SpongeBob SquarePants Leads Outer Critics Circle Nominations; Harry Potter, Mean Girls, My Fair Lady Score

The nominees for the 68th annual Outer Critics Circle Awards, which recognize excellence on and Off-Broadway from the 2017–2018 season, have been announced. Leading the list with 11 nominations is the Broadway premiere of SpongeBob SquarePants, followed by Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Mean Girls which received 10 nominations apiece, and My Fair Lady, which received nine.

The Outer Critics Circle, an organization of writers covering New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media beyond Broadway will announce their winners May 7 th, with a gala awards dinner presentation to follow May 24th at Sardi’s in New York City.

See below for the complete list of nominees.

2017-2018 Award Nominations

Outstanding New Broadway Play
The Children
Farinelli and the King
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Junk

Outstanding New Broadway Musical
Escape to Margaritaville
Frozen
Mean Girls
Prince of Broadway
SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play
Admissions
Cost of Living
Hangmen
The Low Road
Mlima’s Tale

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical
Cruel Intentions
Desperate Measures
Jerry Springer- The Opera
Miss You Like Hell
Woody Sez

Outstanding Book Of A Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Tina Fey, Mean Girls
Quiara Alegría Hudes, Miss You Like Hell
Kyle Jarrow, SpongeBob SquarePants
Peter Kellogg, Desperate Measures

Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper & Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani & Lil’C, Jonathan Coulton, and Tom Kitt, SpongeBob SquarePants
David Friedman and Peter Kellogg, Desperate Measures
Imogen Heap, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Quiara Alegría Hudes, Miss You Like Hell
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, Frozen

Outstanding Revival Of A Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Angels in America
Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train
Lobby Hero
Three Tall Women
Travesties

Outstanding Revival Of A Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Carousel
My Fair Lady
Once on This Island
Pacific Overtures

Outstanding Director Of A Play
Jo Bonney, Cost of Living
Marianne Elliott, Angels in America
Patrick Marber, Travesties
Joe Mantello, Three Tall Women
John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Outstanding Director Of A Musical
Michael Arden, Once on This Island
Bill Castellino, Desperate Measures
Tina Landau, SpongeBob SquarePants
Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls
Bartlett Sher, My Fair Lady

Outstanding Choreographer
Camille A. Brown, Once on This Island
Christopher Gattelli, My Fair Lady
Christopher Gattelli, SpongeBob SquarePants
Steven Hoggett, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Justin Peck, Carousel

Outstanding Set Design (Play or Musical)
Miriam Buether, Three Tall Women
Myung Hee Cho, In the Body of the World
Christine Jones, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Michael Yeargan, My Fair Lady
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)
Katrina Lindsay, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Clint Ramos, Once on This Island
Paloma Young, Time and the Conways
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants
Catherine Zuber, My Fair Lady

Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical) 
Kevin Adams, SpongeBob SquarePants
Neil Austin, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Paule Constable, Angels in America
Paul Russell, Farinelli and the King
Lap Chi Chu, Mlima’s Tale

Outstanding Projection Design (Play or Musical) 
Tim Reid, 1984
Finn Ross, Frozen
Finn Ross, In the Body of the World
Finn Ross and Adam Young, Mean Girls
Finn Ross and Ash Woodward, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Outstanding Sound Design (Play or Musical) 
Gareth Fry, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Kate Marvin, [Porto]
Fitz Patton, Napoli, Brooklyn
Marc Salzberg, My Fair Lady
Darron L. West, Mlima’s Tale

Outstanding Orchestrations
Jason Robert Brown, Prince Of Broadway
Tom Kitt, Spongebob Squarepants
Annmarie Milazzo and Michael Starobin, Once On This Island
Jonathan Tunick, Carousel
Claire Van Kampen, Farinelli And The King

Outstanding Actor In A Play
Sean Carvajal, Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train
Andrew Garfield, Angels In America
Tom Hollander, Travesties
Gregg Mozgala, Cost Of Living
Michael Urie, The Government Inspector

Outstanding Actress In A Play
Maameyaa Boafo, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
Jessica Hecht, Admissions
Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women
Lauren Ridloff, Children Of A Lesser God
Katy Sullivan, Cost Of Living

Outstanding Actor In A Musical
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Joshua Henry, Carousel
David M. Lutken, Woody Sez
Conor Ryan, Desperate Measures
Ethan Slater, Spongebob Squarepants

Outstanding Actress In A Musical
Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Erika Henningsen, Mean Girls
Hailey Kilgore, Once On This Island
Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls
Patti Murin, Frozen

Outstanding Featured Actor In A Play
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter And The Cursed Child
Johnny Flynn, Hangmen
Nathan Lane, Angels In America
David Morse, The Iceman Cometh
Paul Sparks, At Home At The Zoo

Outstanding Featured Actress In A Play
Jamie Brewer, Amy And The Orphans
Denise Gough, Angels In America
Harriet Harris, The Low Road
Laurie Metcalf, Three Tall Women
Mary Testa, The Government Inspector

Outstanding Featured Actor In A Musical
Norbert Leo Butz, My Fair Lady
Alexander Gemignani, Carousel
Gavin Lee, Spongebob Squarepants
Nick Wyman, Desperate Measures
Tony Yazbeck, Prince Of Broadway

Outstanding Featured Actress In A Musical
Kerry Butler, Mean Girls
Lindsay Mendez, Carousel
Lauren Molina, Desperate Measures
Ashley Park, Mean Girls 
Emily Skinner, Prince Of Broadway

Outstanding Solo Performance
Billy Crudup, Harry Clarke
Eve Ensler, In The Body Of The World
Alison Fraser, Squeamish
John Lithgow, Stories By Heart
Sharon Washington, Feeding The Dragon

John Gassner Award (Presented For An American Play, Preferably By A New Playwright)
Kate Benson, [Porto]
Jocelyn Bioh, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
Lindsey Ferrentino, Amy And The Orphans
Meghan Kennedy, Napoli, Brooklyn
Dominique Morisseau, Pipeline