Frontmezzjunkies reports: The 75th Annual Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations are Announced Today
By Ross
Today at the Museum of Broadway, Cole Escola and Conrad Ricamora of the Broadway hit “Oh, Mary!” hosted the live announcement of the 2025 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations. Both hosts were nominated last season for their iconic roles in “Oh, Mary!”, with Escola winning two 2024 OCC Awards for Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play and the John Gassner Award for New American Play.
The hit Broadway musical Death Becomes Her starring Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard leads the list of nominations for this year’s Outer Critics Circle Awards. The musical gathered up 12 nominations, including Outstanding New Musical and nominations for Simard and featured performer Christopher Sieber. Coming in with nine nominations was the musical Maybe Happy Ending starring Darren Criss, and with eight, Boop! The Musical.
For the non-musical plays, Stranger Things: The First Shadow garnered the most nominations, with a total of seven, followed by The Hills of California with six. Nominees for the annual John Gassner Award for a new American play, preferably by a new playwright, are: Becoming Eve by Emil Weinstein; Good Night, and Good Luck by George Clooney and Grant Heslov; Pre-Existing Condition by Marin Ireland; Still by Lia Romeo; and Walden by Amy Berryman.
A couple of interesting omissions: Clooney did not get nominated in the acting categories, nor did Jonathan Groff for the hit musical Just In Time or Megan Hilty for Death Becomes Her. The Circle does not divide nominees by gender, so the acting categories are particularly jam-packed.
This year’s ceremony marks the 75th anniversary of the organization’s founding, when the first-ever awards were presented to T.S. Elliot’s The Cocktail Party (Play), Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul, and performers Sheila Guyse for Lost in the Stars and Daniel Reed for Come Back, Little Sheba. The Outer Critics Circle will commemorate the milestone this spring with a special 75th Anniversary Cocktail Reception to honor this year’s nominees, past winners, and its members. The Reception will be held on Monday, April 28 at the West Bank Café.
The winners of the 75th Anniversary Outer Critics Circle Awards will be announced on Monday, May 12, 2025, followed by an awards ceremony held on Thursday, May 22, 2025. Here are the nominations:
2025 OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD NOMINATIONS
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 Thunderfuck, 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
Andre 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
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
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.
Note on Eligibility
The following productions were considered in previous seasons, with only new elements eligible during this cycle: Buena Vista Social Club; Dead Outlaw; English; Hold On to Me Darling; Job; and Oh, Mary!. The following productions were not eligible for awards this season: All In: Comedy About Love, and Ben Platt: Live at the Palace.
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 Boulevard, 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 Villian, 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
