It's no surprise in this season to see some grinning Producers people on an awards night. Director-choreographer Susan Stroman won both Outer Critics Circle Awards for those hyphenated categories, while Gary Beach tied for Outstanding Featured Actor (with The Full Monty's Andre de Shields) and Cady Huffman won Outstanding Featured Actress.
42nd Street and The Producers headed the 2000-01 Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations, and the latter came out a big winner, seizing eight of its ten nominations, including Best Musical, Best Director and Choreographer, Best Actor and Best Featured Actor. 42nd Street won for best musical revival. In the drama category, Proof triumphed for the best play prize, though Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love claimed four awards, including two for actors Robert Sean Leonard and Richard Easton, who played the young and old versions of poet A.E. Housman, respectively. Dramatist David Auburn won the John Gassner Playwriting Award.
