Outer Critics & Drama Desk Nominations
Thursday, April 25, 2019 at 3:16PM
NATHANIEL R in All My Sons, Bob Mackie, Broadway and Stage, Costume Design, Damon Daunno, Hadestown, King Kong, NYC, The Cher Show, The Ferryman, Tootsie

by Nathaniel R

Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney star in the wildly acclaimed "Hadestown"

Two big theater awards to cover at the moment, the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama Desk Nominations. Like the Drama League, previously covered, they're Tony precursors of a sort, the difference being that the Tony Awards only cover Broadway and all of the theater precursors also cover Off-Broadway. Among the musicals Hadestown led the Outer Critics nominations with 12 while at the Drama Desk Oklahoma! led the pack with 12 nominations. The stage adaptation of Tootsie did very well with both groups in runner-up position in terms of most nominations.

Complete honors for each awards group are listed after the jump...

 

UPDATED WITH WINNERS

OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS

This organization, now in its 69th year, is composed of journalists and critics outside of the immediate Broadway scene covering it for national publications or regional publications outside of NYC. Unlike the Drama Desk Awards or Drama League Awards, they have some categories where they separate Broadway from Off Broadway and some categories where they combine them. The nominations were announced by Broadway mainstay and funny lady Julie Halston (you'll know her as Bitsy von Muffling from Sex & The City) who co-stars in Tootsie this season, and Michael Urie (in Torch Song this season on Broadway.) 

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY

Heidi Schreck wrote and stars in "What the Constitution Means to Me"

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

The House That Will Not Stand

We don't get to a ton of plays but we loved The House That Will Not Stand which looked at a fascinating place and time in history (New Orleans in the early 1800s) when free people of color were prosperous within a region that otherwise enslaved black people -- just before France turned over control of Louisiana to the US.

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Glenn Close as the mother of Joan of Arc in "Mother of the Maid"

Only Jackson and May are eligible for Tony nominations and they'll both surely get them. Close was just fantastic in "Mother of the Maid" (thanks Ferdi, a long time loyal TFE reader, for taking me!) but she is not eligible for the Tony as the show was Off Broadway. 

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Only Cranston and Pope are eligible at the Tonys.

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Mare Winningham in "Girl from the North Country"

Block, O'Hara, and Leavel are all eligible at the Tony Awards and you should expect all three to be nominated, Block and Leavel due to reviews and O'Hara due to being Kelli O'Hara.

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Everyone but Skybell is eligible at the Tonys. You know Reeve Carney from movies and TV but he's not a newbie to Broadway. He was the original Peter Parker in "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" in 2011. We saw Damon Daunno in "The Lucky Ones" Off Broadway last season (or the season before?) and fell madly in love so we're eager to get to Oklahoma! 

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Joan Allen and Elaine May in "The Waverly Gallery"

Allen, Flanagan, and Keenan-Bolger are all eligible at the Tonys.

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY

Carvel, Clay, and Walker are eligible at the Tonys.

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL 

Leslie Kritzer takes on Catherine O'Hara's role in the musical adaptation of "Beetlejuice"

Everyone is eligible at the Tonys. We're crossing our fingers for Milligan since her show closed so long ago and wasn't all that popular to begin with. But so far precursors have miraculously remembered her hilarity. Will Tony voters?

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL 

Everyone is eligible at the Tonys. Behlmann is just hilarious in Tootsie (in a new role that basically takes the place, plot-wise, of the elderly lecherous actor in the soap within the 1982 movie), Salazar gets "Be More Chill"s only great song, and Sykes steals "Aint Too Proud" so don't be surprised if they all repeat with Tony nominations.

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE

 

Carey Mulligan in "Girls and Boys"

 

Only Birbiglia is eligible at the Tonys though Gyllenhaal will reprise "A Life" on Broadway this coming season. 

OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL
(Broadway or Off-Broadway) 

OUTSTANDING NEW SCORE
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Only All My Sons and The Waverly Gallery are eligible at the Tonys. It's interesting that All My Sons snagged the nomination here given that the Outer Critics didn't nominate Tracy Letts or Annette Bening for their leading roles.

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

 

Anika Noni Rose in "Carmen Jones" which were so sad didn't transfer to Broadway

 

It's been an unusual Broadway season for Musical Revivals in that there were only two this year: Kiss Me Kate and Oklahoma! It's a pity that Fiddler and Carmen Jones didn't transfer to Broadway as they were both amazing productions and would have surely been threats for Tony nominations in various ways.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY

All but Logan Vaughn are eligible for the Tony in this category.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL 

All but Grey and Reichel are eligible for the Tony in this category

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHER 

 

The 'Dark Lady' number from "The Cher Show"

 

Another category where everyone is eligible at the Tonys.

OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN
(Play or Musical)

Everyone is eligible for the Tonys.

