The actual awards gala will be held at 4 p.m. on May 21st at Sardi’s Restaurant in New York. Presenters include Raúl Esparza, Katie Finneran, Montego Glover, Nick Cordero, William Ivey Long, and Jefferson Mays. Below are the list of nominees, with the winners notated in bold lettering. The 2014-15 Outer Critics Circle Executive/Nominating Committee included Simon Saltzman (President), Mario Fratti (Vice-President), Patrick Hoffman (Corresponding Secretary), Stanley L. Cohen (Treasurer), Glenn Loney (Historian & Member-at-Large) and Aubrey Reuben and Harry Haun (Members-at-Large).

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY

The Audience

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Wolf Hall

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL

 An American in Paris

It Shoulda Been You

The Last Ship

Something Rotten!

The Visit

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY

 Between Riverside and Crazy

The City of Conversation

The Nether

Rasheeda Speaking

The Village Bike

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL

A Christmas Memory

Disenchanted

The Fortress of Solitude

 Hamilton

Lonesome Traveler

OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL

(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Hamilton

It Shoulda Been You

The Last Ship

Something Rotten!

The Visit

OUTSTANDING NEW SCORE

(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

 Hamilton

It Shoulda Been You

The Last Ship

Something Rotten!

The Visit

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY

(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

The Elephant Man

Fashions for Men

The Heidi Chronicles

Skylight

You Can’t Take It With You

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

Into the Woods

 The King and I

On the Town

On the Twentieth Century

Side Show

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY

Stephen Daldry    The Audience

 Marianne Elliott    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Scott Ellis   The Elephant Man

Scott Ellis    You Can’t Take It With You

Jeremy Herrin    Wolf Hall

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL

Scott Ellis    On the Twentieth Century

Thomas Kail    Hamilton

Casey Nicholaw    Something Rotten!

David Hyde Pierce    It Shoulda Been You

Christopher Wheeldon    An American in Paris

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHER

Joshua Bergasse   On the Town

Andy Blankenbuehler    Hamilton

Warren Carlyle    On the Twentieth Century

Casey Nicholaw    Something Rotten!

 Christopher Wheeldon    An American in Paris

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN

(Play or Musical)

 Bunny Christie    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Bob Crowley    An American in Paris

Scott Pask    Something Rotten!

David Rockwell    On the Twentieth Century

Michael Yeargan    The King and I

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

(Play or Musical)

Gregg Barnes    Something Rotten!

Bob Crowley    The Audience

William Ivey Long    On the Twentieth Century

Christopher Oram    Wolf Hall

 Catherine Zuber    The King and I

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN

(Play or Musical)
 Paule Constable    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Jeff Croiter     Something Rotten!

Rick Fisher     The Audience

Natasha Katz     An American in Paris

Japhy Weideman    The Visit

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Reed Birney    I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard

Bradley Cooper    The Elephant Man

Stephen McKinley Henderson    Between Riverside and Crazy

Ben Miles    Wolf Hall

 Alex Sharp    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Greta Gerwig     The Village Bike

Jan Maxwell    The City of Conversation

 Helen Mirren    The Audience

Elisabeth Moss    The Heidi Chronicles

Tonya Pinkins    Rasheeda Speaking

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Christian Borle    Something Rotten!

Brian d’Arcy James    Something Rotten!

 Robert Fairchild    An American in Paris

Peter Gallagher    On the Twentieth Century

Tony Yazbeck    On the Town

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

 Kristin Chenoweth    On the Twentieth Century

Leanne Cope    An American in Paris

Tyne Daly    It Shoulda Been You

Kelli O’Hara    The King and I

Chita Rivera    The Visit

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY

Paul Jesson     Wolf Hall

 Richard McCabe   The Audience

Alessandro Nivola   The Elephant Man

Nathaniel Parker    Wolf Hall

Bryce Pinkham     The Heidi Chronicles

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY

 Annaleigh Ashford   You Can’t Take It With You

Patricia Clarkson   The Elephant Man

Francesca Faridany   The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Julie Halston   You Can’t Take It With You

Lydia Leonard   Wolf Hall

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

John Cariani   Something Rotten!

Josh Grisetti   It Shoulda Been You

 Andy Karl   On the Twentieth Century

Paul Alexander Nolan   Doctor Zhivago

Max von Essen   An American in Paris

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Heidi Blickenstaff   Something Rotten!

Victoria Clark   Gigi

Megan Fairchild   On the Town

 Ruthie Ann Miles    The King and I  

Mary Louise Wilson   On the Twentieth Century

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE

Joe Assadourian     The Bullpen

 Jim Dale    Just Jim Dale

Tom Dugan    Wiesenthal

Cush Jumbo    Josephine and I

Benjamin Scheuer    The Lion

JOHN GASSNER AWARD

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

Ayad Akhtar     The Invisible Hand

Halley Feiffer     I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard

Elizabeth Irwin     My Mañana Comes

Markus Potter     Stalking the Bogeyman

Benjamin Scheuer     The Lion

The post The 2015 Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Revealed appeared first on Broadway Black.

Tyson made her Broadway debut in Jolly’s Progress (1959) as Eartha Kitt’s understudy. She went on to appear in other Broadway shows including Tiger Tiger Burning Bright (1962), A Hand Is On The Gate (1966), Carry Me Back To Morningside Heights (1968), The Corn is Green (1983), and in 1974, she hosted the 28th Annual Tony Awards.

In 1961, Ms. Tyson appeared in Jean Genet’s The Blacks, the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of that decade (1,408 performances). The Blacks boasted a cast of soon-to-be legends of the arts like James Earl Jones, Maya Angelou, Louis Gossett, Jr., and Roscoe Lee Browne.

It wasn’t until 2013 that Tyson won a Tony Award (Best Actress in a Play) for her performance as Miss Carrie Watts in Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful.

That year she also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and the Outer Critics Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play, for Bountiful.

Tyson boasts a beyond impressive television and film resume, as well. Most recently she was seen in the ABC hit How To Get Away with Murder, playing Ophelia Hartness, Annalise’s mother. Annalise is played by Tony-winner Viola Davis (2001, Best Featured Actress in a Play, King Hedley II and 2010, Best Actress in a Play, Fences). Other TV credits include The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots, King, A Woman Called Moses, The Women of Brewster Place, and Law and Order: SVU.

On film she has been seen in Sounder, The River Niger, Bustin’ Loose, Fried Green Tomatoes, and The Help, to name a few.

We here are Broadway Black salute you, Miss Tyson! We honor you! We thank you! You are TRULY a Black (girl) who ROCKS.

Black Girls Rock airs Sunday, April 5th, 2015 at 7p/6c on BET,
hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross and Regina King.

We’ll be tuning in! Hope you will be, too.

The post Black Girls Rock Will Honor Cicely Tyson appeared first on Broadway Black.