2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards- Page 2

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 1:30pm

Don't have "it out" for MHE.  The scenic is great (if not derivative) and there are a few enjoyable moments in a blander show masked by nice stagecraft.  Dez is giving a fantastic vocal.  The show itself, not production, felt after-school-special rom-com cheesy for us when the artifice is removed.  

Jonathan is great in the show and working hard. Jordan, Francis and Groff are giving the best vocal performances of the season.  Hoping Jordan takes Best Actor.  He's doing the best leading male work on Broadway this season.

Updated On: 4/25/25 at 01:30 PM

[DanS3]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 1:40pm

CoffeeBreak said: "The show itself, not production, felt after-school-special rom-com cheesy for us when the artifice is removed."
 

To each their own.  I found it delightful and fresh and like nothing I've seen.  I was charmed by it...whether it was a cheesy from-com or not.

And I saw this show with three friends over a weekend where we took in 4 shows total (the others being Death Becomes Her; Gypsy; Sunset Blvd) and each one of us felt that MHE was our favorite.

Updated On: 4/25/25 at 01:40 PM

[cap21alum0]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 1:58pm

Where's Eureka Day? Jake Gyllenhaal? Sheesh

[Synecdoche2]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 2:14pm

Of the ten shows nominated for their direction, only one of them was off-Broadway, and even that was a multi-million dollar spectacle. Isn't the point of this voting body to highlight work that would otherwise go unrecognized? There was some great small-scale direction this season from artists like Eric Ting or Raja Feather Kelly that would have been well-suited for acknowledgement from this organization.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 2:29pm

cap21alum0 said: "Where's Eureka Day? Jake Gyllenhaal? Sheesh"

Re Jake Gyllenhaal

With only five spots covering for ALL the lead actors of Bway shows, lots of people wouldn't get recognized here.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 2:38pm

Synecdoche2 said: "Of the ten shows nominated for their direction, only one of them was off-Broadway, and even that was a multi-million dollar spectacle. Isn't the point of this voting body to highlight work that would otherwise go unrecognized? There was some great small-scale direction this seasonfrom artists like Eric Ting or Raja Feather Kelly that would have been well-suited for acknowledgement from this organization."

Legitimate question but where do they state that the point is to highlight lower profile work? The voting body is just made up of critics from out of town newspapers, and as far as I know that's the only distinction of this group

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 2:57pm

As always, a crazy list.

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 3:11pm

Kad said: "witchoftheeast2 said: "Was Jonathan Groff shut out?"

He was- but again, since it's a non-gendered category of only 6 performers, it's hard to think of who would've been left off to include him, particularly in a year in which quite a few slots nominees were more or less locks."

You're right. In such an incredibly strong season, while I loved his performance I'm not sure he would have replaced others who were nominated. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 6:08pm

For once, I did not think these were as strange as they usually are.  I think a lot of omissions can be attributed to the elimination of the sex (whatever that is) of the person.  In a year in which there were an amazing number of musicals, many of which were well-reviewed, it seems to me that, if you are going to combine categories, you should increase the number of nominees to double what they would have been in the past.

I am not clear about one show: was The Buena Vista Social Club not eligible.  If it was, that seems weird, given the reviews.

Re the shock a couple of people expressed re Robyn Hurder not being nominated, the only thing I can think to say is 'Really???'.  

The truly glaring issue to me was the failure to nominate Jamie Lloyd.  I fully expect him to win the Tony and here he did nt even get nominated.  Seems totally absurd to me.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 6:12pm

Buena Vista was eligible- and nominated- last year for its run at the Atlantic (similar to how Dead Outlaw and Oh Mary were likewise ineligible for this year due to their respective off-Broadway runs last year).

Updated On: 4/25/25 at 06:12 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 11:20am

Winners announced HERE and below:

Outstanding New Broadway Play

Cult of Love
The Hills of California
**John Proctor Is the Villain**
Purpose
Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Outstanding New Broadway Musical

Boop! The Musical
Death Becomes Her
**Maybe Happy Ending**
Operation Mincemeat
Real Women Have Curves

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical

The Big Gay Jamboree
**Drag: The Musical**
We Live in Cairo

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play

The Antiquities
Grangeville
Here There Are Blueberries
**Liberation**
Table 17

John Gassner Award (new American play preferably by a new playwright)

Amy Berryman, Walden
**George Clooney and Grant Heslov, Good Night, and Good Luck**
Marin Ireland, Pre-Existing Condition
Lia Romeo, Still
Emil Weinstein, Becoming Eve

