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The '''Outer Critics Circle Awards''' are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and [[Off-Broadway]]. OriginatingThey were begun during the 1949-501949–1950 theatertheatre season,. theThe awards are decided upon by theatre critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, online publications and other media outlets outside [[New York City]]. Simon Saltzman, a long-time member of the OCC executive committee and theater reviewer, currently serves as president.▼
[[File:Bette Midler accepting her Outer Critics Circle Award for HELLO, DOLLY!.jpg|thumb|322x322px|Bette Midler accepting her Outer Critics Circle Award for HELLO, DOLLY!]]
▲The '''Outer Critics Circle Awards''' are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and [[Off-Broadway]]. Originating during the 1949-50 theater season, the awards are decided upon by theatre critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, online publications and other media outlets outside [[New York City]].
 
David Gordon of TheaterMania.com is currently the organization's president.
 
==History==
The first awards (for 1949–50) were: ''[[The Cocktail Party]]'' (Play); ''[[The Consul]]'' (Musical); Sheila Guyse, Performances in Supporting Roles for ''[[Lost in the Stars]]'', and [[Daniel Reed (actor)|Daniel Reed]], Performances in Supporting Roles for ''[[Come Back, Little Sheba (play)|Come Back, Little Sheba]]''.▼
Founded during the Broadway season of 1949-50 as the Outer Circle, this group of dedicated drama critics banded together under the leadership of John Gassner (1903-1967), widely known and respected as a theater reviewer, essayist, dramaturg, and professor of theater. The impetus for the creation of what later became the Outer Critics Circle was the recognition by Gassner and other critic-colleagues writing for academic and special-interest journals that they had no forum where they could meet to discuss the theater in general, and current New York seasons in particular.
 
The nominees are announced each April. The presentation of awards is made in May at [[Sardi's]] Restaurant in [[Manhattan]], New York City, and precede the [[Tony Award]]s ceremony.
OCC’s creation was also a reaction to the already prestigious New York Drama Critics Circle. Its invitational membership was composed of first-string critics from Manhattan’s major newspapers, the national news-magazines, and important publications such as ''The Nation'', ''The New Republic'', ''Harper’s'', ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', and ''The Atlantic Monthly''. There was no possibility that the reviewer/critics of less-well-known weeklies, monthlies, and quarterlies could join that organization.
 
The nominees for 2010–11 were announced on April 26, 2011 by [[Tyne Daly]] and [[Brian d'Arcy James]]. Winners were announced on May 16, with the ceremony held on May 26.<ref name=sister>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/outer-critics-circle-nominees-include-sister-act-anything-goes-book-of-mormon-com-178581 "Outer Critics Circle Nominees Include 'Sister Act', 'Anything Goes', 'Book of Mormon' "] playbill.com, April 26, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref> The nominees for 2011–12 were announced on April 23, 2012 by [[Lily Rabe]] and [[Richard Thomas (actor)|Richard Thomas]]; the awards were announced on May 14.<ref name=nicework>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/62nd-annual-outer-critics-circle-award-nominations-announced-nice-work-receives-nine-nods-com-192845 "62nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations Announced; 'Nice Work' Receives Nine Nods"] playbill.com, April 23, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
Although the Drama Critics Circle annually chose a Best Play (only later did they add an annual Best Musical award), Gassner and his fellow founders believed other aspects of production should also be saluted with annual awards. Shortly after the founding of OCC, the Off-Broadway movement began to develop, but it was of only marginal interest to the mainstream critics. The OCC’s founders recognized the importance of including Off-Broadway with Broadway at awards time.
 
