Since its founding in 1986, Naked Angels has earned a reputation as one of New York’s most essential theatre companies via its twenty-five year dedication to developing and producing relevant, provocative new work (like last season’s hit Off-Broadway oft-extended dramedy Next Fall, now the toast of Broadway with multiple Tony Award nominations). Their latest production, the post-prison drama THIS WIDE NIGHT, kicks off Naked Angels’ silver anniversary season in high style, with a gritty production featuring bravura performances by Tony nominee Alison Pill and three-time Emmy Award-winner Edie Falco.

In spring 1960, the cinematic epic Ben-Hur collected a record eleven Academy Awards; the battle for civil rights heated up as four young Black men held a sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina; and the Dow Jones hit a high of 685 points. Meanwhile, in Greenwich Village, a whimsical little musical bowed at the tiny Sullivan Street Playhouse. Since then, the price of gas has increased 1000%, ten U.S. Presidents have been elected, and we’ve aged by half a century...   And Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones’s eternally young THE FANTASTICKS is still with us.

Hugh Dancy, Melissa Joan Hart, LaChanze, Ashley Olson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and more celebrities from the world of theatre, film, and television came out to honor the best of the 2009-2010 Off-Broadway season at the 25th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards on Sunday. Check out our photo gallery of red carpet shots for a "who's who" of "who was there." (And be sure and look at our live blog of the event, featuring even more photos.

Daryl Roth is no stranger to accolades. She holds the singular distinction of producing six Pulitzer-winning dramas, and she’s also been behind dozens of other honored productions over the past twenty years. Her latest prize: The 2010 Lucille Lortel Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The Lucille Lortel Awards aren’t the only ones celebrating their silver anniversary this year. Lincoln Center Theater is also celebrating 25 years of upholding Lincoln Center founder John D. Rockefeller III’s mandate that "the arts not for the privileged few, but for the many." While fulfilling this directive, LCT has has produced dozens of outstanding musicals, dramas, and special events at its Broadway space, The Vivian Beaumont Theatre, as well as its Off-Broadway venue, The Mitzi Newhouse Theater.

Awards in 14 categories and 2 special awards were given last night by the Off-Broadway League for the 2010 Lucille Lortel Awards recognizing outstanding achievement Off-Broadway. Lincoln Center Theater's lauded production of When the Rain Stops Falling picked up five prizes, and other major winners included The Orphans' Home Cycle ("Outstanding Play"), The Scottsboro Boys ("Outstanding Musical"), A Boy and His Soul ("Outstanding Solo Show") and The Glass Menagerie). Winners are indicated in bold/underline.

8:08pm
We're live at the Lortel Awards! Terminal 5 (waaaaaaaay west side on 56th Street) looks amazing, and were about to begin! Keep checking back for updates as the night progresses! We've already checked out a great gallery of costumes and other ephemera from Off-Broadway's rich history. Even in the mezzanine, everyone (including the mannequins) is dressed to the nines!

The dust hasn’t settled from Sunday’s Lortel Awards yet, but Off-Broadway is already hopping with nineteen openings this month (wow!) including two new musicals, a Pulitzer honoree making its New York bow, and stars of the big and small screens appearing on the boards – and even in the director’s chair! Will any of these productions be honored with 2011 Lortels? Why don’t you check them out and judge for yourself!

Have you heard who’s appearing at the 2010 Lortel Awards? The bigger question is: who’s NOT appearing? Celebrating 25 years of honoring excellence Off-Broadway, the silver anniversary event promises to be the starriest Lortel Award ceremony ever, with performers and presenters from the stage and screen honoring the best of the past Off-Broadway season while celebrating Off-Broadway's rich legacy. The best part of all – the show is open to the public! You can get your tickets now by visiting www.ticketcentral.com or by calling 212-279-4200.