2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards
| 2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | May 22, 2025 |
| Venue | New York Public Library for the Performing Arts |
| Hosted by | Natalie Venetia Belcon, Victoria Clark, Andrew Durand, Steve Guttenberg and Thom Sesma |
| Most wins | Maybe Happy Ending (4) |
| Most nominations | Death Becomes Her (12) |
| Website | outercritics |
The 2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards announced its winners on May 12, 2025, recognizing excellence in Broadway and Off-Broadway productions during the 2024–25 season. Nominations were announced on April 25, 2025, with Death Becomes Her receiving the most nominations with 12. Maybe Happy Ending followed with 10 nominations, and Stranger Things: The First Shadow was the most-nominated play with 7 nominations.
Maybe Happy Ending emerged as the most-awarded production, winning four awards including Outstanding New Broadway Musical, Outstanding Book, Outstanding Score and Outstanding Director of a Musical for Michael Arden, while Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which nearly swept the design categories, and Boop! The Musical took home three awards each.[1]
Winners and nominees
The 2024-2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations were announced on Friday, April 25, 2025, by Oh, Mary! cast members Cole Escola and Conrad Ricamora. Nominated for Outstanding New Broadway Musical were BOOP! The Musical, Operation Mincemeat, and Real Women Have Curves, while the Outstanding New Broadway Play category included Cult of Love, The Hills of California, John Proctor Is the Villain, and Purpose.
The 2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards winners were announced on May 12, with Maybe Happy Ending leading the winners by taking home four awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical. Despite entering with 12 nominations, Death Becomes Her did not win any awards. Stranger Things: The First Shadow was the most awarded play, winning three honors in physical design categories, while Outstanding New Broadway Play went to John Proctor Is the Villain. Off-Broadway winners included DRAG: The Musical for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and Liberation for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. Revival awards went to Andrew Scott's solo Vanya for play and Cats: The Jellicle Ball for musical revival.
| Category | Nominees[2] |
|---|---|
| Outstanding New Broadway Musical | * Maybe Happy Ending |
| Outstanding New Broadway Play | * John Proctor Is the Villain |
| Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical | * DRAG: The Musical
|
| Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play | * Liberation |
| Outstanding Revival of a Musical | * Cats: "The Jellicle Ball" |
| Outstanding Revival of a Play | * Vanya
|
| John Gassner Award (new American play preferably by a new playwright) | * George Clooney and Grant Heslov, Good Night, and Good Luck
|
| Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | * Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
|
| Outstanding Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | * Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
|
| Outstanding Direction of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | * Danya Taymor, John Proctor is the Villain
|
| Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | * Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending
|
| Outstanding Choreography | * Jerry Mitchell, BOOP! The Musical
|
| Outstanding Orchestrations | * Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in Time
|
| Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | * Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California
|
| Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical | * Jasmine Amy Rogers, BOOP! The Musical |
| Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play | * Adam Driver, Hold On to Me Darling
|
| Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | * Nick Adams, DRAG: The Musical
|
| Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play | * Francis Jue, Yellow Face |
| Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical | * Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat |
| Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play | * Michael Rishawn, Table 17
|
| Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | * André De Shields, Cats: "The Jellicle Ball"
|
| Outstanding Solo Performance | * Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray
|
| Outstanding Scenic Design | * Miriam Buether, Jamie Harrison, and Chris Fisher, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
|
| Outstanding Costume Design | * Gregg Barnes, BOOP! The Musical
|
| Outstanding Lighting Design | * Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
|
| Outstanding Video/Projections | * David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray
|
| Outstanding Sound Design | * Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow |
| Show | Nominations | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Death Becomes Her | 12 | 0 |
| Maybe Happy Ending | 9 | 4 |
| BOOP! The Musical | 8 | 3 |
| Stranger Things: The First Shadow | 7 | 3 |
| The Hills of California | 6 | 1 |
| Operation Mincemeat | 6 | 1 |
| DRAG: The Musical | 5 | 2 |
| Purpose | 5 | 0 |
| Cats: The Jellicle Ball | 4 | 1 |
| Sunset Boulevard | 4 | 0 |
| We Live in Cairo | 4 | 0 |
| The Big Gay Jamboree | 3 | 0 |
| Cult of Love | 3 | 0 |
| Gypsy | 3 | 0 |
| Just in Time | 3 | 1 |
| Real Women Have Curves | 3 | 0 |
| Swept Away | 3 | 0 |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray | 2 | 2 |
| Beckett Briefs: From the Cradle to the Grace | 2 | 0 |
| Becoming Eve | 2 | 0 |
| Floyd Collins | 2 | 0 |
| Glengarry Glen Ross | 2 | 0 |
| Grangeville (play) | 2 | 0 |
| Hold On to Me Darling | 2 | 1 |
| John Proctor Is the Villain | 2 | 2 |
| Liberation | 2 | 1 |
References
- ^ "Maybe Happy Ending Leads 2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards: See the Full List of Winners". Playbill. May 13, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
- ^ "Maybe Happy Ending Leads 2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards; See the Full List of Winners". Retrieved July 22, 2025.