The nominees for 2012–13 were announced on April 22, 2013 by [[Robert Cuccioli]] and [[Laila Robins]]; the awards were announced on May 13.<ref name=pippin>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/pippin-is-big-winner-of-2012-13-outer-critics-circle-awards-com-204640 " 'Pippin' Is Big Winner of 2012–13 Outer Critics Circle Awards"] playbill.com, May 13, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref> The nominees for 2013–2014 were announced on April 22, 2014 by [[Cicely Tyson]] and [[Vanessa Williams]].<ref name=Cicely>Gans, Andrew.[http://www.playbill.com/article/64th-annual-outer-critics-circle-awards-nominations-announced-a-gentlemans-guide-to-love-and-murder-leads-the-pack-com-217483 "64th Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards Nominations Announced; A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder Leads the Pack"] playbill.com, April 22, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref> Winners were announced on May 12, 2014.<ref name=gents/> The nominees for 2014–15 were announced on April 20, 2015 by [[Raúl Esparza]] and [[Katie Finneran]]. The winners were announced on May 11.<ref name=noms15>Gans, Andrew and Viagas, Robert. [http://www.playbill.com/article/outer-critics-circle-nominees-announced-something-rotten-leads-the-pack-com-347165 "Outer Critics Circle Nominees Announced; 'Something Rotten!' Leads the Pack"] playbill.com, April 20, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref><ref name=olivia15>Clement, Olivia. [http://www.playbill.com/article/curious-incident-top-winner-at-outer-critics-circle-awards-com-348762 " 'Curious Incident' Top Winner at Outer Critics Circle Awards"] playbill.com, May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref> The nominations for 2017-2018 were announced on April 24, 2018 by [[Jenn Colella]] and [[Katrina Lenk]].<ref>[https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tune-In-Today-at-11AM-for-the-Outer-Critics-Circle-Award-Nominations--Exclusively-at-BroadwayWorld-20180424 "VIDEO: Jenn Colella and Katrina Lenk Announce The Outer Critics Circle Awards Nominations"] broadwayworld.com, April 24, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
The early Outer Circle soon discovered that reviewers for smaller New York newspapers and magazines, as well as reviewers who wrote for publications in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, wanted to be included. Not only did this offer them the opportunity to discuss their own work and publisher problems, but also to talk about the current season with fellow critics.
 
Frequent forums made it possible for the out-of-towners to participate in discussions with major talents actively working in the Broadway and off-Broadway Theater. At that time, few Broadway stars, directors, or playwrights would have given a New Jersey-based weekly reviewer an one-on-one interview.
 
Then, as now, theater critics and reviewers who wanted to join OCC had to apply with samples of their theater reviews or essays. If their work met the standards of the OCC, they were invited to join. In addition to the benefits noted previously, OCC membership helped validate their requests for press tickets. This became especially important as the prestige of the annual Outer Critics Circle Awards increased.
 
Early award ceremonies were informally conducted, often with folding chairs set up in a quiet corner of a hotel lobby or in a church social hall. Even then, the Outer Critics Circle Award was for many, a prized citation.
 
Since that time, the Outer Critics Circle Awards have grown in scope and importance, notably because the OCC has traditionally been the first to announce its nominees and winners. In the early 1960s, the awards and forums of the OCC were supervised by Broadway veteran Charles K. Freeman and Joseph Kay, Manhattan reporter/critic for the ''Kansas City Star''.
 
This team was succeeded by Marjorie Gunner, who guided the group for 25 years before retiring in 2004. Simon Saltzman, a New Jersey-based theater critic, served until 2018, and he was succeeded by David Gordon of TheaterMania.com.
 
▲The first awards (for 1949–50) were ''[[The Cocktail Party]]'' (Play); ''[[The Consul]]'' (Musical); Sheila Guyse, Performances in Supporting Roles for ''[[Lost in the Stars]]'', and [[Daniel Reed (actor)|Daniel Reed]], Performances in Supporting Roles for ''[[Come Back, Little Sheba (play)|Come Back, Little Sheba]]''.
 
