2024 Lucille Lortel Awards nominations: ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ ‘Stereophonic’ get Tony Awards boost for their Off-Broadway productions
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Nominations for the 39th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards were announced today by Amber Iman and George Abud, two stars of Broadway’s “Lempicka.” The Lortels honor outstanding achievement in Off-Broadway theater. The 2024 ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 5 at NYU Skirball Center. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by TDF.
It’s common for productions to begin their life Off-Broadway before transferring to the Main Stem, so many of this year’s Tony Awards hopefuls are among the list of Lortel nominations. Chief among these contenders is “Hell’s Kitchen,” the semi-autobiographical musical from Alicia Keys. That tuner garnered five Lortel nominations. These include Best Musical, Best Choreography for Camille A. Brown, a Lead Performer bid for Maleah Joi Moon, and Featured Performer bids for Shoshana Bean and Kecia Lewis. All performance categories at the Lortel Awards are gender neutral.
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“Stereophonic,” which leads Gold Derby’s combined odds for the Best Play Tony Award, snapped up seven Lortel nominations. This includes bids for Best Play, Best Director for Daniel Aukin, and Featured Performer for Eli Gelb.
Justin Peck did not contend here for his Broadway-bound dance piece “Illinoise,” but still managed to stay in the awards conversation. He earned a Best Choreography bid for “Buena Vista Social Club,” alongside his co-choreographer Patricia Delgado. Rajah Feather Kelly also features in that Choreography category for “Teeth,” the campy hit musical from Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs which scooped up four nominations. Kelly is hoping for a Tony nomination this season for “Lempicka.”
Elsewhere, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who looks like a strong Tony contender with his play “Appropriate,” is a Lortel nominee for his play “The Comeuppance.” That play received five nominations in total.
The leader of the nominations pack however, was the Playwrights Horizons and MCC Theater presentation of “Wet Brain” by John Caswell Jr. That show, about siblings managing their deteriorating alcoholic father, managed a whopping eight nominations. In addition to two Featured Performer bids, it was bolstered by three design nominations for its impressive, trippy stagecraft.
The full list of nominations is below.
Best 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.
Best 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
Best 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
Best 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
Best Director
Daniel Aukin – “Stereophonic”
David Cromer – “Dead Outlaw”
nicHi douglas – “(pray)”
Eric Ting – “The Comeuppance”
Dustin Wills – “Wet Brain”
Best 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”
Best 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”
Best 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”
Best 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”
Best 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”
Best 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
Best Scenic Design
Jason Ardizzone-West – “shadow/land”
Arnulfo Maldonado – “Buena Vista Social Club”
Arnulfo Maldonado – “Dead Outlaw”
Kate Noll – “Wet Brain”
David Zinn – “Stereophonic”
Best Costume Design
Dede Ayite – “Buena Vista Social Club”
Enver Chakartash – “Stereophonic”
Linda Cho – “The Half-God of Rainfall”
DeShon Elem – “(pray)”
Lux Haac – “Manahatta”
Best Lighting Design
Amith Chandrashaker – “The Comeuppance”
Jiyoun Chang – “Stereophonic”
Jen Schriever – “Spain”
Cha See – “Wet Brain”
John Torres – “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea”
Best Sound Design
Tei Blow & John Gasper – “Wet Brain”
Jonathan Deans – “Buena Vista Social Club”
Palmer Hefferan – “The Comeuppance”
Ryan Rumery – S”tereophonic”
Mikaal Sulaiman – “(pray)”
Best 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
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