The 2025 Outer Critic’s Circle Nominations Are Here!

The 75th annual Outer Critic’s Circle Award nominations were announced on April 25th by OH, MARY! stars Cole Escola and Conrad Ricamora, who were both nominated in 2024. Leading the pack this year is Broadway’s DEATH BECOMES HER with 12 nominations.

The Outer Critics Circle Awards are one of several theatrical honors celebrated each spring. Established in the 1949–1950 Broadway season, these awards recognize the best in New York theatre, Broadway and Off-Broadway shows alike. The Outer Critic’s Circle honors are voted upon by a group of journalists from national, online, and out-of-town media outlets. The winners will be revealed on May 12th, with a ceremony to follow on May 22nd.

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
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
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
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
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 and Michael Thurber, 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

A special honor will be awarded to Patrick Hoffman, curator of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Recently retired, Hoffman saw more than 1,200 productions preserved in the archive. The award will pay tribute to his over three decades of service to the theatre community.