MEXODUS and PRINCE F*GGOT Lead 2026 Lucille Lortel Nominations

Nominations for the 41st Annual Lucille Lortel Awards – the  only New York theatre award to exclusively honor Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway – were  announced today by Amber Gray and Harvey Guillén, both currently appearing in the Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show.

The 2026 Awards will be presented at the annual ceremony scheduled for  Sunday, May 3, 2026, at NYU Skirball beginning at 7:00pm. The event is open to the public, with tickets  available for purchase at tickets.nyu.edu or at the NYU Skirball box office Tuesday – Saturday 12pm–6pm.  The Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and the Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional  support provided by TDF. TodayTix Group is a Red Carpet sponsor, Studio Seaview is a Producing  Sponsor, and AudienceView, Checks & Balances Payroll, Line-Up, and The Pekoe Group are Presenting  Sponsors. 

Notable first-time Lortel Award nominees include Sean Hayes (The Unknown), Dulé Hill (Lights Out: Nat  “King” Cole), John Krasinski (Angry Alan), Amber Ruffin (BIGFOOT!), and Sia (Saturday Church.) Artists  with multiple nominations include Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson (Mexodus) for Outstanding  Musical and Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical, Darrell Grand Moultrie (GODDESS and Saturday  Church) for Outstanding Choreographer and Isabella Byrd (Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp. and Prince  Faggot) for Outstanding Lighting Design. In total, the nominating committee saw 98 Off-Broadway shows  this season, with 41 receiving nominations. 

As previously announced, special honorees this year include Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Mia  Katigbak, performer and founder of the National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO); and  legendary composer and lyricist William Finn, who will be posthumously inducted onto the famed  Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the Lucille Lortel Theatre. 

The Off-Broadway League’s Lortel Awards Administration Committee (Jeremy Adams, Alana Canty Samuel, George Forbes, Joey Monda, Kenneth Naanep, Ralph Peña, Catherine Russell, Michael Sag,  Jonathan Whitton, Casey York, and Jeffrey Shubart, Chair) and the Lucille Lortel Theatre (George Forbes,  Jeffrey Shubart, Nancy Hurvitz, Alana Canty-Samuel, Maura Le Viness, Karla Liriano, Kathryn McCumber,  and Rascher Alcasid) produce the Lortel Awards Ceremony. Acclaimed writer/director Michael Heitzman  directs the Lortel Awards. Representatives of the Off-Broadway League, Actors’ Equity Association, Stage  Directors & Choreographers Society, United Scenic Artists, the Lucille Lortel Theatre, in addition to theatre  journalists, academics and other Off-Broadway professionals, serve on the Voting Committee.

For updates and news visit www.LortelAwards.org. Follow the Lortel Awards on Instagram, and Facebook. Subscribe to the Lortel Awards YouTube channel to watch clips from previous ceremonies. 

Outstanding Play 

Cold War Choir Practice 

Produced by MCC Theater, Clubbed Thumb, and Page 73 

Written by Ro Reddick 

Kyoto 

Produced by Lincoln Center Theater, by arrangement with The Royal Shakespeare Company, Good  Chance, Rachel Styne and Jessica Foung 

Written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson 

THE MONSTERS 

Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club 

Written by Ngozi Anyanwu 

Mother Russia  

Produced by Signature Theatre Company 

Written by Lauren Yee 

Prince Faggot 

Produced by Playwrights Horizons and Soho Rep 

Written by Jordan Tannahill 

Outstanding Musical 

BIGFOOT! 

Produced by Benson Drive Productions, David Carter, Frankly Spoken Productions, The Shubert  Organization, Robin Thede, Carson Gleberman, Sean Nyberg, Adam Riemer, Stark Sands, in association  with Manhattan Theatre Club 

Book by Amber Ruffin and Kevin Sciretta, Lyrics by Amber Ruffin, Music by David Schmoll and Amber  Ruffin 

Mexodus 

Produced by Audible Theater and P3 Productions in association with Gabrielle Palitz, Gina Maria Leonetti,  Todd B. Rubin, Willette and Manny Klausner, and QM Productions / The Movement Theatre Company,  MTTM Theatrics / Barzach Productions 

Written by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson 

My Joy Is Heavy 

Produced by New York Theatre Workshop 

Created by The Bengsons 

Night Side Songs 

Produced by Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3 

Words and Music by The Lazours

Saturday Church 

Produced by New York Theatre Workshop 

Book and Additional Lyrics by Damon Cardasis and James Ijames, Music by Sia, Additional Music by Honey  Dijon 

Outstanding Revival 

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 

Produced by Barbara Whitman, Aaron Glick, Timothy Bloom, James L. Nederlander, Nancy Nagel Gibbs,  Debra Martin Chase, Rachel Sussman, Patrick Catullo, Ryan Solomon, by special arrangement with David  Stone 

Written by Music and Lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachel Sheinkin 

Bus Stop  

Produced by Classic Stage Company, National Asian American Theatre Company, and Transport Group Written by William Inge 

Gruesome Playground Injuries 

Produced by Seaview, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Jillian Robbins, Adam Zell, Stella La Rue, Willette &  Manny Klausner, Joan Rechnitz, Kyle Valentine, Bergère Cohen Productions, Steinfast & Moellenberg,  Imaginespace, No Guarantees, Melissa Chamberlain & Michael McCartney, deRoy & Trezza, by special  arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Theatre 