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
(Play or Musical)

Everyone is eligible for the Tonys. Here's a fun bit of trivia: Bob Mackie is ALSO a character within The Cher Show which seems like a possible first for any of the awards shows, movies/tv/stage, when it comes to being nominated for costume design while also having an actor play you! 

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
(Play or Musical)

People loooooove the puppet in "King Kong" even if they don't love the show

OUTSTANDING PROJECTION DESIGN
(Play or Musical)

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN
(Play or Musical)

OUTSTANDING ORCHESTRATIONS

JOHN GASSNER AWARD
(Presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Non competitive and voted on by the Outer Critics Circle Awards Executive Comittee

 

DRAMA DESK AWARDS

Now in their 64th year the Drama Desk, whose hard-working nominating committee sees everything (we know two of its members and are alarmed at how often they have to be at shows -- we're talking nearly every day of the year), will be hosted by Michael Urie for the fourth time and they're planning to expand their reach next year pursuing a new streaming/televised ceremony. The nominations were announced live on NY1 this afternoon. 

 

OUTSTANDING PLAY
Usual Girls

The Drama Desk preferred the OffBroadway offerings this year since only The Ferryman and What the Constitution placed from the new Broadway plays. 

 
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL

Color me surprised that Be More Chill is such a favourite with all awards groups. I thought it something of a disjointed mess with only one memorable song but most awards bodies seem to really enjoy it which bodes well for the Tony nominations on Tuesday. 

 
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Nathan Darrow and Marin Ireland in a revival of Tennessee William's "Summer in Smoke" last summer

The Waverly Gallery was the only Broadway offering nominated here (though it should be noted that Torch Song and Boys in the Band were ineligible for different reasons but both might show up among the Tony nominees) 

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
The Drama Desk list is almost identical to the Outer Critics list except for the inclusion of Merrily We Roll Along instead of Smoke Joe's Cafe.
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
  • Midori Francis, Usual Girls
  • Zainab Jah, Boesman and Lena
  • Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery *WINNER*
  • Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton
  • Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me

May, Metcalf, and Schreck are all eligible at the Tonys.

 
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY
The ever irressistible Raúl Esparza in "The Resistable Rise..."

Not a single Tony eligible performer nominated. Surprise. 

 

 

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Block, Leavel, and Jones are Tony eligible. 

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Damon Daunna and Mary Testa in "Oklahoma!"

Butler and Skybell aren't Tony eligible but we expect the rest to be nominated in the correlative Tony category.

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
  • Harriett D. Foy, The House That Will Not Stand
  • Megan Hill, Eddie and Dave
  • Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill A Mockingbird *WINNER*
  • Ruth Wilson, King Lear
  • Alison Wright, Othello

Only Wilson and Keenan-Bolger are eligible at the Tonys. 

 
OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY

Interesting that both the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics ignored the leads of All My Sons but nominated one of the sons, but a different son!

 
OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Stephanie Hsu is hilarious in "Be More Chill"
  • Stephanie Hsu, Be More Chill
  • Leslie Kritzer, Beetlejuice
  • Soara-Joye Ross, Carmen Jones
  • Sarah Stiles, Tootsie
  • Ali Stroker, Oklahoma! *WINNER*
  • Mary Testa, Oklahoma!

A lot of really funny ladies here!

 
OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Everyone but Harcourt is Tony eligible. 

 
OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
You should expect "The Ferryman" to be a major Tony winner in June

Only Mendes is eligible for the Tony. The American Beauty Oscar winning director already has multiple Tonys though, from past Broadway outings. Will he collect another statue?

 
OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
 
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
"Choir Boy" has a ton of musical numbers but it's considered a play rather than a musical
 
OUTSTANDING MUSIC
 
OUTSTANDING LYRICS
 
OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL
 
OUTSTANDING ORCHESTRATIONS
The Yiddish "Fiddler on the Roof" was an enormous hit off Broadway extended multiple times and moving once to a larger theater. When it did that why didn't it jump to Broadway?
 
OUTSTANDING MUSIC IN A PLAY
 
OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN OF A PLAY
 
OUTSTADING SET DESIGN FOR A MUSICAL
 
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY

 
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN FOR A MUSICAL

William Ivey Long, the 71 year-old still in demand costume designer was double nominated by both the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle, so you can expect him to repeat that feat at the Tonys where he'll have less competition. He's won 6 Tonys in this long career, his first Broadway gig was way back in 1978. 

 
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN FOR A PLAY
"The Slave Play" was a very divisive show that got people talking off broadway
 
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN FOR A MUSICAL
 
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN
 
OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN IN A PLAY
 
OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN IN A MUSICAL
 
OUTSTANDING WIG AND HAIR DESIGN

There's a certain eccentric beauty in knowing that Cher wigs and Beetlejuice wigs come from the same hands, isn't there?

 
OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
 
UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE

OUTSTANDING FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY

 

 

OUTSTANDING PUPPET DESIGN

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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