Julie White to Host 2008 Lucille Lortel Awards

Julie White, currently on stage in From Up Here at Manhattan Theatre Club, will host the 23rd annual Lucille Lortel Awards, which will be presented on Monday, May 5 at the Union Square Theatre.

The musical Adding Machine, now at the Minetta Lane, led the nominations with six nods, including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Director for David Cromer, and nominations for actors Joel Hatch and Amy Warren.

David Harrower’s Blackbird received four nominations, including Outstanding Play, and Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress nominations for Jeff Daniels and Alison Pill. Shows with three nominations are Passing Strange, Next to Normal, Opus, Seussical, and The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island. Actress Veanne Cox received two nominations for Outstanding Featured Actress for Spain and Paradise Park.

Three special awards will be presented this year. The Edith Oliver Award for Sustained Excellence will be presented to producer Theodore Mann; the Outstanding Body of Work Award will be given to Primary Stages; and the Unique Theatrical Experience Award will be given to the New York Theatre Workshop production of Rinde Eckert’s Horizon.

A complete list of nominees follows:

Outstanding Play

Betrayed, by George Packer

Blackbird, by David Harrower

The Brothers Size, by Tarell Alvin McCraney

New Jerusalem, by David Ives

Opus, by Michael Hollinger

Outstanding Musical

Adding Machine, Original Music by Joshua Schmidt, Libretto by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt

Next to Normal, Music by Tom Kitt, Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey

Passing Strange, Book and Lyrics by Stew, Music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Created in Collaboration with Annie Dorsen

The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (or the Friends of Dr. Rushower), Libretto and Drawings by Ben Katchor, Music by Mark Mulcahy

Wanda’s World, Book by Eric H. Weinberger, Music and Lyrics by Beth Falcone, Story by Eric H. Weinberger and Beth Falcone

Outstanding Solo Show

Beyond Glory, written and performed by Stephen Lang

Dai (enough), written and performed by Iris Bahr

Liberty City, written by Jessica Blank and April Yvette Thompson, performed by April Yvette Thompson

Tings Dey Happen, written by Dan Hoyle, eeveloped with Charlie Varon, performed by Dan Hoyle

Outstanding Revival

Beckett Shorts, by Samuel Beckett

Dividing the Estate, by Horton Foote

The Misanthrope, by Molière, translation by Tony Harrison

Ohio State Murders, by Adrienne Kennedy


Seussical, Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Book by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Co-Conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Eric Idle, Based on the works of Dr. Seuss

Outstanding Director

David Cromer, Adding Machine
Annie Dorsen, Passing Strange
Elizabeth LeCompte, The Wooster Group’s HAMLET
Bob McGrath, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (or the Friends of Dr. Rushower)
Terrence J. Nolen, Opus

Outstanding Choreographer

Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Seussical
Peter Pucci, Queens Boulevard (the musical)
Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Wanda’s World

Outstanding Lead Actor

Jeff Daniels, Blackbird
André De Shields, Black Nativity
Joel Hatch, Adding Machine
Morlan Higgins, Exits and Entrances
Jeremy Strong, New Jerusalem

Outstanding Lead Actress

Elizabeth Franz, The Piano Teacher
Lisa Gay Hamilton, Ohio State Murders
Jayne Houdyshell, The Receptionist
Alison Pill, Blackbird
Lynn Redgrave, Grace

Outstanding Featured Actor

Francis Jue, Yellow Face
David Margulies, The Accomplices
Brian Murray, Gaslight
Lorenzo Pisoni, Election Day
Aaron Tveit, Next to Normal

Outstanding Featured Actress

Veanne Cox, Paradise Park
Veanne Cox, Spain
Zoe Kazan, 100 Saints You Should Know
Amy Warren, Adding Machine
Mare Winningham, 10 Million Miles

Outstanding Scenic Design

Scott Bradley, Eurydice
Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (or the Friends of Dr. Rushower)
Derek McLane, 10 Million Miles
Scott Pask, Blackbird
David Zinn, The Four of Us

Outstanding Costume Design

Mara Blumenfeld, The Glorious Ones
Michael Bottari & Ronald Case, and Jessica Jahn, Die Mommie Die!
Tracy Christensen, Seussical
Kristine Knanishu, Adding Machine
Jenny Mannis, The Drunken City

Outstanding Lighting Design

Kevin Adams, Passing Strange
Kevin Adams, Next to Normal
Russell H. Champa, Eurydice
Peter Mumford, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?
Keith Parham, Adding Machine

Outstanding Sound Design

Geoff Abbas, Joby Emmons, and Matt Schloss, The Wooster Group’s HAMLET
Daniel Baker, The Four of Us
Jorge Cousineau, Opus
Frank Gaeta, Dai (enough)
Darron L West, Dead Man’s Cell Phone