Written by Rajiv Joseph 

Titus Andronicus 

Produced by Red Bull Theater 

Written by William Shakespeare 

The Weir 

Produced by Irish Repertory Theatre 

Written by Conor McPherson 

Outstanding Solo Show 

Hold Me in the Water 

Produced by Playwrights Horizons 

Written and Performed by Ryan J. Haddad 

I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan 

Produced by Atlantic Theater Company 

Written by Mona Pirnot 

Performed by David Greenspan 

Nothing Can Take You From The Hand Of God 

Produced by Playwrights Horizons  

Written by Jen Tullock and Frank Winters 

Performed by Jen Tullock  

Other 

Produced by LaChanze, Marc Platt, Debra Messing/Rudetsky-Jackson, Marvin Krislov/Adam Cohen, Anna  Jenefsky, Bob Stachel/Aaron Yeshayahu 

Written and Performed by Ari’el Stachel

The Unknown 

Produced by Seaview, ATG Productions, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, Mickey Liddell &  Pete Shilaimon, Tom Tuft, Craig Balsam/Ken Levitan, Julie Boardman, Creative Partners Productions,  Front Row Productions, Lloyd Tichio Productions, MarketStall, New Ventures Entertainment, in association  with Hayes Entertainment, Inc. 

Written by David Cale 

Performed by Sean Hayes 

Outstanding Director 

Knud Adams – Cold War Choir Practice 

Shayok Misha Chowdhury – Prince Faggot 

Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin – Kyoto 

David Mendizábal – Mexodus 

Keenan Tyler Oliphant – Practice 

Outstanding Choreographer 

Edgar Godineaux and Jared Grimes – Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole 

Darrell Grand Moultrie – GODDESS 

Darrell Grand Moultrie – Saturday Church 

Tony Thomas – Mexodus 

Rickey Tripp – THE MONSTERS 

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play 

Noah Galvin – The Reservoir 

Marin Ireland – Queens 

John Krasinski – Angry Alan 

Aigner Mizzelle – THE MONSTERS 

Okieriete Onaodowan – THE MONSTERS 

Susannah Perkins – Antigone (This Play I Read In High School)  

Kara Young – Gruesome Playground Injuries 

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play 

Jorge Bosch – Kyoto 

Felicia Curry – Bowl EP 

Crystal Finn – Cold War Choir Practice 

David Greenspan – Prince Faggot 

Lizan Mitchell – Cold War Choir Practice 

Deirdre O’Connell – Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp. 

David Turner – Mother Russia 

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical 

Abigail Bengson – My Joy Is Heavy 

J. Harrison Ghee – Saturday Church 

Dulé Hill – Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole 

Ruthie Ann Miles – The Seat of Our Pants 

Brian Quijada – Mexodus

Nygel D. Robinson – Mexodus 

Daniel J. Watts – Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical 

Nick Rashad Burroughs – GODDESS 

Judy Kuhn – The Baker’s Wife  

Erin Morton – Heathers The Musical  

Stephanie Jae Park – Monte Cristo 

Caleb Quezon – Saturday Church 

Natalie Walker – The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse 

Lynne Wintersteller – About Time 

Outstanding Ensemble 

Initiative 

Olivia Rose Barresi, Brandon Burk, Greg Cuellar, Harrison Densmore, Carson Higgins, Andrea Lopez  Alvarez, Jamie Sanders, Christopher Dylan White 

Night Side Songs 

Robin de Jesús, Brooke Ishibashi, Jonathan Raviv, Kris Saint-Louis, Mary Testa 

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 

Philippe Arroyo, Autumn Best, Leana Rae Concepcion, Justin Cooley, Lilli Cooper, Jason Kravits, Matt  Manuel, Kevin McHale, Jasmine Amy Rogers 

Outstanding Scenic Design 

Miriam Buether – Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp. 

Afsoon Pajoufar – Cold War Choir Practice 

Riw Rakkulchon – Mexodus 

Adam Rigg and Anton Volovsek – Bowl EP 

David Zinn – Prince Faggot 

Outstanding Costume Design 

Montana Levi Blanco – Prince Faggot 

Enver Chakartash – TARTUFFE 

Qween Jean – Saturday Church 

Celeste Jennings – minor.ity 

Kaye Voyce – The Seat of Our Pants 

Outstanding Lighting Design 

Isabella Byrd – Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp. 

Isabella Byrd – Prince Faggot 

Mextly Couzin – Mexodus 

Cha See – The Unknown 

Studio Luna – Marcel on the Train 

Outstanding Sound Design 

Caroline Eng – The Unknown 

Mikhail Fiksel – Mexodus 

Ryan Gamblin – Bowl EP 

Drew Levy – The Weir 

Bray Poor – Eurydice

Outstanding Projection Design 

David Bengali – My Joy Is Heavy 

Stefania Bulbarella – Nothing Can Take You From The Hand Of God Akhila Krishnan – Kyoto 

Johnny Moreno – Mexodus 

John Narun – Bughouse 

HONORARY AWARDS 

Mia Katigbak – Lifetime Achievement 

William Finn – Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee 

NOMINATIONS BY SHOW