Wills), Scenic Design (for You-Shin Chen), sound design (for Kate Marvin), and Ensemble, the latter only the second-ever awarded by the Off-Broadway Awards. The work went into this year's Lortels the front runner with six nominations, losing only in the Lighting Design category.
Titaníque was the evening's other multi-award-winning production, taking Outstanding Musical, Lead Performer in a Musical for Marla Mindelle, and Costume Design for Alejo Vietti. The parody musical was one of four productions to have five nominations going into awards night.
Among the other productions taking home honors were Lincoln Center Theater's The Coast Starlight, The Public's Dark Disabled Stories, Playwrights Horizons' Downstate, Lincoln Center Theater's Epiphany, Classic Stage Company's A Man of No Importance, MCC Theater's Only Gold, and The Public's A Raisin in the Sun.
As previously announced, the evening also saw Between Riverside and Crazy Tony nominee Stephen McKinley Henderson bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award, late for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf playwright Ntozake Shange being inducted into the Playwrights' Sidewalk, and A.R.T./New York as the 2023 Body of Work honoree.
The evening also saw a surprise non-competitive award, the Edith Oliver Service to Off-Broadway Award which was presented by Off-Broadway League President Casey York and Lucille Lortel Theatre Executive Director George Forbes to longtime TDF Executive Director Victoria Bailey.
The Lortels recognize the best in Off-Broadway theatre and are voted on by representatives of the theatrical unions, the Off-Broadway League, theatre journalists, academics, and other Off-Broadway professionals. Produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre with additional support provided by TDF, this year's ceremony was directed by Michael Heitzman, helming the evening for the 12th consecutive year.
See the full list of winners:
Outstanding Play
A Case for the Existence of God, Samuel D. Hunter
Dark Disabled Stories, Ryan J. Haddad
Downstate, Bruce Norris
Epiphany, Brian Watkins
*WINNER* Wolf Play, Hansol Jung
Outstanding Musical
Dreaming Zenzile
Harmony
SUFFS
*WINNER* Titaníque
Weightless
Outstanding Revival
A Bright New Boise
Endgame
A Man of No Importance
Merrily We Roll Along
A Raisin in the Sun
Outstanding Director
Zi Alikhan, On That Day in Amsterdam
David Cromer, A Case for the Existence of God
Robert O'Hara, A Raisin in the Sun
Whitney White, soft
*WINNER* Dustin Wills, Wolf Play
Outstanding Choreographer
*WINNER* Andy Blankenbuehler, Only Gold
Warren Carlyle, Harmony
Edgar Godineaux, The Harder They Come
Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots
Ellenore Scott, Titaníque
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play
Kyle Beltran, A Case For the Existence of God
Marylouise Burke, Epiphany
*WINNER* K. Todd Freeman, Downstate
Ryan J. Haddad, Dark Disabled Stories
Bill Irwin, Endgame
Tonya Pinkins, A Raisin in the Sun
John Douglas Thompson, Endgame
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play
*WINNER* Mia Barron, The Coast Starlight
Susanna Guzmán, Downstate
Ryan J. Haddad, american (tele)visions
Dickie Hearts, Dark Disabled Stories
Patrice Johnson Chevannes, Endgame
Maureen Sebastian, The Best We Could (a family tragedy)
Eddie Torres, Downstate
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical
Nicholas Barasch, The Butcher Boy
Callum Francis, Kinky Boots
Natey Jones, The Harder They Come
Somi Kakoma, Dreaming Zenzile
Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along
*WINNER* Marla Mindelle, Titaníque
Jim Parsons, A Man of No Importance
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical
Krystal Joy Brown, Merrily We Roll Along
Darren Goldstein, The Bedwetter
Nikki M. James, SUFFS
Jacob Ming-Trent, The Harder They Come
John Riddle, Titaníque
Reg Rogers, Merrily We Roll Along
*WINNER* A.J. Shively, A Man of No Importance
Outstanding Ensemble
The Nosebleed, Drae Campbell, Ashil Lee, Chris Manley, Aya Ogawa, Saori Tsukada, Kaili Y. Turner
soft, Leon Addison Brown, Biko Eisen-Martin, Dharon Jones, Essence Lotus, Travis Raeburn, Shakur Tolliver, Dario Vazquez, Ed Ventura
*WINNER* Wolf Play, Christopher Bannow, Esco Jouléy, Brian Quijada, Nicole Villamil, Mitchell Winter
Outstanding Scenic Design
John Lee Beatty, Epiphany
*WINNER* You-Shin Chen, Wolf Play
dots, You Will Get Sick
Arnulfo Maldonado, A Case for the Existence of God
Clint Ramos, The Far Country
Outstanding Costume Design
Enver Chakartash, THE TREES
Sarah Laux, Wish You Were Here
Orla Long, Endgame
Qween Jean, Soft
*WINNER* Alejo Vietti, Titaníque
Outstanding Lighting Design
*WINNER* Isabella Byrd, Epiphany
Jiyoun Chang, The Far Country
Tyler Micoleau, A Case for the Existence of God
Barbara Samuels, Wolf Play
Cha See, On That Day in Amsterdam
Outstanding Sound Design
Mikhail Fiksel, How To Defend Yourself
Daniel Kluger, Epiphany
*WINNER* Kate Marvin, Wolf Play
Theater Mitu, american (tele)visions
Sinan Refik Zafar, LETTERS FROM MAX, a ritual
Outstanding Projection Design
Alex Basco Koch, The Orchard
Yee Eun Nam, ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME
*WINNER* Kameron Neal, Dark Disabled Stories
Theater Mitu, american (tele)visions
S Katy Tucker, LETTERS FROM MAX, a ritual
Honorary Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award: Stephen McKinley Henderson
Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee: Ntozake Shange
Body of Work: A.R.T./New York
Productions With Multiple Wins:
Wolf Play - 5
Titaníque - 3
Visit LortelAwards.org.
Mitchell Winter in Wolf Play
Mitchell Winter in Wolf Play
Mitchell Winter and Nicole Villamil in Wolf Play
Mitchell Winter and Nicole Villamil in Wolf Play
Esco Jouley, Nicole Villamil, Mitchell Winter, and Christopher Bannow in Wolf Play
Esco Jouley in Wolf Play
Esco Jouley and Mitchell Winter in Wolf Play
Christopher Bannow in Wolf Play
Brian Quijada, Mitchell Winter, Christopher Bannow, and Nicole Villamil in Wolf Play
Brian Quijada, Esco Jouley, and Nicole Villamil in Wolf Play
Brian Quijada and Nicole Villamil in Wolf Play
