2025 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:14am

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 Blvd.

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 Blvd.
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 (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
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 (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
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 (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
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, Just in Time

Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
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 (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
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 (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
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 (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
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 (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
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 (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
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 (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Adam Fisher, Sunset Blvd.
Peter Hylenski, Death Becomes Her
Peter Hylenski, Maybe Happy Ending
John Shivers, Swept Away

Outstanding Video/Projections (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, Sunset Blvd.
David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Hana S. Kim, Redwood
Finn Ross, Boop! The Musical

Special Awards
Patrick Hoffman, the recently retired curator of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, in honor of over three decades of service to the theater community, during which time he ensured the preservation of over 1,200 productions.

Shows With Multiple Nominations
12 – Death Becomes Her
9 – Maybe Happy Ending
8 – Boop! The Musical
7 – Stranger Things: The First Shadow
6 – The Hills of California, Operation Mincemeat
5 – Drag: The Musical; Purpose
4 – Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Sunset Blvd.; We Live in Cairo
3 – The Big Gay Jamboree; Cult of Love; Gypsy; Just in Time; Real Women Have Curves; Swept Away
2 – Beckett Briefs; Becoming Eve; Floyd Collins; Glengarry Glen Ross; Grangeville; Hold On to Me Darling; John Proctor Is the Villain; Liberation; Once Upon a Mattress; Pirates! The Penzance Musical; Romeo + Juliet; Safety Not Guaranteed; Still; Table 17; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Vanya; Yellow Face

Updated On: 4/25/25 at 11:14 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:17am

Wait.. was Smash entirely shut out? Yikes.

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:20am

Kad said: "Wait.. was Smash entirely shut out? Yikes."

I can't believe they didn't even acknowledge Robyn Hurder! 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:22am

Simard getting in but Hilty not, especially with six nominees in the category and the show getting so many noms in general, is interesting

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:24am

Also interesting that Once Upon a Mattress got in over Pirates

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:25am

These awards are reliably looney, every year.  Didn’t ANASTASIA sweep the nominations in 2017…?

That said, the Robyn Hurder omission isn’t shocking to me, especially given the way the performance categories are delineated, combining genders.

The completely SMASH shutout, however… Not great.

(But also IMO, not undeserved...)

Updated On: 4/25/25 at 11:25 AM

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:25am

Not nominating Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Blvd,  its lighting, Tom Francis & David Thaxton is embarrassing.  Yes, Smash was shut out. 

Updated On: 4/25/25 at 11:25 AM

[BdwyFan]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:30am

CoffeeBreak said: "Not nominating Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Blvd,its lighting, Tom Francis & David Thaxton is embarrassing. Yes, Smash was shut out."

These OCC nominations rarely indicate Tony noms.  Smash will be recognized come Tony noms in my opinion.  

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:30am

"I can't believe they didn't even acknowledge Robyn Hurder! "

Considering men and women are combined in award for best lead performer in a Broadway musical it is not so shocking. Look at the nominations and tell us who you would have replaced and added Ms. Hurder.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:31am

These were less "outer" there than I usually find these awards to be.   But I'm always stumped by how/when they clump b'way v off b'way as well as plays v musicals together.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:33am

I really hate how they choose to combine certain traditional categories and separate others. If you are going to separate Off Broadway acting, why do you combine Off Broadway directing and choreography?

[ShowBro]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:35am

Kad said: "Wait.. was Smash entirely shut out? Yikes."

…and this was NYTs Critic Pick lmaoo, someone got paid!

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:49am

BdwyFan said: "CoffeeBreak said: "Not nominating Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Blvd,its lighting, Tom Francis & David Thaxton is embarrassing. Yes, Smash was shut out."

These OCC nominations rarely indicate Tony noms. Smash will be recognized come Tony noms in my opinion."

While it is true that these aren't really a precursor for Tonys nods, I wouldn't be holding my breath for Smash to do much on Tony noms morning. Maybe 2-3 noms at best IMO.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:51am

Lighting should of went to Sunset!

Hope Louis wins  he was amazing in Stranger Things 

[broadway86]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:51am

Twelve nominations for DBH, yet Hilty gets passed over? Interesting.

[DanS3]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:52am

CoffeeBreak said: "Not nominating Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Blvd,its lighting, Tom Francis (Darren Criss? ehhhh) & David Thaxton is embarrassing. Yes, Smash was shut out."

Why the shade at Darren Criss? 🙄 He does a fantastic job playing the physical characteristics of a robot…and plays the role with a lot of emotion. I’m hoping he wins the Tony and I hope MHE takes best musical. You have to have a cold heart not to like this show 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 11:54am

DanS3 said: "CoffeeBreak said: "Not nominating Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Blvd,its lighting, Tom Francis (Darren Criss? ehhhh) & David Thaxton is embarrassing. Yes, Smash was shut out."

You have to have a cold heart not to like this show"

Then you're talking to somebody with a cold heart, cuz CoffeeBreak has had it out for the show since day one.

[Dolly80]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 12:14pm

Wait.. was Dorian Gray not eligible or something?

 

not having gendered categories is crazy. All the brilliant performers who have even less chance of winning an award. 

[walnutoraroach]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 12:19pm

When the performance categories were gendered pre-pandemic, they were combined Broadway/off-Broadway — splitting the categories in this way allowed OCC to keep the same number of nominated performers and categories. (Which is why acting is split and the others are combined)

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 12:20pm

Dolly80 said: "Wait.. was Dorian Gray not eligible or something?
not having gendered categories is crazy. All the brilliant performers who have even less chance of winning an award."

Sarah Snook was nominated for Solo Performance.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 12:22pm

They nominated DBH for 12 awards but no Megan? GAGGED!

[trentsketch]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 12:23pm

I'm quite happy that Drag The Musical has been so well received in the off-Broadway awards. There's a lot to like in the show and it's good to see so many different performers get recognized. 

I'm also happy to see Real Women Have Curves breaking through. Such a sweet show.

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 1:12pm

Was Jonathan Groff shut out? 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 1:20pm

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.

Updated On: 4/25/25 at 01:20 PM

[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