The Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations and WINNERS Announced
The Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of writers on New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers and national publications, is pleased to announce the winners alongside the nominees for the 72nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards, honoring the 2022-2023 Broadway and Off-Broadway season.
The big winner here is the phenomenally entertaining and smart Some Like It Hot with 5 wins, including The Marjorie Gunner Award for Outstanding New Broadway Musical and Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical for J. Harrison Ghee. As well as the stellar play, Leopoldstadt with 3 wins, including Outstanding New Broadway Play, Outstanding Director of a Play, and Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play for Brandon Uranowitz, followed by Downstate, Life of Pi, Merrily We Roll Along, New York, New York, Shucked, and Parade with two wins each.
Parade was honored with the win for Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway), The Harder They Come won for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical, as well as a win for Downstate as Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. Topdog/Underdog was named Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) and Fat Ham by James Ijames won The John Gassner Award for New American Play.
Sean Hayes won Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play for his performance in Good Night, Oscar, and Alex Newell from Shucked won Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical.
In regards to nominations, the most honored of the season is the Broadway musical New York, New York (I have no idea why it did), with twelve nominations, followed by Some Like It Hot with ten nods, and Shucked with seven. The most recognized plays of the season are the Off-Broadway production of Downstate and the Broadway production of Leopoldstadt with six nominations each.
Nominees for the annual John Gassner Award — for a new American play, preferably by a new playwright — are Noah Diaz for You Will Get Sick, Ryan J. Haddad for Dark Disabled Stories, James Ijames for Fat Ham, Hansol Jung for Wolf Play, and Brian Watkins for Epiphany.
A Special Achievement Award will be presented to B.H. Barry, one of the world’s foremost fight directors, in recognition of a distinguished six-decade career capped off with Camelot at Lincoln Center Theater.
As previously announced, this is the first season with newly reconstructed acting categories, which have removed gender specifications, and been expanded to separately include off-Broadway performers. In the previous configuration, actors in Broadway and off-Broadway productions had been nominated together in the same category.
Winners of the 72nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards were announced on Tuesday, May 16, and the awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 25 in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center’s New York Public Library for The Performing Arts (111 Amsterdam Avenue, NYC).
The full list of nominees is here/WINNERS are noted with a **:
Outstanding New Broadway Musical
A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical
**Some Like It Hot**
Outstanding New Broadway Play
**Leopoldstadt**
Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical
Only Gold
Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play
Becomes a Woman
A Case for the Existence of God
Chester Bailey
**Downstate**
Letters from Max, a ritual
John Gassner Award for New American Play (Preferably by a New Playwright)
Dark Disabled Stories by Ryan J. Haddad
Epiphany by Brian Watkins
**Fat Ham by James Ijames**
Wolf Play by Hansol Jung
You Will Get Sick by Noah Diaz
Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Endgame
**Topdog/Underdog**
Wedding Band
Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
**Parade**
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical
Micaela Diamond – Parade
**J. Harrison Ghee – Some Like It Hot**
Caroline Innerbichler – Shucked
Colton Ryan – New York, New York
Anna Uzele – New York, New York
Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical
Kevin Del Aguila – Some Like It Hot
Julia Lester – Into the Woods
**Alex Newell – Shucked**
NaTasha Yvette Williams – Some Like It Hot
Betsy Wolfe – & Juliet
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play
Hiran Abeysekera – Life of Pi
Jessica Chastain – A Doll’s House
Corey Hawkins – Topdog/Underdog
**Sean Hayes – Good Night, Oscar**
Audra McDonald – Ohio State Murders
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play
Danielle Brooks – The Piano Lesson
Sharon D Clarke – Death of a Salesman
Michael Potts – The Piano Lesson
**Brandon Uranowitz – Leopoldstadt**
David Zayas – Cost of Living
Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play
Ephraim Birney – Chester Bailey
Brittany Bradford – Wedding Band
Marylouise Burke – Epiphany
**Bill Irwin – Endgame**
Emma Pfitzer Price – Becomes a Woman
Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play
