Yesterday by video feed, Kristin Chenoweth, Bryan Cranston, Patti LuPone, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Patrick Stewart announced the 70th annual Outer Critics Circle Award honorees for the 2019-20 Broadway and Off-Broadway season. In lieu of selecting traditional nominees and one winner in each category, this year’s awards named up to five honorees in each of 26 categories, plus four honorees of the John Gassner Award for a new American play. Leading the pack with the most honors are two Broadway musicals: Moulin Rouge! (11) and Jagged Little Pill (8).
The shows named Outstanding New Broadway Musical were Jagged Little Pill (also named for its book by Diablo Cody), Moulin Rouge!, and Tina.
The shows named Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical were Darling Grenadine, Octet (also named for its score by Dave Malloy), The Secret Life of Bees (also named for its book by Lynn Nottage and its score by Susan Birkenhead and Duncan Sheik), Soft Power (also named for its book by David Henry Hwang and its score by Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang), and A Strange Loop (also named for its book and its score by Michael R. Jackson).
The shows named Outstanding Revival of a Musical were the Off-Broadway productions of Little Shop of Horrors and The Unsinkable Molly Brown and the Broadway production of West Side Story.
Other musical writers named were Mark Saltzman (for his book to Romeo and Bernadette) and Ross Golan (for his score to The Wrong Man).