Broadway’s ‘Schmigadoon!’, ‘The Balusters’ Win Outer Critics Awards

Schmigadoon! and The Balusters were named the outstanding Broadway musical and play, respectively, by the Outer Critics Circle today. Ragtime was named outstanding musical revival and Death of a Salesman the outstanding play revival.

The Outer Critics Circle is the official organization of writers on New York theater for out-of-town, national, and digital news publications. The group also covers Off Broadway productions, which this year included outstanding musical Mexodus and outstanding play Meet the Cartozians.

See the complete list of winners and nominees for the 2025-2026 season below.

In the performance categories, Death of a Salesman stars Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf were big winners, with the former named outstanding lead performer in a Broadway play and the latter outstanding featured performer in a Broadway play. Joshua Henry and Ben Levi Ross, both of Ragtime, won the awards for lead performer and featured performer in Broadway musicals, respectively.

Daniel Radcliffe (Every Brilliant Thing), took the honor for outstanding solo performance, beating out Sean Hayes (The Unknown), Jean Smart (Call Me Izzy), Jack Holden (Kenrex) and Mary Kate O Flanagan (Making a Show of Myself).

In all, Ragtime and Schmigadoon! scored the most wins (five), followed by Death of a Salesman and Mexodus (four); The Lost Boys and Well, I’ll Let You Go (two); and, with one win each, Cold War Choir Practice, Every Brilliant Thing, Meet the Cartozians, The Baker’s Wife, The Balusters and The Reservoir.

The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 21, at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center.

Broadway productions that were considered in previous seasons were eligible only for new elements, including Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Liberation and Titaníque.

2026 OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNERS
Winners in bold

Outstanding New Broadway Musical
The Lost Boys
Schmigadoon!
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Outstanding New Off Broadway Musical
Beau the Musical
Goddess
Mexodus
Oratorio for Living Things
Saturday Church

Outstanding New Broadway Play
The Balusters
Giant
Little Bear Ridge Road
Oedipus
Punch

Outstanding New Off Broadway Play
Angry Alan
Meet the Cartozians
The Monsters
Prince Faggot
The Reservoir

John Gassner Award (for a new American play preferably by a new playwright)
Call Me Izzy by Jamie Wax
Caroline by Preston Max Allen
Cold War Choir Practice by Ro Reddick (tie)
Data by Matthew Libby
Well, I’ll Let You Go by Bubba Weiler (tie)

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The Baker’s Wife
Chess
Masquerade
Ragtime

Outstanding Revival of a Play
Becky Shaw
The Brothers Size
Death of a Salesman
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Marjorie Prime

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play
Rose Byrne, Fallen Angels
Will Harrison, Punch
Nathan Lane, Death of a Salesman
John Lithgow, Giant
Lesley Manville, Oedipus
Kelli O’Hara, Fallen Angels

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play
Christopher Abbott, Death of a Salesman
Danny Burstein, Marjorie Prime
Jessica Hecht, Dog Day Afternoon
Laurie Metcalf, Death of a Salesman
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical
Sara Chase, Schmigadoon!
Nicholas Christopher, Chess
Luke Evans, The Rocky Horror Show
Joshua Henry, Ragtime
Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Brandon Uranowitz, Ragtime
Jessica Vosk, Beaches

Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical
Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Lost Boys
Max Clayton, Schmigadoon!
Andrew Durand, The Rocky Horror Show
Benjamin Pajak, The Lost Boys
Ben Levi Ross, Ragtime

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off Broadway Musical
Micaela Diamond, The Seat of Our Pants
Amber Iman, Goddess
Brian Quijada, Mexodus
Nygel D. Robinson, Mexodus
Matt Rodin, Beau the Musical

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off Broadway Musical
Justin Cooley, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
J. Harrison Ghee, Saturday Church
Judy Kuhn, The Baker’s Wife
Kevin McHale, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Jasmine Amy Rogers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off Broadway Play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Well, I’ll Let You Go
Alana Raquel Bowers, Cold War Choir Practice
André Holland, The Brothers Size
Alani iLongwe, The Brothers Size
Aigner Mizzelle, The Monsters

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off Broadway Play
Caroline Aaron, The Reservoir
Brian d’Arcy James, Eurydice
River Lipe-Smith, Caroline
Andrea Martin, Meet the Cartozians
Malcolm Mays, The Brothers Size

Outstanding Solo Performance
Sean Hayes, The Unknown
Jack Holden, Kenrex
Mary Kate O Flanagan, Making a Show of Myself
Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing
Jean Smart, Call Me Izzy

Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off Broadway)
Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
David Hornsby and Chris Hoch, The Lost Boys
Douglas Lyons, Beau the Musical
Cinco Paul, Schmigadoon!
Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, Mexodus

Outstanding Score (Broadway or Off Broadway)
Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Heather Christian, Oratorio for Living Things
Ethan D. Pakchar and Douglas Lyons, Beau the Musical
Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, Mexodus
The Rescues, The Lost Boys

Outstanding Direction of a Play
Debbie Allen, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Ngozi Anyanwu, The Monsters
Trip Cullman, Becky Shaw
Robert Icke, Oedipus
Joe Mantello, Death of a Salesman
Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bijan Sheibani, The Brothers Size

Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, The Lost Boys
Lear deBessonet, Ragtime
Lee Sunday Evans, Oratorio for Living Things
David Mendizábal, Mexodus
Diane Paulus, Masquerade

Outstanding Choreography
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Masquerade
Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!
Darrell Grand Moultrie, Goddess
Darrell Grand Moultrie, Saturday Church
Rickey Tripp, The Monsters

Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off Broadway)
Doug Besterman and Mike Morris, Schmigadoon!
Heather Christian, Johnny Butler, Jane Cardona, Fraser Campbell, Laura Dadap, Clerida Eltime, Fred Epstein, Camellia Hartman, Odetta Hartman, Ben Moss, John Murchison and Peter Wise, Oratorio for Living Things
Mikhail Fiksel, Brian Quijada, and Nygel D. Robinson, Mexodus
Ethan Popp and The Rescues, The Lost Boys
Michael Thurber, Goddess

Outstanding Scenic Design
James Fluhr, Masquerade
Dane Laffrey, The Lost Boys
Scott Pask, Schmigadoon!
Adam Rigg and Anton Volovsek, Bowl EP
Jason Sherwood, The Baker’s Wife

Outstanding Costume Design
Dede Ayite, Goddess
Linda Cho, Schmigadoon!
Jeff Mahshie, Fallen Angels
Ryan Park, The Lost Boys
Emilio Sosa, Masquerade

Outstanding Lighting Design
Mextly Couzin, Mexodus
Adam Honoré, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Jack Knowles, Death of a Salesman
Jen Schriever and Michael Arden, The Lost Boys
Studio Luna, Marcel on the Train

Outstanding Sound Design
Caroline Eng, The Unknown
Mikhail Fiksel, Mexodus
Adam Fisher, The Lost Boys
Brett Jarvis, Masquerade
Nick Kourtides, Oratorio for Living Things

Outstanding Video/Projection Design
59 Studio, Ragtime
Akhila Krishnan, Kyoto
Derek McLane, This World of Tomorrow
Johnny Moreno, Mexodus
John Narun, Bughouse