The 24th Annual Lucille Lortel nominations announced

Nominations in 14 categories and 2 special awards are announced by the Off-Broadway League for the Lucille Lortel Awards recognizing Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. This year�s ceremony will benefit The Actors Fund.

The Lortel Awards will be handed out on 3 May 2009 at the �Off� Broadway Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis. Arrivals / Cocktails begin at 6pm and the Awards Ceremony begins at 7pm. A cocktail reception honoring all of the nominees will take place on 20 Apr at Ruth�s Chris Steak House at 5pm.

A complete list of nominations follows Three special awards will also be presented at the ceremony:

• Edith Oliver Award for Sustained Excellence: Ira Weitzman
  
• Outstanding Body of Work: The Lark Play Development Center

Outstanding Play:

• Animals Out of Paper
  written by Rajiv Joseph
  Produced by Second Stage Theatre
• Becky Shaw
  Written by Gina Gionfriddo
  Produced by Second Stage Theatre
• Ruined
  Written by Tarell Lynn Nottage
  Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club and Goodman Theatre
• The Good Negro
  Written by Tracey Scott Wilson
  Produced by The Public Theater in association with Dallas Theater Center
• The Sound and the Fury
  Text by William Faulkner
  Created by Elevator Repair Service
  Produced by New York Theatre Workshop and Elevator Repair Service

Outstanding Musical:

• Fela! A New Musical
  Book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones
  Music and Lyrics by Fela Anikulapo Kuti
  Add'l Music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean
  Add'l Lyrics by Jim Lewis
  Produced by Ruth and Stephen Hendel and Roy Gabay
• My Vaudeville Man!
  Book by Jeff Hochhauser
  Music by Bob Johnston
  Lyrics by Bob Johnston and Jeff Hochhauser
  Produced by The York Theatre Company and Melanie Herman
• Road Show
  Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
  Book by John Weidman
  Produced by The Public Theater
• Saved
  Music and Lyrics by Michael Friedman
  Book and Lyrics by John Dempsey and Rinne Groff
  Produced by Playwrights Horizons in association with Elephant Eye Theatrical
• This Beautiful City
  Composer and Lyricist Michael Friedman
  Librettist Steve Cosson and Jim Lewis
  Created by The Civilians
  Produced by Vineyard Theatre

Outstanding Solo Show:

• Humor Abus
  Created by Lorenzo Pisoni and Erica Schmidt
  Performed by Lorenzo Pisoni
  Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club
• Sleepwalk With Me
  Written and Performed by Mike Birbiglia
  Produced by Eli Gonda, Ryan Scott Warren, Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf, and Nathan Lane

Outstanding Revival:

• Enter Laughing, The Musical
  Book by Joseph Stein
  Music and Lyrics by Stan Daniels
  Based on the play Enter Laughing by Joseph Stein
  from the novel by Carl Reiner
  The York Theatre Company
• Othello
  Written by William Shakespeare
  Produced by Theatre for a New Audience
• Our Town
  Written by Thornton Wilder
  Produced by Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian, Tom Wirtshafter, Ted Snowdon, Eagle Productions, Dena Hammerstein/Pam Pariseau, The Weinstein Company, Burnt Umber Productions
• The Cripple of Inishmaan
  Written by Martin McDonagh
  Produced by Atlantic Theater Company and Druid Theatre Company
• The Glass Cage
  Written by J.B. Priestley
  Produced by Mint Theater Company

Outstanding Director:

• Arin Arbus; Othello
• David Cromer; Our Town
• Garry Hynes; The Cripple of Inishmaan
• Kate Whoriskey; Ruined
• Robert Woodruff; Chair

Outstanding Choreographer:

• Martha Clarke; Garden of Earthly Delights
• Bill T. Jones; Fela! A New Musical
• Janet Miller; The Marvelous Wonderettes
• Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Shonn Wiley; My Vaudeville Man!
• Sergio Trujillo; Saved

Outstanding Lead Actor:

• Ned Eisenberg; Othello
• Brian d'Arcy James; Port Authority
• Josh Grisetti; Enter Laughing, The Musical
• Sahr Ngaujah; Fela! A New Musical
• John Douglas Thompson; Othello

Outstanding Lead Actress:

• Ellen Burstyn; The Little Flower of East Orange
• Saidah Arrika Ekulona; Ruined
• Carmen M. Herlihy; crooked
• Kellie Overbey; The Savannah Disputation
• Annie Parisse; Becky Shaw

Outstanding Featured Actor:

• Utkarsh Ambudkar; Animals Out of Paper
• Francois Battiste; The Good Negro
• John McMartin; Saturn Returns
• Aaron Monaghan: The Cripple of Inishmaan
• Thomas Sadoski; Becky Shaw

Outstanding Featured Actress:

• Annika Boras; Chair
• Kerry Condon; The Cripple of Inishmaan
• Lisa Emery; Distracted
• Mamie Gummer; Uncle Vanya
• Juliet Rylance; Othello

Outstanding Scenic Design:

• Beowulf Boritt; Animals Out of Paper
• Marina Draghici; Fela! A New Musical
• Roger Hanna; The Glass Cage
• James Schuette; Wig Out!
• David Zinn; Chair

Outstanding Costume Design:

• Marina Draghici; Fela! A New Musical
• Ann Hould-Ward; Road Show
• Toni-Leslie James; Wig Out!
• Karen Perry; The First Breeze of Summer
• Theresa Squire; Rafta, Rafta�

Outstanding Lighting Design:

• Christopher Akerlind; Garden of Earthly Delights
• Mark Barton; Chair
• Lap Chi Chu; The Good Negro
• Marcus Doshi; Othello
• Jason Lyons; Mourning Becomes Electra

Outstanding Sound Design:

• Quentin Chiappetta; Irena's Vow
• John Gromada; Shipwrecked! An Entertainment
• Robert Kaplowitz; Wig Out!
• Jane Shaw; The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd
• Matt Tierney; he Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928)

Productions that received multiple nominations:

The 2008 Lucille Lortel Awards voting committee is appointed by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres & Producers, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, Actors� Equity Association, and the Society of Stage Directors & Choreographers, and includes journalists, educators, and members of the Off-Broadway community.

Awarded since 1986, the Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the League by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Foundation. Additional support is provided by Theatre Development Fund.