Theater News

Lucille Lortel Award Winners Announced

| New York City |

May 6, 2003

Take Me Out, which originally opened at the Public Theater but has already transferred to Broadway, and Avenue Q, which is still playing at the Vineyard Theatre but is set to begin a Broadway run this summer, were respectively named Outstanding Play and Outstanding Musical at the 18th annual Lucille Lortel Awards ceremony last evening.

The awards honor excellence in Off-Broadway theater. Last night’s ceremony at the Lucille Lortel Theater on Christopher Street was hosted by actor B.D. Wong, replacing talk show hostess Caroline Rhea, who was ill. For the first time this year, the winners were not announced in advance of the ceremony. In addition to the awards in competitive categories, listed below, special awards were presented to The Exonerated for Unique Theatrical Experience and to the Vineyard Theatre for Outstanding Body of Work. In addition, actress Marian Seldes received the Edith Oliver Award for Sustained Excellence. Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim also received a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his work with Young Playwrights, Inc.

The Lucille Lortel awards are presented annually by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers. A complete list of nominees for the 2002-2003 season follows, with the winners in boldface characters:

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Outstanding Play
Dublin Carol, by Conor McPherson
Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, by Frank McGuinness
Our Lady of 121st Street, by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Take Me Out, by Richard Greenberg

Outstanding Musical
Avenue Q, music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty
Hank Williams: Lost Highway, by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik
Radiant Baby, book by Stuart Ross, music by Debra Barsha, lyrics by Ira Gasman, Stuart Ross, and Debra Barsha
Zanna, Don’t!, book, music, and lyrics by Tim Acito, Additional Book and Lyrics by Alexander Dinelaris

Outstanding Revival
Burn This, by Lanford Wilson
Comedians, by Trevor Griffiths
Don Juan, by Molière, translated by Christopher Hampton
Fifth of July, by Lanford Wilson

Outstanding Director
Jo Bonney, Fifth of July
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Our Lady of 121st Street
Joe Mantello, Take Me Out
Nicholas Martin, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme
Jason Moore, Avenue Q

Outstanding Choreographer
Ronald K. Brown, Crowns
Martha Clarke, Vienna: Lusthaus (revisited)
Devanand Janki, Zanna, Don’t!
Ken Roberson, Avenue Q
Fatima Robinson, Radiant Baby

Outstanding Lead Actor

Charles Busch, Shanghai Moon
Jim Dale, Comedians
Edward Norton, Burn This
Jason Petty, Hank Williams: Lost Highway
Daniel Sunjata, Take Me Out

Outstanding Lead Actress
Tovah Feldshuh, Golda’s Balcony
S. Epatha Merkerson, Fucking A
Kate Mulgrew, Tea at Five
Pamela Payton-Wright, Fifth of July
Parker Posey, Fifth of July

Outstanding Featured Actor
Walter Bobbie, Polish Joke
Mos Def, Fucking A
Ron Cephas Jones, Our Lady of 121st Street
Denis O’Hare, Take Me Out
Justin Theroux, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme

Outstanding Featured Actress
Anika Larsen, Zanna, Don’t!
Jan Maxwell, My Old Lady
Nancy Opel, Polish Joke
Portia, Our Lady of 121st Street
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Fucking A

Outstanding Scenic Design
Christopher Akerlind, Don Juan
John Lee Beatty, My Old Lady
Alexander Dodge, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme
Anna Louizos, Avenue Q
Mark Wendland, The World Over

Outstanding Costume Design
Michael Bottari and Ronald Case, Shanghai Moon
Susan Hilferty, My Life With Albertine
Paul Tazewell, Boston Marriage
Catherine Zuber, Far Away

Outstanding Lighting Design
Christopher Akerlind, Don Juan
Howell Binkley, Radiant Baby
Donald Holder, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme
James F. Ingalls, My Life With Albertine
James Vermeulen, Fifth of July

Outstanding Sound Design
Paul Arditti, Far Away
Mark Bennett, Golda’s Balcony
Brett Jarvis, Avenue Q
Jerry Yager, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme

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