Class Is Head of the Class at Lortels

The cast of Our Class

Our Class, Tadeusz Slobodzianek's epic play about a 1941 massacre of Jews in a Polish village as seen through the eyes of 10 classmates, was the big winner at the Lortel Awards, winning four. The play which was produced at BAM last season and revived at CSC this season, won for Outstanding Revival, Ensemble, Director, and Scenic Design. The 40th annual awards for excellence in Off-Broadway theater named for the legendary producer Lucille Lortel were presented on May 4 at NYU Skirball. Presenters included Kandi Burruss, Lea DeLaria, Jay Ellis, Stephanie Nur, J. Harrison Ghee, Ilana Glazer, Maya Hawke, and Alaska Thunderfuck.

Here There Are Blueberries, another play dealing with the Holocaust, was named Outstanding Play and Three Houses won for Outstanding Musical. Kara Young and Michael Rickshawn of Table 17 were named Outstanding Lead and Featured Performers in a Play. Sarin Monae West of Medea: Re-Versed and Paris Nix of The Big Gay Jamboree won for Outstanding Lead and Featured Performers in a Musical.

A list of winners followed:

Outstanding Play

WINNER - Here There Are Blueberries, by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich
Liberation, by Bess Wohl
Sumo, by Lisa Sanaye Dring
The Antiquities, by Jordan Harrison
We Had a World, by Joshua Harmon

Outstanding Musical
Drag: The Musical — book, music, and lyrics by Tomas Costanza, Justin Andrew Honard, and Ashley Gordon
Medea: Re-Versed — written by Luis Quintero, adapted from Euripides
The Big Gay Jamboree — book by Marla Mindelle and Jonathan Parks-Ramage, music and lyrics by Marla Mindelle and Philip Drennen
WINNER - Three Houses — music, lyrics, and book by Dave Malloy
We Live in Cairo — book, music, and lyrics by The Lazours

Outstanding Revival
Beckett Briefs: From the Cradle to the Grave, by Samuel Beckett
Ghosts, by Henrik Ibsen, with a new version by Mark O'Rowe
Hold on to Me Darling, by Kenneth Lonergan
WINNER - Our Class, by Tadeusz Słobodzianek, adapted by Norman Allen
Wine in the Wilderness, by Alice Childress

Outstanding Solo Show
300 Paintings, written and performed by Sam Kissajukian
A Knock on the Roof, written and performed by Khawla Ibraheem
WINNER - Vanya, co-created by Andrew Scott, Simon Stephens, Sam Yates, and Rosanna Vize, adapted by Simon Stephens. Performed by Andrew Scott

Outstanding Director
WINNER - Igor Golyak, Our Class
Moisés Kaufman, Here There Are Blueberries
Zhailon Levingston, Table 17
Whitney White, Liberation
Sam Yates, Vanya

Outstanding Choreographer (tie)
WINNER - Connor Gallagher, The Big Gay Jamboree
Spencer Liff, Drag: The Musical
Or Schraiber, Our Class
WINNER - Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Distant Thunder
Annie Tippe, Three Houses

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play
Adam Driver, Hold on to Me Darling
Madison Ferris, All of Me
Susannah Flood, Liberation
Lily Rabe, Ghosts
Paul Sparks, Grangeville
Marisa Tomei, Babe
WINNER - Kara Young, Table 17

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play
Betsy Aidem, Liberation
Stephanie Berry, Staff Meal
Ahmad Kamal, Sumo
Julia Lester, All Nighter
WINNER - Michael Rishawn, Table 17
Olivia Washington, Wine in the Wilderness
Frank Wood, Hold on to Me Darling

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical
Marla Mindelle, The Big Gay Jamboree
J.D. Mollison, Three Houses
Mia Pak, Three Houses
Lauren Patten, The Lonely Few
Margo Seibert, Three Houses
Alaska Thunderfuck, Drag: The Musical
WINNER - Sarin Monae West, Medea: Re-Versed

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical
Jujubee, Drag: The Musical
Eddie Korbich, Drag: The Musical
Jacob Ming-Trent, Medea: Re-Versed
WINNER - Paris Nix, The Big Gay Jamboree
Helen J Shen, The Lonely Few
Natalie Walker, The Big Gay Jamboree

Outstanding Ensemble
Here There Are Blueberries — Scott Barrow, Nemuna Ceesay, Kathleen Chalfant, Jonathan Raviv, Erika Rose, Elizabeth Stahlmann, Charlie Thurston, Grant James Varjas
WINNER - Our Class — Gus Birney, Andrey Burkovskiy, José Espinosa, Tess Goldwyn, Will Manning, Stephen Ochsner, Alexandra Silber, Richard Topol, Ilia Volok, Elan Zafir
We Live in Cairo — Ali Louis Bourzgui, Drew Elhamalawy, John El-Jor, Nadina Hassan, Michael Khalid Karadsheh, Rotana Tarabzouni

Outstanding Scenic Design
dots, Three Houses
Christopher Ford and Dakota Rose, The Beastiary
Derek McLane, Here There Are Blueberries
WINNER - Jan Pappelbaum, Our Class
Matt Saunders, Jordans

Outstanding Costume Design
WINNER - Oana Botez, Orlando
Qween Jean, Liberation
Marco Marco, Drag: The Musical
Rodrigo Muñoz, Sally & Tom
Mariko Ohigashi, Sumo

Outstanding Lighting Design
Stacey Derosier, Grangeville
Michael Gottlieb, Beckett Briefs: From the Cradle to the Grave
WINNER - Tyler Micoleau, The Antiquities
Ben Stanton, Table 17
Japhy Weideman, Ghosts

Outstanding Sound Design
Nick Kourtides, Travels
WINNER - Fabian Obispo, Sumo
Matt Otto, All of Me
Matt Otto, Medea: Re-Versed
Ryan Rumery and M. Florian Staab, Beckett Briefs: From the Cradle to the Grave

Outstanding Projection Design
WINNER - David Bengali, Here There Are Blueberries
David Bengali, We Live in Cairo
Eric Dunlap, Igor Golyak, and Andreea Mincic, Our Class
Hana S. Kim, Sumo
Brian Pacelli, Scarlett Dreams

HONORARY AWARDS
Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee: Alice Childress
Outstanding Body of Work: New Federal Theatre
Edith Oliver Service to Off-Broadway: Carol Fishman