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t h e a t r e

"Proof,""Jitney" and "The Unexpected Man" led the 2001 Lucille Lortel Award nominations with six nods apiece. This was the first year that the Lortels, which honor excellence in Off-Broadway theatre, announced nominations.
Nominees were chosen in an early-evening meeting April 2. The sixteenth annual awards ceremony will take place at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street) on May 7, followed by a supper celebration at America Restaurant.
Alan Cumming, currently starring in "Design for Living," will co-host the 16th annual awards along with Brooke Shields. Kitty Carlisle Hart will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.

"Unexpected Man" nominations were:

Bates was the only "Unexpected Man" winner.

The Lucille Lortel Awards, which include commercial and nonprofit productions, are the official awards of the League of Off-Broadway Theaters and Producers. Lortel rules exclude from consideration works that move to or are scheduled to move to Broadway.
Named for Lucille Lortel, "The Queen of Off-Broadway," The Lucille Lortel Awards were established in 1986 to honor outstanding achievement Off-Broadway. Recent recipients include Jerry Orbach, Harold Pinter, Eli Wallach, Cherry Jones, Mary Louise Parker, Jane Alexander, Jim Dale, Ed Harris, Linda Lavin, John Leguizamo, Moises Kaufman, Martin McDonagh, Paula Vogel, and Anna Deavere Smith.
The awards are selected by a committee consisting of Clive Barnes (New York Post), Peter Filichia (The Star Ledger), John Heilpern (New York Observer), Charles Isherwood (Variety), Alvin Klein (The New York Times/WQXR), Michael Kuchwara (Associated Press), Ken Mandelbaum (Theater.com), Emily Nunn (The New Yorker), John Simon (New York magazine), Sam Whitehead (Time Out NY), John Willis (Theater World), and Linda Winer (Newsday).

From the 23 April edition of Playbill:

Bat Boy, Proof, Mnemonic Among Winners
of 2001 OB Lortel Awards; Ceremony May 7

"Hold your Bat Boy! Love your Bat Boy!"
So run the lyrics to the closing song of Off-Broadway's freak hit (literally), Bat Boy. And now the Lucille Lortel Awards have done just that. Laurence O'Keefe, Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming's darkly campy pop tuner playing at the Union Square Theatre has won the 2001 Lortel Award for Best Musical, as well as picking up a nod for choreographer Christopher Gatelli.
On the straight play side, Proof and Mnemonic picked up three wins each, with Proof netting best play, actress (Mary-Louise Parker) and director (Daniel Sullivan) and Mnemonic recognized for sound (Christopher Shutt), lighting (Paul Anderson) and for being a "Unique Theatrical Experience." Ten Unknowns picked up featured actor and actress awards for Justin Kirk and Julianna Margulies it was announced by Lortel spokesperson David Gersten, April 23.
As previously reported, playwright Lanford Wilson, the Off-Broadway theatre company New York Theatre Workshop will receive honorary trophies at this year's Lucille Lortel Awards ceremony on May 7. The Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Kitty Carlisle Hart. Wilson, the winner of "The Edith Oliver Award for Sustained Excellence," is the author of many plays, including The Fifth of July, Talley's Folly, Balm in Gilead, Hot l Baltimore, Redwood Curtain and others. Many of his works have been produced Off-Broadway, the area of production which the Lortels choose to spotlight.
New York Theatre Workshop, recognized for "Outstanding Body of Work," has produced such works as Rent, Dirty Blonde, several productions by director Anne Bogart, and an esteemed revival of John Guare's Lydie Breeze cycle.
Proof, Jitney and The Unexpected Man had led the 2001 Lortel nominations with six nods apiece. This was the first year that the Lortels, which honor Off-Broadway theatre (and are named for "the Queen of Off-Broadway," Lucille Lortel), announced nominations, which were chosen in an early-evening meeting April 2 and announced shortly thereafter.
The awards ceremony will take place at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher St.) May 7, followed by a supper celebration at America restaurant on 18th Street. Among those scheduled to present at the awards ceremony are Kim Coles, Polly Draper, Judy Gold, Gale Harold, Patricia Kalember, Mark Linn-Baker, Priscilla Lopez, Julianna Margulies, Donna Murphy, George Morfogen and Tim Robbins.

