The Outer Critics Circle (OCC) Announces the Winners of the 72nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards Commemorating the 2022-2023 Broadway and Off-Broadway Season

Off-Broadway and Broadway News: The Outer Critics Circle (OCC) Announces the Winners of the 72nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards Commemorating the 2022-2023 Broadway and Off-Broadway Season
News by David Roberts
Theatre Reviews Limited

The Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of writers on New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers and national publications, is pleased to announce the winners of the 72nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards, honoring the 2022-2023 Broadway and Off-Broadway season.

The awards ceremony honoring the winners will take place on Thursday, May 25 at 3:00PM in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center’s New York Public Library for The Performing Arts (111 Amsterdam Avenue, NYC). Lauren Yarger serves as the ceremony’s executive producer.

Founded during the 1949-50 Broadway season by respected theater journalist John Gassner, The Outer Critics Circle is an esteemed association with members affiliated with more than ninety newspapers, magazines, broadcast stations, and online news organizations, in America and abroad.

As previously announced, this is the first season with newly reconstructed acting categories, which have removed gender specifications, and been expanded to separately include off-Broadway performers. In the previous configuration, actors in Broadway and off-Broadway productions had been nominated together in the same category.

Led by its current president David Gordon, the OCC Board of Directors also includes Vice President Richard Ridge, Recording Secretary Joseph Cervelli, Corresponding Secretary Patrick Hoffman, Treasurer David Roberts, Harry Haun, Cynthia Allen, Janice Simpson and Doug Strassler. Simon Saltzman is President Emeritus & Board Member (Non-nominating) and Stanley L. Cohen serves as Financial Consultant & Board Member (Non-nominating).

2023 OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNERS

The Marjorie Gunner Award for Outstanding New Broadway Musical

& Juliet

A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical

New York, New York

Shucked

**Some Like It Hot**

Outstanding New Broadway Play

Good Night, Oscar

**Leopoldstadt**

Life of Pi

Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Summer, 1976

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical

The Bedwetter

Between the Lines

**The Harder They Come**

Only Gold

Without You

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play

Becomes a Woman

A Case for the Existence of God

Chester Bailey

**Downstate**

Letters from Max, a ritual

John Gassner Award for New American Play (Preferably by a New Playwright)

Dark Disabled Stories by Ryan J. Haddad

Epiphany by Brian Watkins

**Fat Ham by James Ijames**

Wolf Play by Hansol Jung

You Will Get Sick by Noah Diaz

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

Death of a Salesman

Endgame

Ohio State Murders

**Topdog/Underdog**

Wedding Band

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

A Man of No Importance

Into the Woods

Merrily We Roll Along

**Parade**

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical

Micaela Diamond – Parade

**J. Harrison Ghee – Some Like It Hot**

Caroline Innerbichler – Shucked

Colton Ryan – New York, New York

Anna Uzele – New York, New York

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical

Kevin Del Aguila – Some Like It Hot

Julia Lester – Into the Woods

**Alex Newell – Shucked**

NaTasha Yvette Williams – Some Like It Hot

Betsy Wolfe – & Juliet

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play

Hiran Abeysekera – Life of Pi

Jessica Chastain – A Doll’s House

Corey Hawkins – Topdog/Underdog

**Sean Hayes – Good Night, Oscar**

Audra McDonald – Ohio State Murders

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play

Danielle Brooks – The Piano Lesson

Sharon D Clarke – Death of a Salesman

Michael Potts – The Piano Lesson

**Brandon Uranowitz – Leopoldstadt**

David Zayas – Cost of Living

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play

Ephraim Birney – Chester Bailey

Brittany Bradford – Wedding Band

Marylouise Burke – Epiphany

**Bill Irwin – Endgame**

Emma Pfitzer Price – Becomes a Woman

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play

Veanne Cox – Wedding Band

Glenn Davis – Downstate

**K. Todd Freeman – Downstate**

Francis Guinan – Downstate

Susanna Guzman – Downstate

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical

Nicholas Barasch – The Butcher Boy

Callum Francis – Kinky Boots

**Jonathan Groff – Merrily We Roll Along**

Natey Jones – The Harder They Come

Marla Mindelle – Titanique

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical

Vicki Lewis – Between the Lines

**Lindsay Mendez – Merrily We Roll Along**

Daniel Radcliffe – Merrily We Roll Along

A.J. Shively – A Man of No Importance

Mare Winningham – A Man of No Importance

Outstanding Solo Performance

Mike Birbiglia – The Old Man & the Pool

**Jodie Comer – Prima Facie**

Jefferson Mays – A Christmas Carol

Sam Morrison – Sugar Daddy

Anthony Rapp – Without You

Outstanding New Score

Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel – Between the Lines

Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally – Shucked

John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Lin-Manuel Miranda – New York, New York

