Monday, May 13, 2024

2024 Outer Critics Circle Awards Announced

 

Jenn Colella, center, Carrie-Chapman-Catt and the Suffs Company. Photo: Joan Marcus


The Cast of Stereophonic. Photo: Julieta Cervantes
Outer Critics Circle Awards 2024

Winners noted in bold

 

Outstanding New Broadway Play

Jaja's African Hair Braiding

Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions

Patriots

Stereophonic

The Shark Is Broken

 

Outstanding New Broadway Musical

Days of Wine and Roses
Suffs

The Great Gatsby

The Outsiders

Water for Elephants

 

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical

Buena Vista Social Club

Dead Outlaw

Illinoise

Teeth

The Connector

 

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play

Dig
King of the Jews
King James

Primary Trust
Swing State

 

John Gassner Award (new American play preferably by a new playwright)

Job

Manahatta

Oh, Mary!

The Apiary

Wet Brain

 

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Cabaret

Here Lies Love
I Can Get It for You Wholesale

Monty Python's Spamalot

The Who's Tommy

Outstanding Revival of a Play

An Enemy of the People

Appropriate

Doubt: A Parable

Mary Jane

Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

 

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play

Jessica Lange – Mother Play
Rachel McAdams – Mary Jane

Sarah Paulson – Appropriate

Jeremy Strong – An Enemy of the People

Michael Stuhlbarg – Patriots

 

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play

Billy Eugene Jones – Purlie Victorious

Celia Keenan-Bolger – Mother Play
Alex Moffat – The Cottage
Jim Parsons – Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon - Stereophonic
Kara Young – Purlie Victorious

 

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical

Ali Louis Bourzgui – The Who's Tommy

Brian d'Arcy James – Days of Wine and Roses

Casey Likes – Back to the Future

Kelli O'Hara – Days of Wine and Roses

Maryann Plunkett – The Notebook

 

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical

Roger Bart – Back to the Future

Justin Guarini – Once Upon a One More Time

Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer – Spamalot

Kecia Lewis – Hell's Kitchen

Bebe Neuwirth – Cabaret

 

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical

Jeb Brown – Dead Outlaw

Andrew Durand – Dead Outlaw

Alyse Alan Louis - Teeth

Ben Levi Ross – The Connector

Ricky Ubeda - Illinoise

 

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical (tie)

Ben Cook – Illinoise

Hannah Cruz – The Connector

Julia Knitel – Dead Outlaw

Judy Kuhn – I Can Get It For You Wholesale

Jessica Molaskey – The Connector

Thom Sesma – Dead Outlaw

 

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play (tie)

Cole Escola – Oh, Mary!

Mary Beth Fisher – Swing State

William Jackson Harper – Primary Trust

Marie Mullen – The Saviour

Paul Sparks – Waiting for Godot

 

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play

Gus Birney – Our Class

April Matthis – Primary Trust

Conrad Ricamora – Oh, Mary!

Jay O. Sanders – Primary Trust

Bubba Weiler – Swing State

 

Outstanding Solo Performance

Eddie Izzard – Hamlet

Patrick Page – All the Devils are Here

Mona Pirnot – I Love You So Much I Could Die

Robert Montano – Small

John Rubenstein – Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground

 

Outstanding Book of a Musical

Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury - Illinoise

Anna K. Jacobs and Michael R. Jackson – Teeth

Itamar Moses – Dead Outlaw

Jonathan Marc Sherman – The Connector
Shaina Taub - Suffs

 

Outstanding Score

Jason Robert Brown – The Connector

Will Butler – Stereophonic

Adam Guettel – Days of Wine and Roses

David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna – Dead Outlaw

Shaina Taub - Suffs


Outstanding Orchestrations

Timo Andres - Illinoise

Adam Guettel and Jamie Lawrence – Days of Wine and Roses

Marco Paguia – Buena Vista Social Club

Michael Starobin – Suffs

Erik Della Penna, Dean Sharenow, and David Yazbek – Dead Outlaw

 

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

David Cromer – Dead Outlaw

Michael Greif – Days of Wine and Roses

Daisy Prince – The Connector

Leigh Silverman - Suffs

Jessica Stone – Water for Elephants

Outstanding Direction of a Play

Knud Adams – Primary Trust

Daniel Aukin – Stereophonic

Robert Falls – Swing State

Kenny Leon – Purlie Victorious

Lila Neugebauer – Appropriate

 

