The Lehman Trilogy, Kimberly Akimbo & Harmony Lead 2022 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations

Nominations are here for the 71st annual Outer Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best theater on off and off-off-Broadway in the 2021-2022 season. Leading the slate of nominees is The Lehman Trilogy with nine nominations. Off-Broadway's Harmony and the Broadway-bound Kimberly Akimbo follow with eight nods each.

The Outer Critics Circle is an association of members affiliated with more than 90 newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, internet and theater publications in America and abroad. Winners will be announced on May 16.

How I Learned to Drive's David Morse, Mary-Louise Parker and Johanna Day and Lackawanna Blues' Ruben Santiago-Hudson will receive Special Achievement Awards for their work this season. Nominees for the John Gassner Award for New American Playwrights are Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Sanaz Toossi, Sylvia Khoury, Dave Harris and Keenan Scott II. 

Additionally, the Outer Critics Circle presents commendations to two groups whose contributions to the season were immeasurable: the Standbys, Understudies, and Swings, as well as the Covid-19 Safety Officers.

"In the spring of 2020, we gathered on Zoom to determine that year's slate of Outer Critics Circle Awards recipients, not knowing when or if we'd ever have the chance to do it again,” said Outer Critics Circle President David Gordon in a statement. “We are very grateful to have been able to see more than 100 productions for this year's consideration, and even more appreciative of all the work that it took to bring live performance back to New York City safely. Every single person involved in the 2021-2022 theater season, from onstage and backstage to front of house, should be immensely proud of this accomplishment."

A full list of nominations can be found below.

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL
MJ the Musical
Mr. Saturday Night
Mrs. Doubtfire
Paradise Square
Six

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
Birthday Candles
Clyde's
Skeleton Crew
The Lehman Trilogy
The Minutes

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Morning Sun
On Sugarland
Prayer for the French Republic
Sanctuary City
The Chinese Lady

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Black No More
Harmony
Intimate Apparel
Kimberly Akimbo
Little Girl Blue

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Assassins
Caroline, or Change
Company
The Music Man
The Streets of New York

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
How I Learned to Drive
Take Me Out
A Touch of the Poet
Trouble in Mind

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo
Myles Frost, MJ the Musical
Rob McClure, Mrs. Doubtfire
Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop
Chip Zien, Harmony

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Kearstin Piper Brown, Intimate Apparel
Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo
Sharon D Clarke, Caroline, or Change
Carmen Cusack, Flying Over Sunset
Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Quentin Earl Darrington, MJ the Musical
Matt Doyle, Company
Steven Pasquale, Assassins
A.J. Shively, Paradise Square
Will Swenson, Assassins

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Shoshana Bean, Mr. Saturday Night
Jenn Colella, Suffs
Judy Kuhn, Assassins
Patti LuPone, Company
Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Patrick J. Adams, Take Me Out
Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy
Adam Godley, The Lehman Trilogy
Adrian Lester, The Lehman Trilogy
Sam Rockwell, American Buffalo

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic
Stephanie Berry, On Sugarland
Edie Falco, Morning Sun
LaChanze, Trouble in Mind
Debra Messing, Birthday Candles

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Chuck Cooper, Trouble in Mind
Brandon J. Dirden, Skeleton Crew
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out
Michael Oberholtzer, Take Me Out
Austin Pendleton, The Minutes

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Chanté Adams, Skeleton Crew
Uzo Aduba, Clyde's
Francis Benhamou, Prayer for the French Republic
Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew
Nancy Robinette, Prayer for the French Republic

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
Alex Edelman, Just For Us
Jenn Murray, A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing
Arturo Luís Soria, Ni Mi Madre
Kristina Wong, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Scott Ellis, Take Me Out
Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Skeleton Crew
Anna D. Shapiro, The Minutes

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Warren Carlyle, Harmony
Moisés Kaufman, Paradise Square
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo
Christopher Wheeldon, MJ the Musical
Jerry Zaks, Mrs. Doubtfire

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Warren Carlyle, Harmony
Warren Carlyle, The Music Man
Bill T. Jones, Alex Sanchez, Garrett Coleman, and Jason Oremus, Paradise Square
Christopher Wheeldon and Rich + Tone Talauega, MJ the Musical

OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel, Mr. Saturday Night
Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell, Mrs. Doubtfire
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel
Bruce Sussman, Harmony

OUTSTANDING NEW SCORE (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Jason Howland, Nathan Tysen, and Masi Asare, Paradise Square
Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, Mrs. Doubtfire
Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, Harmony
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo

OUTSTANDING ORCHESTRATIONS
John Clancy, Kimberly Akimbo
David Holcenberg and Jason Michael Webb, MJ the Musical
Greg Jarrett, Assassins
Jason Howland, Paradise Square
Doug Walter, Harmony

OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Beowulf Boritt, Flying Over Sunset
Es Devlin, The Lehman Trilogy
Scott Pask, American Buffalo
Adam Rigg, The Skin of Our Teeth
David Zinn, The Minutes

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Jane Greenwood, Plaza Suite
Santo Loquasto, The Music Man
Gabriella Slade, Six
Emilio Sosa, Trouble in Mind
Catherine Zuber, Mrs. Doubtfire

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Jon Clark, The Lehman Trilogy
Natasha Katz, MJ the Musical
Bradley King, Flying Over Sunset
Brian MacDevitt, The Minutes
Jen Schreiver, Lackawanna Blues

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN (Play or Musical)
Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, The Lehman Trilogy
André Pluess, The Minutes
Ben and Max Ringham, Blindness
Dan Moses Schreier, Harmony
Matt Stine, Assassins

OUTSTANDING PROJECTION DESIGN (Play or Musical)
59 Productions and Benjamin Pearcy, Flying Over Sunset
Stefania Bulbarella and Alex Basco Koch, Space Dogs
Shawn Duan, Letters of Suresh
Luke Halls, The Lehman Trilogy
Jeff Sugg, Mr. Saturday Night

SPECIAL NOTES

• After consideration in previous seasons, only new elements of the following productions were eligible for awards: Girl from the North Country, Is This A Room, Dana H., Hangmen and A Strange Loop
• By mutual agreement with the production, owing to Covid-19-related delays, the Broadway revival of Macbeth will be considered for awards during the 2022-2023 season.
• The following return engagements were not eligible for awards: Springsteen on Broadway, Waitress, American Utopia, Freestyle Love Supreme, Slave Play and Beetlejuice