THE LEHMAN TRILOGY & KIMBERLY AKIMBO Lead in Wins for 2022 Outer Critics Circle Awards

The Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of writers on New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers and national publications, has announced the winners of the 71st Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards, honoring the 2021-2022 Broadway and Off-Broadway season.

The Broadway play The Lehman Trilogy leads the pack with six wins, including Outstanding New Broadway Play, followed by Kimberly Akimbo which earned four awards including Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. The Marjorie Gunner Award for Outstanding New Broadway Musical is one of three honors awarded to Six, and taking home the prizes for Outstanding Revival of a Musical and Outstanding Revival of a Play are Company and Take Me Out, respectively. The annual John Gassner Award - for a new American play, preferably by a new playwright - is awarded to Sanaz Toossi for English.

Returning to an in-person ceremony this spring after the 2020 virtual honors, the 2022 Outer Critics Circle Award winners will be honored on Thursday, May 26, 2022 at the Bruno Walter Auditorium of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

Special Achievement Awards will be presented to How I Learned to Drive stars Johanna Day, David Morse, and Mary-Louise Parker, as well as Lackawanna Blues star Ruben Santiago-Hudson, to mark their outstanding returns to roles they originated two decades ago. Additionally, the Outer Critics Circle presents commendations to two groups whose contributions to the 2021-22 season were immeasurable: the Standbys, Understudies, and Swings, as well as the Covid-19 Safety Officers.

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The 2021-2022 Outer Critics Circle Award Winners

The Marjorie Gunner Award for Outstanding New Broadway Musical

MJ the Musical
Mr. Saturday Night
Mrs. Doubtfire
Paradise Square
Six ***WINNER***

Outstanding New Broadway Play

Birthday Candles
Clyde's
Skeleton Crew
The Lehman Trilogy ***WINNER***
The Minutes

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical

Black No More
Harmony
Intimate Apparel
Kimberly Akimbo ***WINNER***
Little Girl Blue

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play

Morning Sun
On Sugarland
Prayer for the French Republic ***WINNER***
Sanctuary City
The Chinese Lady

John Gassner Award

(presented to a new American play, preferably by a new playwright)

Cullud Wattah by Erika Dickerson-Despenza
English by Sanaz Toossi ***WINNER***
Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury
Tambo and Bones by Dave Harris
Thoughts of a Colored Man by Keenan Scott II

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

Assassins
Caroline, or Change
Company ***WINNER***
The Music Man
The Streets of New York

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

for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
How I Learned to Drive
Take Me Out ***WINNER***
A Touch of the Poet
Trouble in Mind

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo
Myles Frost, MJ the Musical
Rob McClure, Mrs. Doubtfire
Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop ***WINNER***
Chip Zien, Harmony

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Kearstin Piper Brown, Intimate Apparel
Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo ***WINNER***
Sharon D Clarke, Caroline, or Change
Carmen Cusack, Flying Over Sunset
Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

Quentin Earl Darrington, MJ the Musical
Matt Doyle, Company ***WINNER***
Steven Pasquale, Assassins
A.J. Shively, Paradise Square
Will Swenson, Assassins

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Shoshana Bean, Mr. Saturday Night
Jenn Colella, Suffs
Judy Kuhn, Assassins
Patti LuPone, Company ***WINNER***
Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo

Outstanding Actor in a Play

Patrick J. Adams, Take Me Out
Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy ***WINNER***
Adam Godley, The Lehman Trilogy
Adrian Lester, The Lehman Trilogy
Sam Rockwell, American Buffalo

Outstanding Actress in a Play

Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic
Stephanie Berry, On Sugarland
Edie Falco, Morning Sun
LaChanze, Trouble in Mind ***WINNER***
Debra Messing, Birthday Candles

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

Chuck Cooper, Trouble in Mind
Brandon J. Dirden, Skeleton Crew
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out ***WINNER***
Michael Oberholzer, Take Me Out
Austin Pendleton, The Minutes

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Chanté Adams, Skeleton Crew
Uzo Aduba, Clyde's ***WINNER***
Francis Benhamou, Prayer for the French Republic
Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew
Nancy Robinette, Prayer for the French Republic

Outstanding Solo Performance

Alex Edelman, Just For Us
Jenn Murray, A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing
Arturo Luís Soria, Ni Mi Madre
Kristina Wong, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord ***WINNER***

Outstanding Director of a Play

Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Scott Ellis, Take Me Out
Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy ***WINNER***
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Skeleton Crew
Anna D. Shapiro, The Minutes

Outstanding Director of a Musical

Warren Carlyle, Harmony
Moisés Kaufman, Paradise Square
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo ***WINNER***
Christopher Wheeldon, MJ the Musical
Jerry Zaks, Mrs. Doubtfire

Outstanding Choreography

Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Warren Carlyle, Harmony
Warren Carlyle, The Music Man
Bill T. Jones, Alex Sanchez, Garrett Coleman, and Jason Oremus, Paradise Square
Christopher Wheeldon and Rich + Tone Talauega, MJ the Musical ***WINNER***

Outstanding Book of a Musical

Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel, Mr. Saturday Night
Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell, Mrs. Doubtfire
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo ***WINNER***
Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel
Bruce Sussman, Harmony

Outstanding Score

Jason Howland, Nathan Tysen, and Masi Asare, Paradise Square
Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, Mrs. Doubtfire
Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, Harmony
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six ***WINNER***
Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo

Outstanding Orchestrations

John Clancy, Kimberly Akimbo
David Holcenberg and Jason Michael Webb, MJ the Musical
Greg Jarrett, Assassins
Jason Howland, Paradise Square ***WINNER***
Doug Walter, Harmony

Outstanding Scenic Design (Play or Musical)

Beowulf Boritt, Flying Over Sunset
Es Devlin, The Lehman Trilogy
Scott Pask, American Buffalo
Adam Rigg, The Skin of Our Teeth ***WINNER***
David Zinn, The Minutes

Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)

Jane Greenwood, Plaza Suite
Santo Loquasto, The Music Man
Gabriella Slade, Six ***WINNER***
Emilio Sosa, Trouble in Mind
Catherine Zuber, Mrs. Doubtfire

Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical)

Jon Clark, The Lehman Trilogy ***WINNER***
Natasha Katz, MJ the Musical
Bradley King, Flying Over Sunset
Brian MacDevitt, The Minutes
Jen Schreiver, Lackawanna Blues

Outstanding Sound Design (Play or Musical)

Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, The Lehman Trilogy ***WINNER***
André Pluess, The Minutes
Ben and Max Ringham, Blindness
Dan Moses Schreier, Harmony
Matt Stine and Sam Kusnetz, Assassins

Outstanding Video/Projection Design (Play or Musical)

59 Productions and Benjamin Pearcy, Flying Over Sunset
Stefania Bulbarella and Alex Basco Koch, Space Dogs
Shawn Duan, Letters of Suresh
Luke Halls, The Lehman Trilogy ***WINNER***
Jeff Sugg, Mr. Saturday Night

Special Achievement Awards are 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 two decades later. All had been eligible in previous seasons.

Outer Critics Circle Commendations are presented to:

• The Standbys, Understudies, and Swings of the theatrical community who step up to perform, often on hours' notice, to keep their shows running.
• To the Covid Safety Supervisors, Managers, and Compliance Officers who put themselves in harm's way eight times a week to keep the curtains up.

Productions with Multiple Wins

The Lehman Trilogy - 6
Kimberly Akimbo - 4
Company - 3
How I Learned to Drive - 3 (special achievement awards)
Six - 3
Take Me Out - 2