Theater News

Esparza, Herman, Lopez, Ziemba to Present Outer Critics Circle Awards

Paolo Szot in South Pacific
(© Joan Marcus)
Paolo Szot in South Pacific
(© Joan Marcus)

Raul Esparza, Jerry Herman, Priscilla Lopez, and Karen Ziemba will be among the presenters for the 2007-2008 Outer Critics Circle Awards, which will take place at Sardi’s on Thursday, May 22.

The awards were announced on Monday, May 12, with Outstanding Musical going to both Young Frankenstein and Xanadu, August: Osage County winning Outstanding New Broadway Play, and South Pacific winning four awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical. There was also a tie for Outstanding New Score between the Off-Broadway musicals Adding Machine and Next to Normal.

A full list of nominations follows, with the winners marked in bold:

Outstanding New Broadway Play
August: Osage County
Rock ‘n’ Roll
The Seafarer
The 39 Steps


Outstanding New Broadway Musical
A Catered Affair
Cry-Baby The Musical
Xanadu
Young Frankenstein

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play
Dividing the Estate
The Drunken City
From Up Here
The Receptionist

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical
Adding Machine
The Glorious Ones
Make Me a Song — The Music of William Finn
Next to Normal

Outstanding New Score
Adding Machine
Next to Normal

Passing Strange
Young Frankenstein


Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Come Back, Little Sheba
Cyrano de Bergerac
The Homecoming
Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Gypsy
South Pacific
Sunday in the Park with George
Take Me Along

Outstanding Director of a Play
Maria Aitken, The 39 Steps
Rupert Goold, Macbeth
Rufus Norris, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County


Outstanding Director of a Musical
David Cromer, Adding Machine
Arthur Laurents, Gypsy
Bartlett Sher, South Pacific
Susan Stroman, Young Frankenstein


Outstanding Choreographer
Rob Ashford, Cry-Baby The Musical
Graciela Daniele, The Glorious Ones
Christopher Gattelli, South Pacific
Susan Stroman, Young Frankenstein

Outstanding Set Design (Play or Musical)
David Farley, Timothy Bird, Sunday in the Park with George
Scott Pask, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Robin Wagner, Young Frankenstein
Michael Yeargan, South Pacific


Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)
David Farley, Sunday in the Park with George
Katrina Lindsay, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
William Ivey Long, Young Frankenstein
Jessica Jahn, Michael Bottari and Ronald Case, Die Mommie Die!
Catherine Zuber, South Pacific

Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical)
Kevin Adams, The 39 Steps
Ken Billington, Sunday in the Park with George
Donald Holder, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Peter Kaczorowski, Young Frankenstein

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Kevin Anderson, Come Back Little Sheba
Ben Daniels, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Kevin Kline, Cyrano de Bergerac
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Eve Best, The Homecoming
Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County
Laura Linney, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
S. Epatha Merkerson, Come Back, Little Sheba

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Roger Bart, Young Frankenstein
Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park with George
Boyd Gaines, Gypsy
Paulo Szot, South Pacific

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Patti LuPone, Gypsy
Kelli O’Hara, South Pacific
Faith Prince, A Catered Affair
Alice Ripley, Next to Normal

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Raul Esparza, The Homecoming
James Earl Jones, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof
Jim Norton, The Seafarer
David Pittu, Is He Dead?

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Jessica Collins, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Jayne Houdyshell, The New Century
Laurie Metcalf, November
Sian Phillips, Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Danny Burstein, South Pacific
Christopher Fitzgerald, Young Frankenstein
Shuler Hensley, Young Frankenstein
Tony Yazbeck, Gypsy

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Laura Benanti, Gypsy
Harriet Harris, Cry-Baby The Musical
Sherie Rene Scott, The Little Mermaid
Amy Warren, Adding Machine

Outstanding Solo Performance
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
Stephen Lang, Beyond Glory
Chazz Palminteri, A Bronx Tale
April Yvette Thompson, Liberty City

John Gassner Award
(Presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)
Bob Clyman, Secret Order
Liz Flahive, From Up Here
Michael Hollinger, Opus
George Packer, Betrayed