Moulin Rouge! Leads 2020 Outer Critics Circle Award Honorees | Playbill

Awards Moulin Rouge! Leads 2020 Outer Critics Circle Award Honorees The OCC celebrated up to five honorees in each of its 26 categories this year due to the COVID-19 crisis.

With 11 awards, Broadway's Moulin Rouge! leads the pack of 2020 honorees from the 70th annual Outer Critics Circle Awards. The honorees were unveiled via video on May 11, with Kristin Chenoweth, Bryan Cranston, Patti LuPone, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Patrick Stewart making the announcements.

Watch the full announcement above. As previously announced, in lieu of selecting traditional nominees with one winner from each category, the 2020 Outer Critics Circle Awards celebrate up to five honorees in each of its 26 categories. The adjustment is to make room for a greater celebration in light of the public health crisis.

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Mary-Louise Parker in The Sound Inside Jeremy Daniel

READ: How Theatre Award Ceremonies Are Handling the Coronavirus Shutdown

Other shows to receive numerous awards include Jagged Little Pill with eight, and both the Off-Broadway musical The Secret Life of Bees and The Sound Inside with seven each. The latter was the most recognized play of the season, closely followed by The Inheritance and The Height of the Storm, which garnered five each.

The annual John Gassner Award for an American play goes to four recipients this year: Catya McMullen for Georgia Mertching Is Dead, Will Arbery for Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Alexis Scheer for Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, and Eboni Booth for Paris.

With an eligibility cutoff of March 6, nearly 150 Off-Broadway productions have been considered for the honors, in addition to a number of eligible Broadway productions. Only new elements were considered for the following Broadway productions (which were eligible in previous seasons): Girl From the North Country, Sea Wall/A Life, and Slave Play.

See the full list of 2020 honorees below:

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl
The Height of the Storm by Florian Zeller, translated by Christopher Hampton
The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez
Linda Vista by Tracy Letts
The Sound Inside by Adam Rapp

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL
Jagged Little Pill with music and lyrics by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard and a book by Diablo Cody
Moulin Rouge! with a book by John Logan, based on the 2001 Twentieth Century Fox Motion Picture written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical with a book by Katori Hall, with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee
Greater Clements by Samuel D. Hunter
Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Make Believe by Bess Wohl
Seared by Theresa Rebeck

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Darling Grenadine with a book, music, and lyrics by Daniel Zaitchik
Octet with a book, music, and lyrics by Dave Malloy
The Secret Life of Bees with a book by Lynn Nottage, music by Duncan Sheik, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd
Soft Power, with a book and Lyrics by David Henry Hwang, and music and additional lyrics by Jeanine Tesori
A Strange Loop with a book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Betrayal by Harold Pinter
Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally
A Soldier’s Play by Charles Fuller

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Little Shop of Horrors, with a book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, music by Alan Menken
The Unsinkable Molly Brown, with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson, and a book and new lyrics by Dick Scanlan, based on the original book by Richard Morris, music adapted by Michael Rafter
West Side Story, with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents, based on a conception by Jerome Robbins

JOHN GASSNER AWARD
Georgia Mertching Is Dead by Catya McMullen
Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Will Arbery
Our Dear Dead Drug Lord by Alexis Scheer
Paris by Eboni Booth

OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Diablo Cody, Jagged Little Pill
David Henry Hwang, Soft Power
Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop
Lynn Nottage, The Secret Life of Bees
Mark Saltzman, Romeo and Bernadette

OUTSTANDING NEW SCORE
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Susan Birkenhead and Duncan Sheik, The Secret Life of Bees
Ross Golan, The Wrong Man
Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop
Dave Malloy, Octet
Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang, Soft Power

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
David Cromer, The Sound Inside
Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance
Kenny Leon, A Soldier’s Play
Jamie Lloyd, Betrayal
John Ortiz, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Stephen Brackett, A Strange Loop
Michael Mayer, Little Shop of Horrors
Diane Paulus, Jagged Little Pill
Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge!
Ivo van Hove, West Side Story

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHER
Sidi Larbi Cherakoui, Jagged Little Pill
Raja Feather Kelly, A Strange Loop
Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge!
Anthony Van Laast, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Travis Wall, The Wrong Man