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

**Cats: The Jellicle Ball**
Floyd Collins
Gypsy
Once Upon a Mattress
Sunset Boulevard

Outstanding Revival of a Play

Beckett Briefs: From the Cradle to the Grave
Glengarry Glen Ross
Romeo + Juliet
**Vanya**
Yellow Face

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play

Kit Connor, Romeo + Juliet
**Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California**
Mia Farrow, The Roommate
Jon Michael Hill, Purpose
Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play

Kieran Culkin, Glengarry Glen Ross
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Purpose
**Francis Jue, Yellow Face**
Mare Winningham, Cult of Love
Kara Young, Purpose

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical

Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending
Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins
Audra McDonald, Gypsy
**Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical**
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical

Danny Burstein, Gypsy
**Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat**
Michele Pawk, Just in Time
Christopher Sieber, Death Becomes Her
Michael Urie, Once Upon a Mattress

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical

**Nick Adams, Drag: The Musical**
Marla Mindelle, The Big Gay Jamboree
Nkeki Obi-Melekwe, Safety Not Guaranteed
Alaska Thunder****, Drag: The Musical
Taylor Trensch, Safety Not Guaranteed

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical

Ali Louis Bourzgui, We Live in Cairo
Paris Nix, The Big Gay Jamboree
Eddie Korbich, DRAG: The Musical
J. Elaine Marcos, DRAG: The Musical
**André De Shields, Cats: The Jellicle Ball**
Henry Stram, Three Houses

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play

Caroline Aaron, Conversations with Mother
F. Murray Abraham, Beckett Briefs: From the Cradle to the Grave
Jayne Atkinson, Still
**Adam Driver, Hold On to Me Darling**
Anthony Edwards, The Counter
Paul Sparks, Grangeville 

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play

Betsy Aidem, Liberation
Sean Bell, The Beacon
**Michael Rishawn, Table 17**
Richard Schiff, Becoming Eve
Frank Wood, Hold On to Me Darling

Outstanding Solo Performance

David Greenspan, I'm Assuming You Know David Greenspan
Khawla Ibraheem, A Knock on the Roof
Sam Kissajukian, 300 Paintings
Andrew Scott, Vanya
**Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray**

Outstanding Book of a Musical

**Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending**
David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat
Daniel Lazour and Patrick Lazour, We Live in Cairo
Bob Martin, Boop! The Musical
Marco Pennette, Death Becomes Her

Outstanding Score

**Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending**
David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat
David Foster and Susan Birkenhead, BOOP! The Musical
Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, Real Women Have Curves
Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, Death Becomes Her

Outstanding Orchestrations

Will Aronson, Maybe Happy Ending
Doug Besterman, Death Becomes Her
Joseph Joubert and Daryl Waters, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Daniel Lazour and Michael Starobin, We Live in Cairo
**Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in Time**

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

**Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending**
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Robert Hastie, Operation Mincemeat
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Cats: "The Jellicle Ball"
Jerry Mitchell, BOOP! The Musical

Outstanding Direction of a Play

Trip Cullman, Cult of Love
Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Sam Mendes, The Hills of California
Phylicia Rashad, Purpose
**Danya Taymor, John Proctor Is the Villain**

Outstanding Choreography

Jenny Arnold, Operation Mincemeat
Warren Carlyle, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Shannon Lewis, Just in Time
**Jerry Mitchell, BOOP! the Musical**

Outstanding Scenic Design

**Miriam Buether, Jamie Harrison, and Chris Fisher, Stranger Things: The First Shadow**
Rachel Hauck, Swept Away
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Dane Laffrey, Maybe Happy Ending
Derek McLane, Death Becomes Her

Outstanding Costume Design

**Gregg Barnes, BOOP! The Musical**
Wilberth Gonzalez and Paloma Young, Real Women Have Curves
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Qween Jean, Cats: "The Jellicle Ball"
Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her

Outstanding Lighting Design

Kevin Adams, Swept Away
Natasha Chivers, The Hills of California
**Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow**
Ben Stanton, Maybe Happy Ending
Justin Townsend, Death Becomes Her
 
Outstanding Sound Design

**Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow**
Adam Fisher, Sunset Boulevard
Peter Hylenski, Death Becomes Her
Peter Hylenski, Maybe Happy Ending
John Shivers, Swept Away

Outstanding Video/Projections

59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, Sunset Boulevard
**David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray**
Hana S. Kim, Redwood
Finn Ross, BOOP! The Musical

Updated On: 5/12/25 at 11:20 AM

[starlightlocamotion]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 11:22am

Thrilled for Jasmine!

[bdn223]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 11:39am

Jasmine winning the OCC and the first Ballot of the drama league make me wonder if Nicole is even a front runner for Lead Actress anymore and the 3 way race has narrowed to a 2 way race between Audra and Jasmine.

