The Iconic for ‘For Colored Girls’ Is an Award Favorite

By N. Jamiyla Chisholm May 28, 2020

With four Drama Desk nominations, New York City Public Theater’s 2019 revisit of Black feminist writer Ntozake Shange’s (1948-2018) classic choreopoem “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf” has been racking up awards buzz since the curtain closed on December 15, the theater recently announced.

After 79 sold-out performances, Shange’s iconic production, directed by Obie Award-winner Leah C. Gardiner, was awarded the Outstanding Revival of a Play by the 2020 Outer Critics Circle Awards on May 11. Not long before that, the Public Theater, which produced the 1976 premiere and not again until 2019, won Outstanding Revival, and designer Toni-Leslie James tied for the Outstanding Costume Design prize for the Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway.

In addition, the Drama League recently announced its 2020 nominees, in which the Public Theater was nominated for Best Revival of a Play and actress Okwui Okpokwasili (Lady in Green), for a Distinguished Performance Award. The League, the nation’s oldest theatrical awards organization, will announce the winners via Livestream in June.

To check out the award winners for the 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards, visit NY1.com and Drama Desk Awards, where the show will stream on May 31.