Below are some of the speeches from the winners of the 75th Outer Critics Circle Award held Thursday afternoon at the New York Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. (Don’t know what the Outer Critics Circle is? Check out my New York Theater Awards Calendar and Guide 2025
Eight of the winners of Outer Critic Circle Awards below have also been nominated for Tony Awards, offering a possible preview of some of the televised speeches on June 8th.
But first lets start with two Off-Broadway winners, Adam Driver and André De Shields.
Adam Driver accepts his award from the Outer Critics Circle for Outstanding Lead Perfomance in an Off-Broadway play, for “Hold On to Me Darling”
It’s great to be on Off Broadway. It’s where I started. It’s where I feel most at home.It’s still a place to experiment and be bold and to watch a potential failure closer.”
André De Shields accepts his award for Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball
“Everyone now asks when is the show going to Broadway. My response is it’s a very pretty thought but I have no clue. Here’s my approach: Let Broadway come to us.
Sarah Snook, Outstanding Solo Performance, for The Picture of Dorian Gray
She thinks her director and her mother ‘who taught me the essence of hard work and resilience.. which you absolutely need to be in this industry
Jasmine Amy Rogers, Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical, for Boop! The Musical
I don’t think I could ever imagine that my life could look this wa
Jak Malone, Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical, for Operation Mincemeat
Broadway with its bright lights and its icons and sheer spirit of kinship and community has got me listening to cast albums like I’m 15 again.
Francis Jue, Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play, for Yellow Face
All the Asian talent being acknowledged “gives me hope that Broadway, the biggest stage in the world, might continue to stand up for inclusion and freedom of expression. “
Jerry Mitchell, Outstanding Choreography, for Boop! The Musical
“I feel really like we’re all winners; it’s so hard to get a show on Broadway”
Kimberly Belflower, Outstanding New Broadway Play for John Proctor is the Villain
Will Aronson and Hue Park, Outstanding Book and Score of a Musical, Maybe Happy Ending
Hue Park: “ Will and I began writing this show ten years ago in a Brooklyn coffee shop. We were entering our thirties having experienced meaningful relationships, but also tough breakups and even the loss of our close friend. We were wondering why we keep doing this, long to deeply connect. We hope “Maybe Happy Ending” tries to answer this question. Honestly, we still don’t know, but now we get to ask this question with our fellow artists and with our audience, and that makes us feel more connected and more human.”
And one of the two winning orchestrators for Just in Time (I’m not sure which) thanked Jonathan Groff, “the most talented, open and gracious collaborator, who made me question my sexuality on a daily basis.”