Here are the nominees and winners of the 2001 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway ("Unexpected Man" categories only):

Outstanding Play of 2001
Jitney (Second Stage)
PROOF (Manhattan Theatre Club)
Ten Unknowns (Lincoln Center Theatre)
The Play About The Baby
The Unexpected Man

Outstanding Actor of 2001
ALAN BATES (The Unexpected Man)
Glenn Fitzgerald ( Lobby Hero )
Deven May ( Bat Boy: The Musical )
Brian Murray ( The Play About the Baby )
Donald Sutherland ( Ten Unknowns )

Outstanding Actress of 2001
Eileen Atkins ( The Unexpected Man )
Janie Dee ( Comic Potential )
Mary Beth Fisher ( Boy Gets Girl )
MARY LOUISE PARKER ( Proof )
Marian Seldes ( The Play About the Baby )

Outstanding Set Design of 2001
John Arnone ( Tiny Alice )
John Lee Beatty ( Proof )
Ralph Funicello ( Ten Unknowns )
Mark Thompson ( The Unexpected Man )
DAVID GALLO ( Jitney )

Outstanding Lighting Design of 2001
Betsy Adams/Martha Swetzoff ( The Laramie Project )
PAUL ANDERSON ( Mnemonic )
Pat Collins ( Proof )
Donald Holder ( Jitney )
Hugh Vanstone ( The Unexpected Man )

Outstanding Sound Design of 2001
Mark Bennett/Michael Creason ( Dogeaters )
David Bullard/Mic Pool ( The Unexpected Man )
T. Richard Fitzgerald ( 4 Guys Named Jose And Una Mujer Named Maria!)
Robert Milburn ( Jitney )
CHRISTOPHER SHUTT ( Mnemonic )

NEW YORK -- The Unexpected Man has received six nominations for the 2001 Drama Desk Awards, it was announced on May 1. The nominees include Alan Bates as Outstanding Actor in a Play, and Eileen Atkins as Outstanding Actress in a Play. Winners will be named May 20 in a ceremony at the LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center, hosted by Lily Tomlin.

As expected, The Producers garnered the greatest number of nominations, with 14 citations, including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Actor in a Musical for both Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for both Roger Bart and Gary Beach, Outstanding Book of a Musical for Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, and Outstanding Direction and Choreography for Susan Stroman. The Full Monty received 12 nominations in many of the same categories.

These are the categories in which The Unexpected Man held nominations; for a complete listing, and other details, visit the Drama Desk website.

OUTSTANDING PLAY
BOY GETS GIRL
COMIC POTENTIAL
THE INVENTION OF LOVE
LOBBY HERO
PROOF
THE UNEXPECTED MAN

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY
ALAN BATES (The Unexpected Man)
RICHARD EASTON (The Invention of Love)
RALPH FIENNES (Richard II)
BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL (King Hedley II)
JOHN ORTIZ (Jesus Hopped the A Train)
LIEV SCHRIEBER (Betrayal)

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
EILEEN ATKINS (The Unexpected Man)
JANIE DEE (Comic Potential)
MARY BETH FISHER (Boy Gets Girl)
MARY-LOUISE PARKER (Proof)
MARIAN SELDES (The Play About the Baby)
LILY TAYLOR (The Dead Eye Boy)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
MARK BROKAW (Lobby Hero)
MICHAEL GREIF (The Dog Eaters )
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN (Jesus Hopped the A Train)
JONATHAN KEN (Richard II)
JACK O'BRIEN (The Invention of Love)
MATTHEW WARCHUS (The Unexpected Man)

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
PAUL ANDERSON (Mnemonic)
HOWELL BINKLEY (The Full Monty)
PETER KACZOROWSKI (The Producers)
BRIAN MacDEVITT (The Invention of Love)
KENNETH POSNER (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)
HUGH VANSTONE (The Unexpected Man)

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN
MARK BENNETT, MICHAEL CREASON (Dogeaters)
BRUCE ELLMAN (Comic Potential)
GREGORY KOSTROFF (Lypsinka: The Boxed Set)
MIC POOL, DAVID BULLARD (The Unexpected Man)
CHRISTOPHER SHUTT (Mnemoic)
JERRY YAGER (Up Against the Wind) |||.