New Off Broadway musical HAMILTON is Big Winner!
By: Patrick Christiano
HAMILTON scored 10 Awards at the 30th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards honoring Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. The Off-Broadway League announced winners in 18 categories at the Lucille Lortel Awards where Hamilton won in 10 categories, the most ever in the history of the Awards.
Playwright Terrence McNally, who is also nominated for a Tony for his book of "The Visit," was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while writer and composer Jeanine Tesori, who is also a Tony contender for "Fun Home," was inducted onto the Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
The Public Theater’s production of HAMILTON broke the record for the most awards with 10, two more than the previous high. The musical had scored 12 nominations and only lost in categories where there were two nominees form HAMILTON in the same category.
HAMILTON, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s follow-up to his Tony winner "In the Heights," won awards for best musical, best direction for Thomas Kail and best choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, as well as acting wins for Miranda for lead actor in a musical, Phillipa Soo for lead actress in a musical, Daveed Diggs for featured actor in a musical, as well as best featured actress in a musical for Renee Elise Goldsberry.
Ironically, HAMILTON is just finishing a run at the Public Theater preparing for a stint on Broadway, where the musical will arrive too late for this year’s Tony Awards. Instead, the musical is winning almost everything else, including the Lucille Lortel Awards.
"Between Riverside and Crazy" took three awards, including wins for outstanding play and lead actor in a play for Stephen McKinley Henderson.
Tonya Pinkins won outstanding lead actress ina play for her role in "Rasheeda Speaking."
The Fiasco Theater production of "Into the Woods," which had a run earlier this season at the Roundabout Theater Company, won the award for best revival of a musical.
Veteran general manager Nancy Gibbs received the Edith Oliver Service to Off-Broadway Award.
This year the Lortels were handed out at NYU’s Skirball Center in a ceremony hosted by Anna Chlumsky and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
Photo: Lin-Manuel Miranda by Joan Marcus
Photo: Tonya Pinkins by Barry Gordin