Adam Schlesinger and Sarah Silverman – The Bedwetter

**Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman – Some Like It Hot**

Outstanding Book of a Musical

Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli – Titanique

**Robert Horn – Shucked**

Matthew López and Amber Ruffin – Some Like it Hot

Suzan-Lori Parks – The Harder They Come

David West Read – & Juliet

Outstanding Scenic Design (Play or Musical)

Jason Ardizzone-West – Wedding Band

John Lee Beatty – Epiphany

**Beowulf Boritt – New York, New York**

Mimi Lien – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Simon Scullion – Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)

Dede Ayite – Topdog/Underdog

**Gregg Barnes – Some Like it Hot**

Brigitte Reiffenstuel – Leopoldstadt

Paloma Young – & Juliet

Donna Zakowska – New York, New York

Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical)

Neil Austin – Leopoldstadt

Ken Billington – New York, New York

Ben Stanton – A Christmas Carol

Natasha Katz – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

**Tim Lutkin – Life of Pi**

Outstanding Sound Design (Play or Musical)

John Gromada – Jasper

Kai Harada – New York, New York

Daniel Kluger – Epiphany

André Pluess – Good Night, Oscar

**Joshua D. Reid – A Christmas Carol**

Outstanding Video or Projection Design (Play or Musical)

Christopher Ash and Beowulf Boritt – New York, New York

**Andrzej Goulding – Life of Pi**

Lucy Mackinnon – A Christmas Carol

Isaac Madge – Leopoldstadt

Sven Ortel – Parade

Outstanding Orchestrations

**Bryan Carter and Charlie Rosen – Some Like It Hot**

Sam Davis and Daryl Waters – New York, New York

Jason Howland – Shucked

Dominic Fallacaro and Bill Sherman – & Juliet

Jonathan Tunick – Merrily We Roll Along

Outstanding Director of a Musical

**Michael Arden – Parade**

Maria Friedman – Merrily We Roll Along

Casey Nicholaw – Some Like It Hot

Jack O’Brien – Shucked

Susan Stroman – New York, New York

Outstanding Choreography

Andy Blankenbuehler – Only Gold

Edgar Godineaux – The Harder They Come

Casey Nicholaw – Some Like It Hot

**Susan Stroman – New York, New York**

Jennifer Weber – & Juliet

Outstanding Director of a Play

Kenny Leon – Topdog/Underdog

Pam MacKinnon – Downstate

**Patrick Marber – Leopoldstadt**

Adam Meggido – Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Max Webster – Life of Pi

Special Achievement Award

To B.H. Barry, one of the world’s foremost fight directors, in recognition of a distinguished six-decade career capped off with Camelot at Lincoln Center Theater.

WINNER TALLIES

5 – Some Like It Hot

3 – Leopoldstadt

2 – Downstate

2 – Life of Pi

2 – Merrily We Roll Along

2 – New York, New York

2 – Parade

2 – Shucked

1 – A Christmas Carol

1 – Endgame

1 – Fat Ham

1 – Good Night, Oscar

1 – Prima Facie

1 – The Harder They Come

1 – Topdog/Underdog

NOTES

The Broadway productions considered in full during this cycle are (in order of opening) Macbeth, The Kite Runner, Into the Woods, Leopoldstadt, 1776, Death of a Salesman, The Piano Lesson, Topdog/Underdog, Walking with Ghosts, Almost Famous, Kimberly Akimbo, Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & the Pool, & Juliet, A Christmas Carol, KPOP, A Beautiful Noise, Ohio State Murders, Some Like It Hot, The Collaboration, Pictures from Home, A Doll’s House, Parade, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, Bad Cinderella, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Life of Pi, Shucked, Fat Ham, Camelot, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Thanksgiving Play, Prima Facie, Good Night, Oscar, Summer, 1976, New York, New York, and The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.

Only new elements of Cost of Living, Kimberly Akimbo, Ain’t No Mo’, Between Riverside and Crazy, and Kinky Boots were considered.