Outer Critics Circle Awards Held at Sardi's, May 28 | Playbill

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News Outer Critics Circle Awards Held at Sardi's, May 28 Though the winners were announced a month ago, May 28 is the night Outer Critics Circle Award honorees get to bask in the glory -- and eat the pasta at Sardi's. Most winners are expected to attend the 10:30-1 AM OCC ceremony, with Howard Davies, Lez Brotherston and playwright Margaret Edson unable to appear.

Though the winners were announced a month ago, May 28 is the night Outer Critics Circle Award honorees get to bask in the glory -- and eat the pasta at Sardi's. Most winners are expected to attend the 10:30-1 AM OCC ceremony, with Howard Davies, Lez Brotherston and playwright Margaret Edson unable to appear.

According to OCC spokesperson Jim Baldassare, presenters at the event, in order of appearance, include Liam Neeson, George Segal, Swoosie Kurtz, Mario Cantone, Carole Shelley, Michael McGrath, Donna Murphy, Brian Dennehy, Marian Seldes, Matthew Broderick and Liza Minnelli.

Most winners, apart from Howard Davies, Lez Brotherston and Margaret Edson, are expected at the 10:30 PM-1 AM event.

*

Kevin Spacey and The Iceman Cometh, and Kathleen Chalfant and Wit. All four seemed like shoo-ins for the 1999 Outer Critics Circle Awards, and indeed, they were. Iceman and Wit took Broadway Play and Off-Broadway play honors, as announced by the Outer Critics Circle, April 26. Spacey and Chalfant took Actor and Actress nods. Fosse won for Outstanding Broadway Musical, while William Finn's A New Brain won for Off-Broadway Musical. The most surprising strength was shown by Not About Nightingales, which landed the Best Broadway Play Award, as well as a nod for Richard Hoover's set design.

Though it closed months ago, Swan Lake also made out well, nabbing separate Director and Choreographer honors for Matthew Bourne, and costume design for Lez Brotherston.

In special citations, Margaret Edson took the John Gassner Playwriting Award for Wit, while the cast of Closer -- Natasha Richardson, Rupert Graves, Anna Friel and Ciaran Hinds -- received a Special Achievement nod for their Ensemble Performance.

It should be noted that shows not eligible for this year's prizes included Side Man, which received Off-Broadway consideration the previous season, and Ring Round the Moon and The Lonesome West, which will fall into next season's OCC crop.

The Outer Critics Circle comprises writers who cover New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers and media. The group's nominations are traditionally the first of the New York theatre awards season (though the Lucille Lortel Awards were announced April 6), which culminates with the Tonys Awards in early June.

A complete list of Outer Critics Circle winners follows, with the victors marked by a * :

Outstanding Broadway Play
Closer
Amy's View
* Not About Nightingales
The Weir

Outstanding Off-Broadway Play
* Wit
Snakebit
Stop Kiss
The Mineola Twins
Outstanding Revival of a Play
* The Iceman Cometh
Death of a Salesman
Electra
The Mystery of Irma Vep

Outstanding Actor in a Play
* Kevin Spacey (The Iceman Cometh)
Brian Dennehy (Death of a Salesman)
Corin Redgrave (Not About Nightingales)
Roger Rees (The Uneasy Chair)

Outstanding Actress In A Play
* Kathleen Chalfant (Wit)
Judi Dench (Amy's View)
Elizabeth Franz (Death of a Salesman)
Swoosie Kurtz (The Mineola Twins)
Zoe Wanamaker (Electra)

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
* Kevin Anderson (Death of a Salesman)
Tate Donovan (Amy's View)
Michael Emerson (The Iceman Cometh)
Tim Pigott-Smith (The Iceman Cometh)

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
* Claire Bloom (Electra)
Samantha Bond (Amy's View)
Kristine Nielsen (Betty's Summer Vacation)
Mandy Siegfried (The Mineola Twins)

Outstanding Director of a Play
* Howard Davies (The Iceman Cometh)
Robert Falls (Death of a Salesman)
Patrick Marber (Closer)
Trevor Nunn (Not About Nightingales)

Outstanding Broadway Musical
* Fosse
Parade
Swan Lake
The Civil War

Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical
* A New Brain
Captains Courageous: The Musical
Rollin' on the T.O.B.A.
Woody Guthrie's American Song

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
* Annie Get Your Gun
Little Me
Peter Pan
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
* Martin Short (Little Me)
Brent Carver (Parade)
Jeremy Kushnier (Footloose)
Tom Wopat (Annie Get Your Gun)

Outstanding Actress In A Musical
* Bernadette Peters (Annie Get Your Gun)
Valarie Pettiford (Fosse)
Sara Ramirez (The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm)
Cathy Rigby (Peter Pan)

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
* Michel Bell (The Civil War)
Roger Bart (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown)
Gilles Chiasson (The Civil War)
Scott Wise (Fosse)

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
* Kristin Chenoweth (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown)
Cheryl Freeman (The Civil War)
Irene Molloy (The Civil War)
Elizabeth Parkinson (Fosse)

Outstanding Director of a Musical
* Matthew Bourne (Swan Lake)
Richard Maltby, Jr. and Ann Reinking (Fosse)
Michael Mayer (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown)
Jerry Zaks (The Civil War)

Outstanding Choreography
* Matthew Bourne (Swan Lake)
A. C. Ciulla (Footloose)
Rob Marshall (Little Me)
Chet Walker and Ann Reinking (Fosse)

Outstanding Scenic Design
* Richard Hoover (Not About Nightingales)
John Lee Beatty (The Mystery of Irma Vep)
Bob Crowley (The Iceman Cometh)
James Noone (Night Must Fall)

Outstanding Costume Design
* Lez Brotherston (Swan Lake)
Bob Crowley (The Iceman Cometh)
William Ivey Long (The Mystery of Irma Vep)
Santo Loquasto (Fosse)

Outstanding Lighting Design
* Paul Gallo (The Civil War)
Andrew Bridge (Fosse)
Mark Henderson (The Iceman Cometh)
Brian MacDevitt (Night Must Fall)

Outstanding Solo Performance
* David Hare (Via Dolorosa)
Dan Gordon (A Night in November)
Lisa Kron (2.5 Minute Ride)
James Naughton (James Naughton: Street of Dreams)

John Gassner Playwriting Award
* Margaret Edson (Wit)
David Marshall Grant (Snakebit)
Diana Son (Stop Kiss)
Chay Yew (Red)

Special Achievement Award
* The Cast Of Closer -- Natasha Richardson, Rupert Graves, Anna Friel, and Ciaran Hinds -- For Outstanding Ensemble Performance

-- By Robert Simonson and David Lefkowitz

 
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