NEW YORK CITY: The Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of writers on New York theatre for national publications and out-of-town newspapers, announced the winners of the 71st annual Outer Critics Circle Awards, honoring the 2021-22 Broadway and Off-Broadway season.
The Broadway play The Lehman Trilogy leads with six wins, including Outstanding New Broadway Play, followed by the Off-Broadway musical Kimberly Akimbo with four wins. The annual John Gassner Award for a new American play is awarded to Sanaz Toossi for English.
Returning to an in-person ceremony this spring, the 2022 winners will be honored at a ceremony on Thursday, May 26, at the Bruno Walter Auditorium of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
Here is the full list of winners of Outer Critics Circle Awards:
OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL (The Marjorie Gunner Award)
Six
OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
The Lehman Trilogy
OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Kimberly Akimbo
OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Prayer for the French Republic
JOHN GASSNER AWARD (for a new American play, preferably by a new playwright)
Sanaz Toossi, English
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Company
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Take Me Out
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Jacquel Spivey, A Strange Loop
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo
OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Matt Doyle, Company
OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Patti LuPone, Company
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
LaChanze, Trouble in Mind
OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out
OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Uzo Aduba, Clyde’s
OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
Kristina Wong, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord
OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy
OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
Christopher Wheeldon and Rich + Tone Talauega, MJ the Musical
OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
OUTSTANDING SCORE
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
OUTSTANDING ORCHESTRATIONS
Jason Howland, Paradise Square
OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Adam Rigg, The Skin of Our Teeth
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Gabriella Slade, Six
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Jon Clark, The Lehman Trilogy
OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, The Lehman Trilogy
OUTSTANDING VIDEO/PROJECTION DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Luke Halls, The Lehman Trilogy
Special achievement awards will also be presented to Johanna Day, David Morse, Mary-Louise Parker, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson for reprising their outstanding performances in How I Learned to Drive and Lackawanna Blues, respectively. Additionally, the OCC will also presented commendations to the standbys, understudies, and swings of the theatrical community and to the COVID safety supervisors, managers, and compliance officers who put themselves in harm’s way to eight times a week to keep the curtains up.
The Outer Critics Circle was formed in the 1949-50 Broadway season to allow drama critics a forum to discuss theatre and current New York seasons and to invite critics of lesser-known weekly, monthly, and quarterly publications to join their community.