[nativenewyorker2]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 11:42am

yeah, the story all year has been audra vs. nicole but I predict right now right here Jasmine gets the Tony

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 12:19pm

WiCkEDrOcKS said: "Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical

Darren Criss,Maybe Happy Ending
Jeremy Jordan,Floyd Collins
Audra McDonald,Gypsy
**Jasmine Amy Rogers,Boop! The Musical**
Nicole Scherzinger,Sunset Boulevard
Jennifer Simard,Death Becomes Her"

I KNOW THAT'S RIGHT!!!

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 12:19pm

I had Jasmine as the dark horse to win this award. It's a real surprise that she might be the frontrunner now over Audra and Nicole. This is the lone thing that might save BOOP. The producers will definitely keep the show open through the Tony Awards with the desperate hope that Jasmine wins.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 12:34pm

ACL2006 said: "I had Jasmine as the dark horse to win this award. It's a real surprise that she might be the frontrunner now over Audra and Nicole. This is the lone thing that might save BOOP. The producers will definitely keep the show open through the Tony Awards with the desperate hope that Jasmine wins."

Acting awards do not make a dent at the box office.  See J. Harrison Ghee, SOME LIKE IT HOT.

 

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 12:38pm

Let's remember that the OCC loved ''Boop'' with noms for Musical, Score and Book, something that the Tonys didn't.

Also, there is no overlap for voting.

I know there's a very big support for her but this doesn't change much from the fact that still is Audra x Nicole.

Kelli won this category last year when Maleah was not even nominated.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 12:38pm

it’s still a Nicole (who we still think will win) vs Audra moment.  Interesting to see what won last year vs Tony noms and wins.   (and yes, some shows probably weren’t eligible like Oh, Mary, Dead Outlaw, Buena Vista etc for 2025)- or were off Broadway .  These Outter Critics Awards don’t have a lot of impact on Tony wins (where eligible.)
 

Outstanding New Broadway Play

• Jaja's African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn Bioh
• Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions by Paula Vogel
• Patriots by Peter Morgan
• Stereophonic by David Adjmi*
• The Shark Is Broken by Joseph Nixon and Ian Shaw

Outstanding New Broadway Musical

• Days of Wine and Roses
• Suffs*
• The Great Gatsby
• The Outsiders
• Water for Elephants

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical

• Buena Vista Social Club
• Dead Outlaw*
• Illinoise
• Teeth
• The Connector

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play

• Dig
• King of the Jews
• King James
• Primary Trust*
• Swing State

John Gassner Award (new American play preferably by a new playwright)

• Job
• Manahatta
• Oh, Mary!*
• The Apiary
• Wet Brain

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

• Cabaret
• Here Lies Love
• I Can Get It for You Wholesale*
• Spamalot
• The Who's Tommy

Outstanding Revival of a Play

• An Enemy of the People
• Appropriate*
• Doubt: A Parable
• Mary Jane
• Philadelphia, Here I Come!
• Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play

• Jessica Lange: Mother Play*
• Rachel McAdams: Mary Jane
• Sarah Paulson: Appropriate
• Jeremy Strong: An Enemy of the People
• Michael Stuhlbarg: Patriots

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play

• Billy Eugene Jones: Purlie Victorious
• Celia Keenan-Bolger: Mother Play
• Alex Moffat: The Cottage
• Jim Parsons: Mother Play
• Sarah Pidgeon: Stereophonic
• Kara Young: Purlie Victorious*

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical

• Ali Louis Bourzgui: The Who's Tommy
• Brian d'Arcy James: Days of Wine and Roses
• Casey Likes: Back to the Future
• Kelli O'Hara: Days of Wine and Roses*
• Maryann Plunkett: The Notebook

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical

• Roger Bart: Back to the Future
• Justin Guarini: Once Upon a One More Time
• Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer: Spamalot
• Kecia Lewis: Hell's Kitchen*
• Bebe Neuwirth: Cabaret

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical

• Jeb Brown: Dead Outlaw
• Andrew Durand: Dead Outlaw*
• Alyse Alan Louis: Teeth
• Ben Levi Ross: The Connector
• Ricky Ubeda: Illinoise

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical (tie)

• Ben Cook: Illinoise
• Hannah Cruz: The Connector
• Julia Knitel: Dead Outlaw
• Judy Kuhn: I Can Get It For You Wholesale*
• Jessica Molaskey: The Connector
• Thom Sesma: Dead Outlaw*

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play (tie)

