Lucille Lortel Awards - Nominations Announced

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 12:45pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Breaking-THE-WRONG-MAN-A-STRANGE-LOOP-More-Nominated-for-Lucille-Lortel-Awards--Updating-Live-20200414

Nominations just announced! Some of my stray thoughts:

 

--Clearly the nominating committee loved For Colored Girls. Can't say I shared their enthusiasm, but congrats to them on all the recognition they received. 

--So glad that Kara Young was recognized for her performance in All The Natalie Portmans. That young woman is a star in the making. 

--Strange that Eisa Davis was considered Leading for Secret Life of Bees, but glad she got recognized. 

--Best Musical is a really strong category overall. Though I personally would have nominated Wrong Man and Sing Street over Strange Loop and In the Green (but i realize there was no way Strange Loop was going to get snubbed). I wonder if Unknown Soldier will be eligible next year. 

--Best Play is also a strong set of nominees. Not necessarily the 5 I would have picked, but I'm not scratching my head over it. Very glad that Is This a Room was recognized, as well as Mrs. Murray's Menagerie. 

--I would have liked to see Corey Stoll nominated for Macbeth, especially since I didn't think Aaron Yoo was very good in The Headlands, nor did I think Seared was Raul Esparza's best work. I would have also liked to see Michael Benjamin Washinton nominated for Fires in the Murror. 

--Surprised Bedlam's Crucible didn't get in for Best Revival, especially given what did get in. 

--"The Headlands" featured some of the best video design I've ever seen. Really hope it wins. 

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 12:48pm

I'm pretty shocked that The Wrong Man got so many nominations, since it kinda came and went, but I'm really glad that Octet and A Strange Loop are both starting to get some love at awards shows.

[broadway86]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 12:58pm

Thrilled, but not surprised, that Emily Davis and Edmund Donovan were recognized for their performances. Some of the best stage acting I've seen in many years.

Bummed that Tammy Blanchard wasn't nominated. I thought she was fantastic, but granted, she made divisive choices with the role.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 1:05pm

Love the love for Soft Power and Little Shop. Tammi is embarrassing as Audrey so not a shocker she was not acknowledged. Happy about Joshua Henry, even though I didn't care for The Wrong Man. No Alice By Heart recognition?

[Ledaero]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 1:22pm

Was Unknown Soldier eligible for this year or next? It’s completely shut out, which feels undeserving. I would hope it’s eligible for next year, but All The Natalie Portmans and Dana H. getting nominated make me think otherwise.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 1:27pm

Ledaero said: "Was Unknown Soldier eligible for this year or next? It’s completely shut out, which feels undeserving. I would hope it’s eligible for next year, but All The Natalie Portmans and Dana H. getting nominated make me think otherwise."

 

It seems (I hope) that they opted to be eligible next year. 

According to Playbill: 

"As the shutdowns and mass gathering bans have impacted several shows this season, productions that opened after February 16 will be given the option to be considered either this year or next."

https://www.playbill.com/article/2020-lucille-lortel-awards-to-be-held-online

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 1:47pm

Thank you for starting this thread, JBroadway! It's nice to have a reminder of some of the great theatre I saw over this past season, even if it was abbreviated.

I'm happy to see the love for Mrs. Murray's Menagerie, as I enjoyed that play very much. Makes me wish there was an "Outstanding Ensemble" award, because that group definitely deserves it.

I enjoyed The Wrong Man more than many on here, so I'm glad it got some recognition. I do wish Ryan Vasquez had been nominated; I thought he was just as good as Joshua Henry and Ciara Renee, both of whom I think deserved their nominations.

I wish Anatomy of a Suicide (and even Greater Clements) had scored Outstanding Play nominations, but there were plenty of good options for that category.

I'm bummed I missed Soft Power, In the Green and Is This a Room. I'm never able to quite fit in everything!

ETA: I know Sutton Ross is joking about the Alice by Heart recognition, but just thought I'd note that the show was eligible last season, where it was nominated for three awards and won two (for choreography and costume design).

Updated On: 4/14/20 at 01:47 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 1:59pm

Just to clarify something: the Lortels consider the performer in a solo work to be part of the total production, even in a revival of a solo work, so Michael Benjamin Washington is part of Fire in the Mirror’s revival nom. It’s a weird way of doing things.

Also: Bedlam’s Crucible was not eligible.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 2:23pm

Kad said: "Just to clarify something: the Lortels consider the performer in a solo work to be part of the total production, even in a revival of a solo work, so Michael Benjamin Washington is part of Fire in the Mirror’s revival nom. It’s a weird way of doing things.