Outstanding Choreography

Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll – Water for Elephants

Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman – The Outsiders

Lorin Latarro – The Who's Tommy

Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck – Buena Vista Social Club

Justin Peck — Illinoise

 

Outstanding Scenic Design (tie)

David Korins – Here Lies Love

David Zinn – Stereophonic

Dots – Appropriate

Paul Tate dePoo III – The Cottage

Paul Tate dePoo III – The Great Gatsby

 

Outstanding Costume Design

Dede Ayite – Jaja's African Hair Braiding

Enver Chakartash – Stereophonic

Enver Chakartash – Teeth

Linda Cho – The Great Gatsby

Sydney Maresca – The Cottage


Outstanding Lighting Design

Bradley King – Water for Elephants

Brian MacDevitt – The Outsiders

Justin Townsend – Here Lies Love

Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone – Back to the Future

Amanda Zieve – The Who's Tommy

 

Outstanding Sound Design
Tom Gibbons – Grey House

Gareth Owen – Back to the Future

Gareth Owen – The Who's Tommy
Ryan Rumery – Stereophonic

M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer – Here Lies Love

 

Outstanding Video/Projections

David Bengali – Water for Elephants

Paul Tate dePoo III — The Great Gatsby

Peter Nigrini – The Who's Tommy

Finn Ross – Back to the Future

Ash J. Woodward - Patriots

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Outer Critics Circle Awards Nominations Announced








Off-Broadway’s Dead Outlaw leads the musical pack with nine nominations. Stereophonic is the most nominated Broadway show, with seven.
 
Nominees for the 2024 John Gassner Award for New American Play are
Job by Max Wolf Friedlich
Manahatta by Mary Kathryn Nagle
Oh, Mary! by Cole Escola
The Apiary by Kate Douglas
(NEW YORK, NY – Tuesday, April 23, 2024) The Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of writers on New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers and national publications, today announced the nominees for the 2024 Outer Critics Circle Awards, honoring the 2023-2024 Broadway and Off-Broadway season. The announcement was made by the stars of the hit revival of Merrily We Roll Along, Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez, and livestreamed by BroadwayWorld.com from the Museum of Broadway.
 
Leading the pack with the most honors of the season is the Off-Broadway musical Dead Outlaw, with nine nominations, followed by The Connector with seven nominations.  Stereophonic leads in the play categories with seven nominations, followed by Primary Trust, with five nominations.
 
Nominees for the annual John Gassner Award — for a new American play, preferably by a new playwright — are Job by Max Wolf FriedlichManahatta by Mary Kathryn NagleOh, Mary! by Cole EscolaThe Apiary by Kate Douglas, and Wet Brain by John J. Caswell Jr.
 
Winners of the 2024 Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards will be announced via press release on Monday, May 13, followed by an awards ceremony held on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
 
Founded during the 1949-50 Broadway season by respected theater journalist John
Gassner, The Outer Critics Circle is an esteemed association with members affiliated with more than ninety newspapers, magazines, broadcast stations, and online news organizations, in America and abroad. Led by its current President David Gordon, the OCC Board of Directors also includes Vice President Richard Ridge, Recording Secretary Joseph Cervelli, Corresponding Secretary Patrick Hoffman, Treasurer David RobertsCynthia Allen, Harry Haun, Dan Rubins, Janice Simpson and Doug StrasslerSimon Saltzman is President Emeritus & Board Member (Non-nominating) and Stanley L. Cohen serves as Financial Consultant & Board Member (Non-nominating). Lauren Yarger serves as the Outer Critics Circle Awards ceremony executive producer.
 
2024 OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD NOMINATIONS
 
Outstanding New Broadway Play
Jaja's African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn Bioh
Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions by Paula Vogel
Patriots by Peter Morgan
Stereophonic by David Adjmi
The Shark Is Broken by Joseph Nixon and Ian Shaw
 
Outstanding New Broadway Musical
Days of Wine and Roses
Suffs

The Great Gatsby
The Outsiders
Water for Elephants
 
Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical
Buena Vista Social Club
Dead Outlaw
Illinoise
Teeth
The Connector
 
Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play
Dig by Theresa Rebeck
King of the Jews by Leslie Epstein
King James by Rajiv Joseph
Primary Trust by Eboni Booth
Swing State by Rebecca Gilman
 
John Gassner Award (new American play preferably by a new playwright)
Job by Max Wolf Friedlich
Manahatta by Mary Kathryn Nagle
Oh, Mary! by Cole Escola
The Apiary by Kate Douglas
Wet Brain by John J. Caswell Jr.
 
