Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical

Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
Awarded for	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
Location	United States
Presented by	The Off-Broadway League [1] [2]
Status	Retired
Currently held by	Grace McLean for In the Green (2020)
Website	lortelaward.com

The Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical was an award presented annually at the Lucille Lortel Awards to honor an actress for excellence in a leading role in an Off-Broadway musical production. The categories for lead performance were split into Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical in 2014, before being retired in favor of gender-neutral categories in 2021. ^{[3] [4]}

Before the categories were split, several musical performers won or received nominations for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor:

• Tonya Pinkins - 2004 winner for Caroline, Or Change
• Elaine Stritch - 2002 nominee for Elaine Stritch: At Liberty
• Jayne Houdyshell - - 2010 nominee for Coraline
• Sherie Rene Scott - 2010 nominee for Everyday Rapture
• Molly Ranson - 2012 nominee for Carrie
• Mary Testa - 2012 nominee for Queen of the Mist

Award winners

Key

  and bold indicates the winner.

2010s

Year	Actress	Play	Role	Ref.
2014	Ruthie Ann Miles	Here Lies Love	Imelda Marcos	[5]
	Phillipa Soo	Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812	Natasha Rostova
	Barrett Wilbert Weed	Heathers: The Musical	Veronica Sawyer
	Sydney Lucas	Fun Home	Small Alison
	Alexandra Socha		Medium Alison
2015	Phillipa Soo	Hamilton	Eliza Hamilton	[6]
	Michelle Knight	Disenchanted!	Snow White
	Lillias White	Texas in Paris	performer
	Sally Murphy	The Threepenny Opera	Jenny Towler
	Jennifer Mudge	Into the Woods	The Witch
2016	Annette O'Toole	Southern Comfort	Robert Eads	[7]
	Sammy Tunis	Futurity	Ada Lovelace
	Alison Fraser	First Daughter Suite	Nancy Reagan / Betty Ford
	Mary Testa		Barbara Bush
	Sophia Anne Caruso	Lazarus	Girl
2017	Katrina Lenk	The Band's Visit	Dina	[8]
	Sutton Foster	Sweet Charity	Charity Hope Valentine
	Jo Lampert	Joan of Arc: Into the Fire	Joan
	Siobhán McCarthy	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street	Mrs. Nellie Lovett
	Amber Gray	Hadestown	Persephone
2018	Ashley Park	KPOP	MwE	[9]
	Abigail Nessen Bengson	Hundred Days	Performer
	Ashley D. Kelley	Bella: An American Tall Tale	Isabella "Bella" Patterson
	Julia Knitel	A Letter to Harvey Milk	Barbara
	Lauren Molina	Desperate Measures	Bella Rose
2019	Anika Noni Rose	Carmen Jones	Carmen Jones	[10]
	Gizel Jimenez	Miss You Like Hell	Olivia
	Mare Winningham	Girl from the North Country	Elizabeth Laine
	Stacey Sargeant	Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future	Beaux Weathers
	Kate Baldwin	Superhero	Charlotte

2020s

Year	Actress	Play	Role	Ref.
2020	Grace McLean	In the Green	Jutta	[11]
	Beth Malone	The Unsinkable Molly Brown	Molly Brown
	LaChanze	The Secret Life of Bees	August
	Eisa Davis		June

Multiple nominations

2 nominations

• Phillipa Soo

References

1. The League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers
2. The Off-Broadway League
3. Actoing Categories Split into Musicals and Plays
4. "Lucille Lortel Awards Will Switch to Gender-Neutral Categories for Performers". Playbill.
5. "2014 Recipients". Lucille Lortel Awards. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
6. "2015 Recipients". Lucille Lortel Awards. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
7. "2016 Recipients". Lucille Lortel Awards. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
8. "2017 Recipients". Lucille Lortel Awards. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
9. "2018 Recipients". Lucille Lortel Awards. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
10. "2019 Recipients". Lucille Lortel Awards. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
11. "2020 Recipients". Lucille Lortel Awards. Retrieved 20 September 2025.