==Categories==
Awards are currently given in the following categories:
 
{{div col}}

*Outstanding Broadway Play
*Outstanding Broadway Musical
*Outstanding Off-Broadway Play
*Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical
*Outstanding New Score
*Outstanding Book of a Musical
*Outstanding Revival of a Play
*Outstanding Revival of a Musical
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*Outstanding Costume Design
*Outstanding Lighting Design
*Outstanding Orchestrations
*Outstanding Sound Design
*Outstanding Projection Design
*John Gassner Award (presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)

{{div col end}}
 
==Winners and nominees==
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The nominees included ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants (musical)|SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' – 11; ''[[Harry Potter and the Cursed Child]]'' – 10; ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' – 9; ''[[Mean Girls (musical)|Mean Girls]]'' – 8; ''[[Angels in America]]'', ''[[Carousel (musical)|Carousel]]'', and ''[[Once on This Island]]'' – 6; ''[[Three Tall Women]]'' – 5; ''[[Frozen (musical)|Frozen]]'' and ''[[Prince of Broadway]]'' – 4; ''[[Farinelli and the King]]'' and ''[[Travesties]]'' 3;.<ref>Clement, Olivia. [http://www.playbill.com/article/spongebob-squarepants-leads-outer-critics-circle-nominations " 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Leads Outer Critics Circle Nominations"] Playbill, April 24, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
 
The award winners were announced on May 7, 2018. Multiple winners are: ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' with six awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Play, and ''My Fair Lady'' with five awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical. ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', won the Outstanding New Broadway Musical, with two additional awards. [[Jocelyn Bioh]], for ''School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play'' won the
John Gassner Award.<ref>McPhee, Ryan. [http://www.playbill.com/article/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-my-fair-lady-win-big-at-2018-outer-critics-circle-awards " 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child', 'My Fair Lady' Win Big at 2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards"] Playbill, May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
 
===2016–2017 season===
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===2014–2015 season===
The nominees included ''[[Something Rotten!]]'' – 12, ''[[On the Twentieth Century]]'' – 9, ''[[An American in Paris]]'' – 8, ''[[Wolf Hall]]'' – 7, ''It Shoulda Been You'' – 6, ''[[The Audience (play)|The Audience]]'' – 6, ''[[The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time]]'' – 6, ''[[Hamilton (musical)|Hamilton]]'' – 5, ''[[The Elephant Man (play)|The Elephant Man]]'' – 5, ''[[The King and I]]'' – 5, ''[[The Visit (musical)|The Visit]]'' – 5, ''[[On the Town (musical)|On The Town]]'' – 4, ''[[You Can't Take It with You (play)|You Can't Take It with You]]'' – 4, ''[[The Heidi Chronicles]] – 3 and ''[[The Last Ship (musical)|The Last Ship]]'' – 3.<ref name="noms15">Gans, Andrew and Viagas, Robert. [http://www.playbill.com/article/outer-critics-circle-nominees-announced-something-rotten-leads-the-pack-com-347165 "Outer Critics Circle Nominees Announced; 'Something Rotten!' Leads the Pack"] playbill.com, April 20, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>''
 
Multiple winners: ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' (5, including Outstanding New Broadway Play), ''An American in Paris'' (3, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical), ''Hamilton'' (3, including Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical), ''The King and I'' (3), ''The Audience'' (2), ''On the 20th Century'' (2) and ''You Can't Take It With You'' (2).<ref name="olivia15">Clement, Olivia. [http://www.playbill.com/article/curious-incident-top-winner-at-outer-critics-circle-awards-com-348762 " 'Curious Incident' Top Winner at Outer Critics Circle Awards"] playbill.com, May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
 
The John Gassner Award winner was ''The Invisible Hand'' by [[Ayad Akhtar]].
 
===2013–2014 season===
The nominees included 11 nominations for ''[[A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder]]'', 8 nominations for the new musical ''Aladdin'', and 7 nominations for the new musical ''[[Fun Home (musical)|Fun Home]]''; the dramas ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' received 5 nominations, ''[[Act One (book)|Act One]]'' 4 nominations, and ''[[All the Way (play)|All the Way]]'' 4 nominations.<ref name="Cicely">Gans, Andrew.[http://www.playbill.com/article/64th-annual-outer-critics-circle-awards-nominations-announced-a-gentlemans-guide-to-love-and-murder-leads-the-pack-com-217483 "64th Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards Nominations Announced; A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder Leads the Pack"] playbill.com, April 22, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref> Winners of multiple awards were ''A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder'' (including New Musical) with 4; ''Bullets Over Broadway'' and ''The Glass Menagerie'' with 3 each; and ''All the Way'' (including New Play) and ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' with 2 each. Three plays tied for the John Glassner Award: Eric Dufault, ''Year of the Rooster''; [[Madeleine George]], ''The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence''; and [[Steven Levenson]], ''The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin''.<ref name=gents>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/64th-annual-outer-critics-circle-award-winners-announced-gentlemans-guide-wins-four-awards-com-218223 "64th Annual Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Announced; 'Gentleman's Guide' Wins Four Awards"] playbill.com, May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
 