OUTSTANDING ORCHESTRATIONS
Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill
Alex Lacamoire, The Wrong Man
Justin Levine, with Matt Stine, Katie Kresek, and Charlie Rosen, Moulin Rouge!
Christopher Nightingale, A Christmas Carol
Duncan Sheik and John Clancy, The Secret Life of Bees

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Ian Barford, Linda Vista
Edmund Donovan, Greater Clements
Raúl Esparza, Seared
Tom Hiddleston, Betrayal
Will Hochman, The Sound Inside
Jonathan Pryce, The Height of the Storm

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Eileen Atkins, The Height of the Storm
Judith Ivey, Greater Clements
Joaquina Kalukango, Slave Play
April Matthis, Toni Stone
Mary-Louise Parker, The Sound Inside
Portia, Stew

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
David Alan Grier, A Soldier’s Play
John Benjamin Hickey, The Inheritance
Paul Hilton, The Inheritance
Samuel H. Levine, The Inheritance
John-Andrew Morrison, Blues for an Alabama Sky
Chris Perfetti, Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Liza Colón-Zayas, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven
Montego Glover, All the Natalie Portmans
Marsha Mason, Little Gem
Krysta Rodriguez, Seared
Lois Smith, The Inheritance
Jennifer Van Dyck, The Confession of Lily Dare

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
David Cale, We’re Only Alive For a Short Amount of Time
Laura Linney, My Name Is Lucy Barton
Aedin Moloney, Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom
Deirdre O’Connell, Dana H.
Michael Benjamin Washington, Fires in the Mirror

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Jonathan Groff, Little Shop of Horrors
Joshua Henry, The Wrong Man
Adam Kantor, Darling Grenadine
Larry Owens, A Strange Loop
Isaac Powell, West Side Story
Aaron Tveit, Moulin Rouge!

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Beth Malone, The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Janelle McDermoth, We’re Gonna Die
Karen Olivo, Moulin Rouge!
Shereen Pimentel, West Side Story
Elizabeth Stanley, Jagged Little Pill
Adrienne Warren, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Christian Borle, Little Shop of Horrors
Danny Burstein, Moulin Rouge!
Gus Halper, Sing Street
Jay Armstrong Johnson, Scotland, PA
Francis Jue, Soft Power
Daniel J. Watts, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Eisa Davis, The Secret Life of Bees
Kathryn Gallagher, Jagged Little Pill
LaChanze, The Secret Life of Bees
Judy McLane, Romeo & Bernadette
Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill
Saycon Sengbloh, The Secret Life of Bees

OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Tim Mackabee, Seared
Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge!
Clint Ramos, Grand Horizons
Anthony Ward, The Height of the Storm

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
Vanessa Leuck, Emojiland
Jeff Mahshie, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Mark Thompson, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Rachel Townsend & Jessica Jahn, The Confession of Lily Dare
Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge!

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
Isabella Byrd, Heroes of the Fourth Turning
Heather Gilbert, The Sound Inside
Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge!
Hugh Vanstone, A Christmas Carol
Hugh Vanstone, The Height of the Storm

OUTSTANDING PROJECTION DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
Luke Halls, West Side Story
Brad Peterson, Broadway Bounty Hunter
Lisa Renkel and Possible Productions, Emojiland
Aaron Rhyne, The Sound Inside
Hannah Wasileski, Fires in the Mirror

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN
(Play or Musical)
Simon Baker, A Christmas Carol
Mikhail Fiksel, Dana H.
Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge!
Lee Kinney and Sanae Yamada, Is This A Room
Daniel Kluger, The Sound Inside

The Outer Critics Circle is an association with members affiliated with more than 90 newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, internet, and theatre publications in America and abroad. The organization comprises writers covering New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media beyond Broadway.

The announcement of the 2020 OCC nominations was initially scheduled for April 20, with winners to be celebrated at a gala awards dinner May 21.

The nominating committee for the 2019–2020 season is made up of David Gordon, Simon Saltzman, Patrick Hoffman, Joseph Cervelli, Harry Haun, Cynthia Allen, Richard Ridge, David Roberts, and Janice Simpson.

 
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