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Cabaret
Here Lies Love
I Can Get It for You Wholesale

Monty Python's Spamalot
The Who's Tommy
 
Outstanding Revival of a Play
An Enemy of the People
Appropriate
Doubt: A Parable
Mary Jane
Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
 
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play
Jessica Lange – Mother Play
Rachel McAdams – Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson – Appropriate
Jeremy Strong – An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg – Patriots
 
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play
Billy Eugene Jones – Purlie Victorious
Celia Keenan-Bolger – Mother Play
Alex Moffat – The Cottage
Jim Parsons – Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon - Stereophonic
Kara Young – Purlie Victorious
 
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical
Ali Louis Bourzgui – The Who's Tommy
Brian d'Arcy James – Days of Wine and Roses
Casey Likes – Back to the Future
Kelli O'Hara – Days of Wine and Roses
Maryann Plunkett – The Notebook
 
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical
Roger Bart – Back to the Future
Justin Guarini – Once Upon a One More Time
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer – Spamalot
Kecia Lewis – Hell's Kitchen
Bebe Neuwirth – Cabaret
 
Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical
Jeb Brown – Dead Outlaw
Andrew Durand – Dead Outlaw
Alyse Alan Louis - Teeth
Ben Levi Ross – The Connector
Ricky Ubeda - Illinoise
 
Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical
Ben Cook – Illinoise
Hannah Cruz – The Connector
Julia Knitel – Dead Outlaw
Judy Kuhn – I Can Get It For You Wholesale
Jessica Molaskey – The Connector
Thom Sesma – Dead Outlaw
 
Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Play
Cole Escola – Oh, Mary!
Mary Beth Fisher – Swing State
William Jackson Harper – Primary Trust
Marie Mullen – The Saviour
Paul Sparks – Waiting for Godot
 
Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play
Gus Birney – Our Class
April Matthis – Primary Trust
Conrad Ricamora – Oh, Mary!
Jay O. Sanders – Primary Trust
Bubba Weiler – Swing State
 
Outstanding Solo Performance
Eddie Izzard – Hamlet
Patrick Page – All the Devils are Here
Mona Pirnot – I Love You So Much I Could Die
Robert Montano – Small
John Rubenstein – Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground
 
Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury - Illinoise
Anna K. Jacobs and Michael R. Jackson – Teeth
Itamar Moses – Dead Outlaw
Jonathan Marc Sherman – The Connector
Shaina Taub - Suffs
 
Outstanding Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Jason Robert Brown – The Connector
Will Butler – Stereophonic
Adam Guettel – Days of Wine and Roses
David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna – Dead Outlaw
Shaina Taub - Suffs
 
Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Timo Andres - Illinoise
Adam Guettel and Jamie Lawrence – Days of Wine and Roses
Marco Paguia – Buena Vista Social Club
Michael Starobin – Suffs
Erik Della Penna, Dean Sharenow, and David Yazbek – Dead Outlaw
 
Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
David Cromer – Dead Outlaw
Michael Greif – Days of Wine and Roses
Daisy Prince – The Connector
Leigh Silverman - Suffs
Jessica Stone – Water for Elephants

Outstanding Direction of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Knud Adams – Primary Trust
Daniel Aukin – Stereophonic
Robert Falls – Swing State
Kenny Leon – Purlie Victorious
Lila Neugebauer – Appropriate
 
Outstanding Choreography (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll – Water for Elephants
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman – The Outsiders
Lorin Latarro – The Who's Tommy
Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck – Buena Vista Social Club
Justin Peck — Illinoise
 
Outstanding Scenic Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Paul Tate dePoo III – The Cottage
Paul Tate dePoo III – The Great Gatsby
Dots – Appropriate
David Korins – Here Lies Love
David Zinn – Stereophonic
 
