2019-2020 Theatre Season: Musical Categories

On By Steven StraussIn Further On (Up the Road), Look Over Yonder See Them OFF-BROADWAY Lights

Using the Tony Awards’ official categories as a guide (with one exception), here’s my favorite musical work — new shows and revivals alike — of the 2019-2020 (non-Broadway) theatre season:

ACTRESS
  1. Janelle McDermoth, We’re Gonna Die
  2. Margo Seibert, Unknown Soldier
  3. Rebecca L. Hargrove, Acquanetta
  4. Alexandra Socha, Mack & Mabel
ACTOR
  1. Larry Owens, A Strange Loop
  2. Ryan Raftery, IVANKA 2020 / The Anna Wintour Musical
  3. Joshua Henry, The Wrong Man
  4. Jonathan Groff / Gideon Glick, Little Shop of Horrors
  5. Erik Lochtefeld, Unknown Soldier
SUPPORTING CAST
  1. Antwayn Hopper, James Jackson, Jr., L Morgan Lee, John-Michael Lyles, John-Andrew Morrison, Jason Veasey — A Strange Loop.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
  1. Grace McLean, In the Green / Cyrano
  2. Kerstin Anderson, Unknown Soldier
  3. Amelia Watkins, Acquanetta
SUPPORTING ACTOR
  1. Christian Borle, Little Shop of Horrors
  2. Ari Fliakos, A PINK CHAIR (In Place of a Fake Antique)
  3. Alan H. Green, Broadway Bounty Hunter
BOOK
  1. Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop
  2. Young Jean Lee, We’re Gonna Die
  3. Ryan Raftery, IVANKA 2020 / The Anna Wintour Musical
  4. Daniel Goldstein, Unknown Soldier
  5. Wooster Group, A PINK CHAIR (In Place of a Fake Antique)
  6. Grace McLean, In the Green
  7. The HawtPlates (Jade Hicks, Kenita Miller-Hicks, & Justin Hicks) & Quincy Flowers, Waterboy and the Mighty World
  8. Ahamefule J. Oluo & Lindy West, Susan
  9. Tom Morello, Tom Morello at the Minetta Lane
  10. Sherie Rene Scott, Twohander
COSTUMES
  1. Naoko Nagata, We’re Gonna Die
  2. Enver Chakartash, A PINK CHAIR (In Place of a Fake Antique)
  3. Montana Levi Blanco, A Strange Loop / Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise
CHOREOGRAPHY
  1. Raja Feather Kelly, A Strange Loop / We’re Gonna Die
  2. Toshiki Okada, Eraser Mountain
  3. The HawtPlates (Jade Hicks, Kenita Miller-Hicks, & Justin Hicks), Waterboy and the Mighty World
  4. Camille A. Brown, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
  5. Ellenore Scott, Black Exhibition
  6. Travis Wall, The Wrong Man
  7. Miranda Haymon, In the Penal Colony
  8. Zoë Coombs Marr, Ursula Martinez, & Adrienne Truscott — Wild Bore
  9. Johanna Lemke, History of Violence
  10. José Rivera Jr., The Fez & The Sandalwood Box
  11. Ellenore Scott, Little Shop of Horrors
  12. Zhang Jun & Akram Khan, Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise
DIRECTOR
  1. The HawtPlates (Jade Hicks, Kenita Miller-Hicks, & Justin Hicks), Waterboy and the Mighty World
  2. Daniel Fish, Acquanetta
  3. Elizabeth LeCompte, A PINK CHAIR (In Place of a Fake Antique)
  4. Raja Feather Kelly, We’re Gonna Die
  5. Lee Sunday Evans, In the Green
  6. Trip Cullman, Unknown Soldier
  7. Stephen Brackett, A Strange Loop
  8. Michael Mayer, Little Shop of Horrors
LIGHTING
  1. Hao Bai, Waterboy and the Mighty World
  2. Barbara Samuels, In the Green / Acquanetta 
  3. Ben Stanton, Unknown Soldier
  4. Tuce Yasak, We’re Gonna Die
  5. Jen Schriever, A Strange Loop
  6. Tobias G. Rylander, Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise
ORCHESTRATIONS
  1. Grace McLean & Kris Kukul, In the Green
  2. The HawtPlates (Jade Hicks, Kenita Miller-Hicks, & Justin Hicks), Waterboy and the Mighty World
    • Vocal arrangements as orchestrations. Vocal orchestrations?
  3. Michael Friedman & Marco Paguia, Unknown Soldier
  4. Ahamefule J. Oluo, Susan
  5. Charlie Rosen, A Strange Loop
  6. Cian McCarthy, We’re Gonna Die
  7. Alex Lacamoire, The Wrong Man
  8. Carlos Cuevas & Charlie García, Evolution of a Sonero
  9. Tom Morello & T Bone Burnett, Tom Morello at the Minetta Lane
SET
  1. Amy Rubin & Jim Findlay, Acquanetta
  2. Kristen Robinson, In the Green
  3. Mark Wendland, Unknown Soldier
  4. Arnulfo Maldonado, A Strange Loop
SCORE
  1. The HawtPlates (Jade Hicks, Kenita Miller-Hicks, & Justin Hicks), Waterboy and the Mighty World
  2. Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop
  3. Grace McLean, In the Green
  4. Young Jean Lee, Tim Simmonds, & John-Michael Lyles — We’re Gonna Die
  5. Michael Friedman & Daniel Goldstein, Unknown Soldier
  6. Ross Golan, The Wrong Man
  7. Michael Gordon & Deborah Artman, Acquanetta
  8. Ahamefule J. Oluo, Susan
  9. Andrew Lynch, Leap and the Net Will Appear
  10. Bobby Krlic & Arca, Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise
SOUND
  1. Andrew Lulling, Waterboy and the Mighty World
  2. Garth MacAleavey, Acquanetta
  3. Nicholas Pope, In the Green
  4. Eric Sluyter & Omar Zubair, A PINK CHAIR (In Place of a Fake Antique)
  5. Jason Crystal, We’re Gonna Die
  6. Brandon Wolcott, Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise

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