===2012–2013 season===
The nominees included 11 nominations for the revival of the musical ''[[Pippin (musical)|Pippin]]'', nine nominations for ''[[Kinky Boots (musical)|Kinky Boots]]'', eight nominations (each) for ''[[Chaplin (2006 musical)|Chaplin: The Musical]]'' and ''[[Cinderella (musical)|Cinderella]]'' and six nominations (each) for ''[[Golden Boy (play)|Golden Boy]]'' and ''[[The Nance]]''.<ref name="pippin">Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/pippin-is-big-winner-of-2012-13-outer-critics-circle-awards-com-204640 " 'Pippin' Is Big Winner of 2012–13 Outer Critics Circle Awards"] playbill.com, May 13, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
 
Winners include ''[[Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike]]'' as Outstanding New Broadway Play, ''Kinky Boots'' as Outstanding New Broadway Musical, ''My Name is Asher Lev'' as Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and ''Here Lies Love'' as Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. ''[[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf]]'' was named Outstanding Revival of a Play and ''Pippin'' as Outstanding Revival of a Musical. ''My Name is Asher Lev'' by Aaron Posner received the John Gassner Award. The Special Achievement Award was presented to the [[Irish Repertory Theatre]].<ref name=pippin/>
 
===2011–2012 season===
The nominees included nine nominations for the new musical ''[[Nice Work If You Can Get It (musical)|Nice Work If You Can Get It]]'', the most of any production, with the musicals ''[[Newsies (musical)|Newsies]]'' and ''[[Once (film)|Once]]'' each receiving seven nominations and the revival of ''[[Follies]]'' receiving five. The [[Public Theater]] received an honorary award "on its 50th anniversary presenting free theatre at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park."<ref name="nicework">Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/62nd-annual-outer-critics-circle-award-nominations-announced-nice-work-receives-nine-nods-com-192845 "62nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations Announced; 'Nice Work' Receives Nine Nods"] playbill.com, April 23, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
 
Winners include ''[[One Man, Two Guvnors]]'' as Outstanding New Broadway Play, ''Once'' as Outstanding New Broadway Musical, ''[[Sons of the Prophet]]'' by [[Stephen Karam]] as Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, and [[Michael John LaChiusa]]'s ''Queen of the Mist'' as Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. ''The Submission'' by Jeff Talbot received the John Gassner Award.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/outer-critics-circle-winners-announced-once-and-one-man-two-guvnors-are-top-winners-com-193168 "Outer Critics Circle Winners Announced; 'Once' and 'One Man, Two Guvnors' Are Top Winners"] playbill.com, May 14, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
 
===2010–2011 season===
The nominees, announced on April 26, 2011, included nine nominations for the musical ''[[Sister Act (musical)|Sister Act]]'', the most of any show. ''[[Anything Goes]]'' received eight nominations. The Special Achievement Awards were also announced: [[Ellen Barkin]], Outstanding Broadway Debut in ''[[The Normal Heart]]''; and Adrian Kohler with Basil Jones for [[Handspring Puppet Company]] Puppet Design, Fabrication and Direction for ''[[War Horse (play)|War Horse]]''.<ref name="sister">Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/outer-critics-circle-nominees-include-sister-act-anything-goes-book-of-mormon-com-178581 "Outer Critics Circle Nominees Include 'Sister Act', 'Anything Goes', 'Book of Mormon' "] playbill.com, April 26, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2018.</ref>
 
;Winners
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