Outstanding Costume Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Dede Ayite – Jaja's African Hair Braiding
Enver Chakartash – Stereophonic
Enver Chakartash – Teeth
Linda Cho – The Great Gatsby
Sydney Maresca – The Cottage
 
Outstanding Lighting Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Bradley King – Water for Elephants
Brian MacDevitt – The Outsiders
Justin Townsend – Here Lies Love
Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone – Back to the Future
Amanda Zieve – The Who's Tommy
 
Outstanding Sound Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Tom Gibbons – Grey House
Gareth Owen – Back to the Future
Gareth Owen – The Who's Tommy
Ryan Rumery – Stereophonic
M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer – Here Lies Love
 
Outstanding Video/Projections (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
David Bengali – Water for Elephants
Paul Tate dePoo III — The Great Gatsby
Peter Nigrini – The Who's Tommy
Finn Ross – Back to the Future
Ash J. Woodward - Patriots


Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: Tuesdays with Morrie with Len Cariou

 

Chris Domig and Len Cariou. Photo: Jeremy Varner

Tuesdays with Morrie
By Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom, based on the book by Mitch Albom
Directed by Erwin Maas
Presented by Sea Dog Theater
St. George’s Episcopal Church, 209 East 16 St. NYC
Through April 20

By Lauren Yarger
Len Cariou gives a truly moving performance in a story of friendship and forgiveness in an Off-Broadway adaptation of Mitch Albom's bestselling book Tuesdays with Morrie.

Cariou is Morrie Schwartz, a sociology professor at Brandeis University who strikes up a friendship with his student,  Mitch Albom, (Cris Domig). The two meet at office hours, mostly on Tuesdays and soon find they are chatting about much more than the various classes Mitch takes during his college years. They talk about life and whether Mitch will follow his dream of being a jazz pianist. It is a friendship that has the student calling Morrie "Coach" and promising to stay in touch with his mentor after graduation.

But he doesn't. Time speeds ahead with Mitch becoming a sports writer accumulating all that someone earning big bucks at the top of his profession can enjoy. He seems to be cruising with the addition of a wife who is a professional singer, but his life comes to a screeching halt when he hears that Morrie is dying of ALS, the debilitating disease that claimed Lou Gehrig's life.

Mitch begins flying from Detroit to Boston every Tuesday to visit with Morrie, who encourages Mitch to ask any questions he would like. The first visit is awkward for Mitch . He feels guilty. Why didn't he keep up with this friend after he promised he would. Morrie's attempts to reach out had gone unanswered. But Morrie holds no grudge. He is genuinely thrilled to see his old friend and the men take up where they left off 16 years ago. What follows is a masterclass on the meaning of life. 

The more he prepares to die, Morrie, rells us, the more he knows about how to live.

Domig effectively portrays the conflicted Mitch who wonders whether he is a good person or whether he knows how to really love.

"It was taught from experience." he tells us "There was no required reading, but many topics were covered: love, work, aging, family, community, forgiveness ... and death. The class met
on Tuesdays and had only one student. I was that student." 

Cariou himself gives a masterclass in acting. Direction by Erwin Maas is minimal with Cariou hugging the grand piano dominating Guy de Lancey's set, or sitting in a wheel chair as the disease takes hold of Morrie's body. We have no doubt of the man's spirit, conveyed by Cariou through dialogue, body movement (or lack of it) and facial expressions. Morrie helps Mitch forgive himself and discover that his life has meaning. He gives him hope through his own death-- not a bad trick for the professor who used to be agnostic.

It's moving and like the book (which Albom adapted with Jeffrey Hatcher), leaves us wishing we all had a Morrie in our lives. The old church setting lends to some echoing and sound and music effects can be stark and overwhelming at times. And the seats are exceptionally uncomfortable -- bring a pillow. But the experience is worth the trip and Tuesdays with Morrie has just been extended through April 20.  seadogtheater.org

Additional credits:
Lighting, Set, and Costume Designer: Guy de Lancey; Sound Designer: Eamon Goodman; 
Recorded Vocal Performance: Sally Shaw; Original Music Composition: Chris Domig; 
Sound Mixer: Chris White

Family-Friendly Factors:
No notes


Artist Portrait Series: Len Cariou + Heather Summerhayes Cariou from Sea Dog Theater on Vimeo.

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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