Jamie Parker as Harry Potter & Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants

Outer Critics Circle Awards 2018... And the Winners are...

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child leads the pack with 6 wins, followed by My Fair Lady with 5 wins and SpongeBob SquarePants with 4 wins.

Tom Millward
Tom Millward

The winners for the 2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards were revealed today! The 68th Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards ceremony will be held at Sardi's on May 24, with Jenn Colella, Jim Dale, Christine Ebersole and Martha Plimpton serving as gala award presenters.

The Broadway premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child leads the pack with an impressive total of six wins (including "Outstanding New Broadway Play"), whilst Lincoln Center Theater's revival of Lerner & Loewe's My Fair Lady managed to scoop five wins (including "Outstanding Revival of a Musical"), closely followed by the Broadway premiere of SpongeBob SquarePants with four wins (including "Outstanding New Broadway Musical").

It should be noted that the critically acclaimed Broadway premiere of The Band's Visit was not eligible this year, as the previous off-Broadway engagement at Atlantic Theater Company already received multiple Outer Critics Circle Awards last year.


The 2018 winners by category are:

Outstanding New Broadway Play

WINNER:

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

NOMINEES:

The Children

Farinelli and the King

Junk


Outstanding New Broadway Musical

WINNER:

SpongeBob SquarePants

NOMINEES:

Escape to Margaritaville

Frozen

Mean Girls

Prince of Broadway


Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play

WINNER:

Admissions

NOMINEES:

Cost of Living

Hangmen

The Low Road

Mlima's Tale


Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical

WINNER:

Desperate Measures

NOMINEES:

Cruel Intentions

Jerry Springer - The Opera

Miss You Like Hell

Woody Sez


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

WINNER:

Tina FeyMean Girls

NOMINEES:

Quiara Alegría HudesMiss You Like Hell

Kyle JarrowSpongeBob SquarePants

Peter KelloggDesperate Measures


Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

SpongeBob SquarePants (Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T's, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani and Lil' C, Jonathan Coulton, and Tom Kitt)

NOMINEES:

David Friedman and Peter KelloggDesperate Measures

Imogen HeapHarry Potter and the Cursed Child

Erin McKeown and Quiara Alegría HudesMiss You Like Hell

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert LopezFrozen


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

WINNER:

Angels in America

NOMINEES:

Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train

Lobby Hero

Three Tall Women

Travesties


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

WINNER:

My Fair Lady

NOMINEES:

Carousel

Once on This Island

Pacific Overtures


Outstanding Actor in a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

Andrew GarfieldAngels in America

NOMINEES:

Sean CarvajalJesus Hopped the 'A' Train

Tom HollanderTravesties

Gregg MozgalaCost of Living

Michael UrieThe Government Inspector


Outstanding Actress in a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

Glenda JacksonThree Tall Women

NOMINEES:

MaameYaa BoafoSchool Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play

Jessica HechtAdmissions

Lauren RidloffChildren of a Lesser God

Katy SullivanCost of Living


Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

Ethan SlaterSpongeBob SquarePants

NOMINEES:

Harry Hadden-PatonMy Fair Lady

Joshua HenryCarousel

David M. LutkenWoody Sez

Conor RyanDesperate Measures


Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

Lauren AmbroseMy Fair Lady

NOMINEES:

Erika HenningsenMean Girls

Hailey KilgoreOnce on This Island

Taylor LoudermanMean Girls

Patti MurinFrozen


Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

Nathan LaneAngels in America

NOMINEES:

Anthony BoyleHarry Potter and the Cursed Child

Johnny FlynnHangmen

David MorseThe Iceman Cometh

Paul SparksAt Home at the Zoo


Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

Laurie MetcalfThree Tall Women

NOMINEES:

Jamie BrewerAmy and the Orphans

Denise GoughAngels in America

Harriet HarrisThe Low Road

Mary TestaThe Government Inspector


Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

Norbert Leo ButzMy Fair Lady

NOMINEES:

Alexander GemignaniCarousel

Gavin LeeSpongeBob SquarePants

Nick WymanDesperate Measures

Tony YazbeckPrince of Broadway


Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

Lindsay MendezCarousel

NOMINEES:

Kerry ButlerMean Girls

Lauren MolinaDesperate Measures

Ashley ParkMean Girls

Emily SkinnerPrince of Broadway


Outstanding Solo Performance (Broadway or Off-Broadway)

WINNER:

Billy CrudupHarry Clarke

NOMINEES:

Eve EnslerIn the Body of the World

Alison FraserSqueamish

John LithgowStories by Heart

Sharon WashingtonFeeding the Dragon


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

WINNER:

John TiffanyHarry Potter and the Cursed Child 

NOMINEES:

Jo BonneyCost of Living

Marianne ElliottAngels in America

Patrick MarberTravesties

Joe MantelloThree Tall Women


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

WINNERS (TIE):

Tina LandauSpongeBob SqaurePants and Bartlett SherMy Fair Lady

NOMINEES:

Michael ArdenOnce on This Island

Bill CastellinoDesperate Measures

Casey NicholawMean Girls


Outstanding Choreographer

WINNER:

Justin PeckCarousel

NOMINEES:

Camille A. BrownOnce on This Island

Christopher GattelliMy Fair Lady

Christopher GattelliSpongeBob SquarePants

Steven HoggettHarry Potter and the Cursed Child


Outstanding Set Design (Play or Musical)

WINNER:

Christine JonesHarry Potter and the Cursed Child

NOMINEES:

Miriam BuetherThree Tall Women

Myung Hee ChoIn the Body of the World

Michael YearganMy Fair Lady

David Zinn​SpongeBob SquarePants


Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)

WINNER:

Catherine ZuberMy Fair Lady

NOMINEES:

Katrina LindsayHarry Potter and the Cursed Child

Clint RamosOnce on This Island

Paloma YoungTime and the Conways

David ZinnSpongeBob SquarePants


Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical)

WINNER:

Neil AustinHarry Potter and the Cursed Child

NOMINEES:

Kevin AdamsSpongeBob SquarePants

Paule ConstableAngels in America

Paul RussellFarinelli and the King

Lap Chi ChuMlima's Tale


Outstanding Projection Design (Play or Musical)

WINNER:

Finn Ross and Ash WoodwardHarry Potter and the Cursed Child

NOMINEES:

Tim Reid1984

Finn RossFrozen

Finn RossIn the Body of the World

Finn Ross and Adam YoungMean Girls


Outstanding Sound Design (Play or Musical)

WINNER:

Gareth FryHarry Potter and the Cursed Child

NOMINEES:

Kate Marvin[Porto]

Fitz PattonNapoli, Brooklyn

Marc SalzbergMy Fair Lady

Darron L. WestMlima's Tale


Outstanding Orchestrations

WINNER:

Jonathan TunickCarousel

NOMINEES:

Jason Robert BrownPrince of Broadway

Tom KittSpongeBob SquarePants

AnnMarie Milazzo and Michael StarobinOnce on This Island

Claire Van KampenFarinelli and the King


John Gassner Award (Presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)

WINNER:

Jocelyn BiohSchool Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play

NOMINEES:

Kate Benson[Porto]

Lindsey FerrentinoAmy and the Orphans

Meghan KennedyNapoli, Brooklyn

Dominique MorisseauPipeline


(Harry Potter and the Cursed Child photo by Manuel Harlan, SpongeBob SquarePants photo by Joan Marcus)

Originally published on

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