Veanne Cox – Wedding Band
Glenn Davis – Downstate
**K. Todd Freeman – Downstate**
Francis Guinan – Downstate
Susanna Guzman – Downstate
Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical
Nicholas Barasch – The Butcher Boy
Callum Francis – Kinky Boots
**Jonathan Groff – Merrily We Roll Along**
Natey Jones – The Harder They Come
Marla Mindelle – Titanique
Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical
Vicki Lewis – Between the Lines
**Lindsay Mendez – Merrily We Roll Along**
Daniel Radcliffe – Merrily We Roll Along
A.J. Shively – A Man of No Importance
Mare Winningham – A Man of No Importance
Outstanding Solo Performance
Mike Birbiglia – The Old Man & the Pool
**Jodie Comer – Prima Facie**
Jefferson Mays – A Christmas Carol
Sam Morrison – Sugar Daddy
Anthony Rapp – Without You
Outstanding New Score
Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel – Between the Lines
Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally – Shucked
John Kander and Lin-Manuel Miranda – New York, New York
Adam Schlesinger and Sarah Silverman – The Bedwetter
**Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman – Some Like It Hot**
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli – Titanique
**Robert Horn – Shucked**
Matthew López and Amber Ruffin – Some Like it Hot
Suzan-Lori Parks – The Harder They Come
David West Read – & Juliet
Outstanding Scenic Design (Play or Musical)
Jason Ardizzone-West – Wedding Band
John Lee Beatty – Epiphany
**Beowulf Boritt – New York, New York**
Mimi Lien – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Simon Scullion – Peter Pan Goes Wrong
Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)
Dede Ayite – Topdog/Underdog
**Gregg Barnes – Some Like It Hot**
Brigitte Reiffenstuel – Leopoldstadt
Paloma Young – & Juliet
Donna Zakowska – New York, New York
Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical)
Neil Austin – Leopoldstadt
Ken Billington – New York, New York
Ken Elliott and Ben Stanton – A Christmas Carol
Natasha Katz – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
**Tim Lutkin – Life of Pi**
Outstanding Sound Design (Play or Musical)
John Gromada – Jasper
Kai Harada – New York, New York
Daniel Kluger – Epiphany
André Pluess – Good Night, Oscar
**Joshua D. Reid – A Christmas Carol**
Outstanding Video or Projection Design (Play or Musical)
Christopher Ash and Beowulf Boritt – New York, New York
**Andrzej Goulding – Life of Pi**
Lucy Mackinnon – A Christmas Carol
Isaac Madge – Leopoldstadt
Sven Ortel – Parade
Outstanding Orchestrations
**Bryan Carter and Charlie Rosen – Some Like It Hot**
Sam Davis and Daryl Waters – New York, New York
Jason Howland – Shucked
Bill Sherman – & Juliet
Jonathan Tunick – Merrily We Roll Along
Outstanding Director of a Musical
**Michael Arden – Parade**
Maria Friedman – Merrily We Roll Along
Casey Nicholaw – Some Like It Hot
Jack O’Brien – Shucked
Susan Stroman – New York, New York
Outstanding Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler – Only Gold
Edgar Godineaux – The Harder They Come
Casey Nicholaw – Some Like It Hot
**Susan Stroman – New York, New York**
Jennifer Weber – & Juliet
Outstanding Director of a Play
Kenny Leon – Topdog/Underdog
Pam MacKinnon – Downstate
**Patrick Marber – Leopoldstadt**
Adam Meggido – Peter Pan Goes Wrong
Max Webster – Life of Pi
Special Achievement Award
To B.H. Barry, one of the world’s foremost fight directors, in recognition of a distinguished six-decade career capped off with Camelot at Lincoln Center Theater.
NOTES
Only new elements of Cost of Living, Kimberly Akimbo, Ain’t No Mo’, Between Riverside and Crazy, and Kinky Boots were considered.
The Broadway productions considered in full during this cycle are (in order of opening) Macbeth, The Kite Runner, Into the Woods, Leopoldstadt, 1776, Death of a Salesman, The Piano Lesson, Topdog/Underdog, Walking with Ghosts, Almost Famous, Kimberly Akimbo, Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & the Pool, & Juliet, A Christmas Carol, KPOP, A Beautiful Noise, Ohio State Murders, Some Like It Hot, The Collaboration, Pictures from Home, A Doll’s House, Parade, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, Bad Cinderella, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Life of Pi, Shucked, Fat Ham, Camelot, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Thanksgiving Play, Prima Facie, Good Night, Oscar, Summer, 1976, New York, New York, and The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.
WINNER TALLIES
5 – Some Like It Hot
3 – Leopoldstadt
2 – Downstate
2 – Life of Pi
2 – Parade
2 – Shucked
1 – Endgame
1 – Fat Ham
1 – Prima Facie
1 – Topdog/Underdog
SHOWS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS
12 – New York, New York
10 – Some Like It Hot
7 – Shucked
6 – Downstate
6 – Leopoldstadt
6 – & Juliet
5 – Life of Pi
4 – Topdog/Underdog
4 – Parade
4 – Epiphany
4 – Wedding Band
3 – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2 – Only Gold
2 – Becomes a Woman
2 – Into the Woods
2 – Chester Bailey
2 – The Piano Lesson
2 – Titanique
2 – The Bedwetter
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