Outer Critics Circle Awards

The nominations for the 62nd annual Outer Critics Circle Awards were announced earlier today. (These awards honor excellence in Broadway and off-Broadway, and are presented by writers and commentators who cover New York theatre for out-of-town media outlets.) Pippin leads with 11 nominations, though Kinky Boots is not far behind with nine nods (look for my review of Kinky Boots later this week). Winners will be announced May 13 and honored at a luncheon on May 23. Herein, the full list of nominees.

Outstanding New Broadway Play

• Grace (by Craig Wright)
  
• Lucky Guy (by Nora Ephron)
• The Nance (by Douglas Carter Beane)
• The Testament of Mary (by Colm Toibin)
• Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (by Christopher Durang)

Outstanding New Broadway Musical

• Chaplin
• A Christmas Story
• Hands on a Hardbody
• Kinky Boots
• Matilda

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play

• Bad Jews (by Joshua Harmon)
• Cock (by Mike Bartlett)
• My Name is Asher Lev (by Aaron Posner)
• Really Really (by Paul Downs Colaizzo)
• The Whale (by Samuel D. Hunter)

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical

• February House
• Dogfight
• Giant
• Here Lies Love
• Murder Ballad

Outstanding Book of a Musical

• Douglas Carter Beane, Cinderella
• Christopher Curtis and Thomas Neehan, Chaplin
• Peter Duchan, Dogfight
• Harvey Fierstein, Kinky Boots
• Dennis Kelly, Matilda

Outstanding New Score

• Christopher Curtis, Chaplin
• Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Dogfight
• Amanda Green + Trey Anastatsio, Hands on a Hardbody
• David Byrne + Fatboy Slim (additional music by Tom Gandey + J Pardo), Here Lies Love
• Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots

Outstanding Revival of a Play

• Golden Boy
• Orphans
• The Piano Lesson
• The Trip to Bountiful
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Um, is this really a competition? Obviously it's ...Woolf?.

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

• Annie
• Cinderella
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Passion
• Pippin

Outstanding Director of a Play

• Pam MacKinnon, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Nicholas Martin, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
• Jack O'Brien, The Nance
• Barlett Sher, Golden Boy
• Michael Wilson, The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Director of a Musical

• Warren Carlyle, Chaplin
• Scott Ellis, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots
• Diane Paulus, Pippin
• Alex Timbers, Here Lies Love

Timbers is the only off-Broadway representative in the pack. I haven't seen Here Lies Love yet, but I'm so excited to, and knowing Timbers's directing style, I'm 99.999999% certain I'll dig it.

Outstanding Choreographer

• Warren Carlyle, Chaplin
• Peter Darling, Matilda
• Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots
• Josh Rhodes, Cinderella
• Chet Walker, Pippin

Outstanding Set Design (Play or Musical)

• John Lee Beatty, The Nance
• Rob Howell, Matilda
• David Korins, Here Lies Love
• Scott Pask, Pippin
• Michael Yeargan, Golden Boy

Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)

• Amy Clark and Martin Pakledinaz, Chaplin
• Gregg Barnes, Kinky Boots
• Dominique Lemieux, Pippin
• William Ivey Long, Cinderella
• William Ivey Long, The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical)

• Ken Billington, Chaplin
• Paul Gallo, Dogfight
• Donald Holder, Golden Boy
• Kenneth Posner, Cinderella
• Kenneth Posner, Pippin

Outstanding Actor in a Play

• Tom Hanks, Lucky Guy
• Shuler Hensley, The Whale
• Nathan Lane, The Nance
• Tracy Letts, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• David Hyde Pierce, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

How do you not vote for Letts? Hensley was impressive in The Whale, but what Letts did for three hours with Amy Morton... It doesn't get better than that.


Outstanding Actress in a Play

• Tracy Chimo, Bad Jews
• Amy Morton, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Vanessa Redgrave, The Revisionist
• Joely Richardson, Ivanov
• Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful

Chimo vs. Morton. Brilliant showdown.

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

• Bertie Carvel, Matilda
• Santino Fontana, Cinderella
• Rob McClure, Chaplin
• Billy Porter, Kinky Boots
• Matthew James Thomas, Pippin

Though I've only seen Porter and McClure so far (I have tickets for the others), it doesn't get much fiercer than Billy Porter's Lola. (Look for my review of Kinky Boots later this week.)

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

• Lilla Crawford, Annie
• Valisia LeKae, Motown
• Lindsay Mendez, Dogfight
• Patina Miller, Pippin
• Laura Osnes, Cinderella

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

• Danny Burstein, Golden Boy
• Richard Kind, The Big Knife
• Jonny Orsini, The Nance
• Tony Shalhoub, Golden Boy
• Tom Sturridge, Orphans

Burstein, Kind and Sturridge were all great, but Shalhoub's performance was phenomenal and, arguably, the best thing about the play.

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

• Cady Huffman, The Nance
• Judith Ivey, The Heiress
• Judith Light, The Assembled Parties
• Kristine Nielsen, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
• Vanessa Williams, The Trip to Bountiful

Kristine Nielsen all the way, baby! (Though I would have liked to see a nod for the spirited Carrie Coon in ..Woolf?.)

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

• Will Chase, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Dan Lauria, A Christmas Story
• Raymond Luke, Motwon
• Terrence Mann, Pippin
• Daniel Stewart Sherman, Kinky Boots

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

• Annaleigh Ashford, Kinky Boots
• Victoria Clark, Cinderella
• Charlotte d'Amboise, Pippin
• Andrea Martin, Pippin
• Keala Settle, Hands on a Hardbody

Settle was great in her improvised, percussive, jammy gospel number, though I loved show stealer Ashford. (Look for my review of Kinky Boots later this week.) But what, no love for the stunning Rebecca Naomi Jones in Murder Ballad?
 
Outstanding Solo Performance

• Bette Midler, I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers
• Martin Moran, All the Rage
• Fiona Shaw, The Testament of Mary
• Holland Taylor, Ann
• Michael Urie, Buyer and Cellar

John Gassner Award (presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)

• Ayad Akhtar, Disgraced
• Paul Downs Colaizzo, Really Really
• Joshua Harmon, Bad Jews
• Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale
• Aaron Posner, My Name is Asher Lev

I loved Bad Jews, but Disgraced just won the Pulitzer so it has momentum in its corner.

Special Achievement Award
Irish Repertory Theatre, in recognition of 25 years of producing outstanding theatre.