Also: Bedlam’s Crucible was not eligible. "
 

Thanks for pointing that out about the Solo category! Good to know!

Why was Crucible not eligible? 

 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 3:06pm

Shows at the Connelly are only eligible if they have more than 99 seats (the Off Broadway League considers productions that have 100-499 seats to be “Off Broadway”).

[Zion24]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 3:18pm

glad to see Jay Armstrong Johnson getting recognized. he was highlight of that show.

surprised that Saycon Sengbloh didnt get noticed for Secret Life of Bees- i didnt get to see it (and hope i will get to eventually) but I remember her garnering universal praise. 

Interesting snub re Tammy Blanchard considering they nominated one of the three Ronnettes- has that ever happened before in Little Shop's long life?

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 4:09pm

I'm so happy that the Lucille Lortels showered David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's ''Soft Power'' with 5 nominations, especially for Best Musical and Conrad Ricamora for Actor in a Musical. (I actually think Francis Jue should be in Featured Actor in a Musical, though, and I would've nominated Alyse Alan Louis for Featured Actress, still ...) In an April 9 podcast with Ken Davenport's The Producer's Perspective, Hwang says he's continuing to work on ''Soft Power,'' rewriting and rethinking it based on the Public Theater's production last fall. He mentioned having commerical producers who are ''supportive and enthusiastic,'' so I hope ''Soft Power'' and its terrifically talented team will make it to Broadway someday.

Meantime, Ghostlight Records is releasing the ''Soft Power'' cast album for streaming and download this Friday (April 17).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxS961O39ms

Updated On: 4/14/20 at 04:09 PM

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 8:00pm

Anyone else find it odd that Zoe Winters was considered lead actress for her work in Heroes?

She was FABULOUS. Loved her work. I just assumed they'd all be considered a part of a supporting ensemble.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 8:22pm

Falsettolands said: "Anyone else find it odd that Zoe Winters was considered lead actress for her work in Heroes?

She was FABULOUS. Loved her work. I just assumed they'd all be considered a part of a supporting ensemble."


I could have seen it go either way with leading vs featured, but I’m not surprised she’s leading. In retrospect, it seems like her character was sort of the driving force of the play, with the other characters sort of taking turns going head to head with her. 
 

I’m more surprised because I actually just don’t think it was a very good performance. 

[Falsettolands]

Posted: 4/14/20 at 8:28pm

JBroadway said: "Falsettolands said: "Anyone else find it odd that Zoe Winters was considered lead actress for her work in Heroes?

She was FABULOUS. Loved her work. I just assumed they'd all be considered a part of a supporting ensemble."


I could have seen it go either way with leading vs featured, but I’m not surprised she’s leading. In retrospect, it seems like her character was sort of the driving force of the play, with the other characters sort of taking turns going head to head with her.


I’m more surprised because I actually just don’t think it was a very good performance."

When in the run did you see her? She was definitely making a lot of very bold, borderline eccentric choices. But sadly, I've met too many right-wing, political talking heads whose demeanor was emulated so perfectly. It was kind of terrifying haha

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 12:49am

I was surprised to find that the Lortels don't have an original score category, has this always been the case?  I'm quite surprised to see Soft Power get the number of nominations it did (don't get me wrong, I loved it and preordered the album, but I thought the show itself was still a bit of a mess), but I was pleasantly surprised to see Francis Jue nominated twice, for both Soft Power and Cambodian Rock band (though I'm a little disappointed Joe Ngo wasn't).  I'm not super familiar with the traditions and tendencies of the Lortels in general, but I've seen a lot more off-Broadway shows this year and it's nice to see a reminder of the shows that I had enjoyed over the past year.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 2:21am

The Lucille Lortel Awards, which honor Off-Broadway, were first given out in 1986, and have never had a category for Best Score or Book. If you're nominated for Best Musical, that includes their creators. Through the years, the Lortels have slowly expanded. They didn't give out a Best Musical prize until 1991 (''Falsettoland'' ). They didn't have a Featured Actor or Featured Actress category until 2001. And the acting categories used to cover both plays and musicals, but they finally split them up in 2014. (However, their Director and Design categories still cover both plays and musicals. )

To see the list of past nominees and winners, follow this link ...

http://www.lortelaward.com/past-nominees-recipients

Updated On: 4/15/20 at 02:21 AM

[silent]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 2:16pm

Sasha Allen was robbed for “for colored girls.”