• Cole Escola: Oh, Mary!*
• Mary Beth Fisher: Swing State
• William Jackson Harper: Primary Trust*
• Marie Mullen: The Saviour
• Paul Sparks: Waiting for Godot

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play

• Gus Birney: Our Class
• April Matthis: Primary Trust
• Conrad Ricamora: Oh, Mary!
• Jay O. Sanders: Primary Trust*
• Bubba Weiler: Swing State

Outstanding Solo Performance

• Eddie Izzard: Hamlet
• Patrick Page: All the Devils are Here*
• Mona Pirnot: I Love You So Much I Could Die
• Robert Montano: Small
• John Rubenstein: Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground

Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury: Illinoise
• Anna K. Jacobs and Michael R. Jackson: Teeth
• Itamar Moses: Dead Outlaw
• Jonathan Marc Sherman: The Connector
• Shaina Taub: Suffs*

Outstanding Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• Jason Robert Brown: The Connector
• Will Butler: Stereophonic
• Adam Guettel: Days of Wine and Roses
• David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna: Dead Outlaw
• Shaina Taub: Suffs*

Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• Timo Andres: Illinoise
• Adam Guettel and Jamie Lawrence: Days of Wine and Roses
• Marco Paguia: Buena Vista Social Club*
• Michael Starobin: Suffs
• Erik Della Penna, Dean Sharenow, and David Yazbek: Dead Outlaw

Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• David Cromer: Dead Outlaw
• Michael Greif: Days of Wine and Roses
• Daisy Prince: The Connector
• Leigh Silverman: Suffs
• Jessica Stone: Water for Elephants*

Outstanding Direction of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• Knud Adams: Primary Trust
• Daniel Aukin: Stereophonic*
• Robert Falls: Swing State
• Kenny Leon: Purlie Victorious
• Lila Neugebauer: Appropriate

Outstanding Choreography (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll: Water for Elephants
• Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman: The Outsiders
• Lorin Latarro: The Who's Tommy
• Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck: Buena Vista Social Club
• Justin Peck: Illinoise*

Outstanding Scenic Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway) (tie)

• Paul Tate dePoo III: The Cottage
• Paul Tate dePoo III: The Great Gatsby*
• dots: Appropriate
• David Korins: Here Lies Love
• David Zinn: Stereophonic*

Outstanding Costume Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• Dede Ayite: Jaja's African Hair Braiding
• Enver Chakartash: Stereophonic
• Enver Chakartash: Teeth
• Linda Cho: The Great Gatsby*
• Sydney Maresca: The Cottage

Outstanding Lighting Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• Bradley King: Water for Elephants
• Brian MacDevitt: The Outsiders*
• Justin Townsend: Here Lies Love
• Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone: Back to the Future
• Amanda Zieve: The Who's Tommy

Outstanding Sound Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• Tom Gibbons: Grey House
• Gareth Owen: Back to the Future
• Gareth Owen: The Who's Tommy
• Ryan Rumery: Stereophonic*
• M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer: Here Lies Love

Outstanding Video/Projections (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

• David Bengali: Water for Elephants
• Paul Tate dePoo III: The Great Gatsby
• Peter Nigrini: The Who's Tommy*
• Finn Ross: Back to the Future
• Ash J. Woodward: Patriots

 

Updated On: 5/12/25 at 12:38 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 1:37pm

The OCC is sort of like the Golden Globes of the theater awards season. I wouldn’t use their results to extrapolate Tony trends in any serious way. 

[MB124]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 1:40pm

AC126748 said: "The OCC is sort of like the Golden Globes of the theater awards season. I wouldn’t use their results to extrapolate Tony trends in any serious way."

100%. These awards are in no way indicative of the Tony conversation. 

[merle57]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 1:45pm

Glad to see Maybe Happy Ending wining so many awards, also Francis Jue in Yellow Face, and Jasmine Best Actress for Boop, and especially for Laura in Hills of California Best Actress. Surprised John Proctor won Best Play. 

Updated On: 5/12/25 at 01:45 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 1:48pm

Hopefully this gets more attention on Jasmine's performance and gets some people to see Boop!

[binau]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 2:03pm

Maybe a few (literally) - if the Tonys don't mean much how can these? Jasmine winning the Tony would be the single greatest Tony upset I can remember in 15 years. It can't be impossible and there have been upsets of course in history, such as Bernadette in Gypsy, Raul in Company. 2004 also was also a VERY competitive year with Idina, Donna Murphy, Chenoweth, Tonya Pinkins that went to Idina. But I just can't see it yet. 

[AC126748]

Posted: 5/12/25 at 2:09pm

Bernadette losing for Gypsy wasn't an upset. Marissa Jaret Winouker was heavily favored to win as part of the Hairspray sweep.