The Lost Boys hasn’t even officially opened yet, but Broadway’s newest vampire musical is already leading the charge at the 2026 Outer Critics Circle Awards.
The stage adaptation of the classic 1987 film scared up 11 nominations, the most of any production this year. The show’s bids include Outstanding New Broadway Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Musical for Michael Arden, and Featured Performer in a Musical for actors Ali Louis Bourzgui and Benjamin Pajak, the latter of whom is the show’s youngest cast member.
Scoring an acting nomination with the OCC has become an impressive show of strength in the spring awards season. Like many other theater awards bodies, the OCC has recently adopted gender-neutral acting categories, but where other organizations also expanded their performance categories, the OCC chose to keep the number of nominees at five, with an additional one or two slots added only in the case of ties in voting. If an actor is able to score with this group, they are often quite competitive for a Tony nomination.
That’s great news for some of the on the bubble candidates in tough Tony categories. For instance, the OCC’s picks for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play features assumed Tony frontrunners Nathan Lane (Death of a Salesman), John Lithgow (Giant), and Lesley Manville (Oedipus). But that trio is joined by Tony underdog Will Harrison, whose impressive work in Punch scored him a nomination over Adrien Brody (The Fear of 13) and Jon Bernthal (Dog Day Afternoon).
Voters filled out the category with the leading ladies of Fallen Angels, Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara, impressive nominations given that both performers had to make their way past Carrie Coon (Bug) and Laurie Metcalf (Death of a Salesman) — and the fact that the show itself was left out of Revival of a Play.
One notable omission was The Rocky Horror Show for Revival of a Musical. Luke Evans and Andrew Durand made the cut in the lead performance category for playing Frank N’ Furter and Brad, respectively, but the production was otherwise forgotten. Instead of doing the “Time Warp” again, OCC voters chose to fill out that revival race with the immersive Phantom of the Opera retelling Masquerade, as well as Chess, which many pundits see as jockeying with Rocky Horror for the last nomination spot at the Tonys. Ragtime was the most dominant Broadway musical revival with six nominations, a tally matched by Masquerade.
Three productions have matched both the OCC and Drama League Awards picks in the Play Revival and Director of a Play categories: Becky Shaw and director Trip Cullman, Death of a Salesman and director Joe Mantello, and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and director Debbie Allen. This may indicate that the top contenders in this stacked revival category are taking shape. After stumbling with Drama League voters, Oedipus rebounded with the OCC, scoring nominations for Lesley Manville, director Robert Icke, and New Broadway Play — a quirky move given that other groups have classified it as a revival. The show’s leading man, Mark Strong, was snubbed again, though.
It’s important to note that OCC rules do not allow Broadway productions to compete if the show transferred from off-Broadway, and has therefore already been considered by the group’s voters. In these cases, only “new elements” of the Broadway production — such as new design work or cast replacements — are eligible. That means Tony hopefuls like Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Liberation, and Titanique were largely out of the running for these awards, although The Jellicle Ball did manage to snag a Lighting Design nod for Adam Honoré. Titanique was skunked despite the eligibility of several new cast members, including Melissa Barrera, Jim Parsons, and Olivier winner Layton Williams.
Below is the complete list of 2026 Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations, as announced by The Pitt stars Isa Briones and Sepideh Moafi. Winners will be announced on May 11, followed by an awards ceremony held on May 21.
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
Data by Matthew Libby
Well, I’ll Let You Go by Bubba Weiler
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
Mary Kate O Flanagan, Making a Show of Myself
Jack Holden, Kenrex
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 Shibani, 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)
Fraser Campbell, Jane Cardona, Ben Moss, Odetta Hartman, John Murchison, Peter Wise, Oratorio for Living Things
Doug Besterman and Mike Morris, Schmigadoon!
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
