Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Uzo Aduba, 2020 winner
Awarded for	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Location	New York City
Presented by	Outer Critics Circle
Status	Retired
Currently held by	Uzo Aduba, Clyde's (2020)
Website	OuterCriticsCircle.org

The Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play was an annual award given to the best featured actress in a non-musical play on Broadway or Off-Broadway, as determined by Outer Critics Circle. The award was established in 1997 as "Best Featured Actress in a Musical," before formally changing to "Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play" in 1999. ^[1]

The award was retired in 2022 and replaced by Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play and Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play in gender-neutral performance categories. ^[2]

Allison Janney and Laurie Metcalf are the only performers to win the award twice (both from two nominations), while Jan Maxwell has the most nominations with four. Close behind are Kristine Nielsen, Jayne Houdyshell and Judith Light with three nominations.

Awards winners

Key

  and bold indicates the winner.

1990s

Year	Actor	Work	Role	Ref.
1997
	Deborah Findlay	Stanley	Hilda Spencer	[3] [4]
	Allison Janney	Present Laughter	Liz
Celia Weston	The Last Night of Ballyhoo	Aunt Reba
Jan Maxwell	A Doll’s House	Kristine Linde
1998
	Allison Janney	A View from the Bridge	Beatrice	[5] [6]
	Patricia Clarkson	The Maiden’s Prayer	Libby
	Linda Lavin	The Diary of Anne Frank	Mrs. Van Daan
	Julyana Soelistyo	Golden Child	Eng Ahn
1999
	Claire Bloom	Electra	Clytemnestra	[7] [8]
	Samantha Bond	Amy’s View	Amy
	Kristine Nielsen	Betty’s Summer Vacation	Mrs. Siezmagraff
	Mandy Siegfried	The Mineola Twins	Kenny / Ben

2000s

Year	Actor	Work	Role	Ref.
2000
	Frances Conroy	The Ride Down Mt. Morgan	Theo	[9] [10]
	Jennifer Ehle	The Real Thing	Annie
	Cindy Katz	Amadeus	Constanze Weber
	Lizbeth MacKay	The Price	Esther Franz
2001
	Cady Huffman	The Producers	Ulla Bloom	[11] [12]
	Kathleen Freeman	The Full Monty	Jeannette Burmeister
	Kate Levering	42nd Street	Peggy Sawyer
2002
	Katie Finneran	Noises Off	Brooke Ashton	[13] [14]
	Julie Hagerty	Morning's at Seven	Myrtle Brown
	Elizabeth Franz		Aaronetta Gibbs
	Dana Ivey	Major Barbara	Lady Britomart Undershaft
2003
	Linda Emond	Life (x) 3	Inez	[15] [16]
	J. Smith-Cameron	Tartuffe	Dorine
	Kathryn Meisle		Elmire
	Marian Seldes	Dinner at Eight	Carlotta Vance
	Emily Skinner		Kitty Packard
2004
	Audra McDonald	A Raisin in the Sun	Ruth Younger	[17] [18]
	Jan Maxwell	Sixteen Wounded	Sonya
	Margo Martindale	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Big Mama
	Jayne Houdyshell	Well	Various
	Julie Halston	Twentieth Century	Ida Webb
2005
	Amy Ryan	A Streetcar Named Desire	Stella Kowalski	[19] [20]
	Carla Gugino	After the Fall	Maggie
	Heather Goldenhersh	Doubt, A Parable	Sister James
	Adriane Lenox		Mrs. Muller
	Ashlie Atkinson	Fat Pig	Helen
2006
	Frances de la Tour	The History Boys	Mrs. Lintott	[21] [22]
	Hallie Foote	The Trip to Bountiful	Jessie Mae Watts
	Lynn Redgrave	The Constant Wife	Mrs. Culver
	Jan Maxwell	Entertaining Mr. Sloane	Kath
2007
	Martha Plimpton	The Coast of Utopia	Varenka / Natasha Tuchkov	[23] [24]
	Jill Clayburgh	The Clean House	Virginia
	Lily Rabe	Heartbreak House	Ellie Dunn
	Robin Bartlett	Prelude to a Kiss	Mrs. Boyle
2008
	Jessica Collins	Les Liaisons Dangereuses	Madame de Tourvel	[25] [26]
	Laurie Metcalf	November	Clarice Bernstein
	Siân Phillips	Les Liaisons Dangereuses	Mme. de Rosemonde
Jayne Houdyshell	The New Century	Barbara Ellen Diggs
2009
	Angela Lansbury	Blithe Spirit	Madame Arcati	[27] [28]
	Kristine Nielsen	Why Torture Is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them	Luella
	Condola Rashad	Ruined	Sophie
	Andrea Martin	Exit the King	Juliette
	Susan Louise O'Connor	Blithe Spirit	Edith

2010s

Year	Actor	Work	Role	Ref.
2010
	Jan Maxwell	Lend Me a Tenor	Maria	[29] [30]
	Marin Ireland	A Lie of the Mind	Beth
	Alicia Silverstone	Time Stands Still	Mandy Bloom
	Hallie Foote	The Orphans' Home Cycle	Mr. Robedaux / Asa Vaughn / Mrs. Vaughn / Lola Reeves / Mrs. Mary Vaughn
	Rosemary Harris	The Royal Family	Fannie Cavandish
2011
	Elizabeth Rodriguez	The Motherfucker with the Hat	Veronica	[31] [32]
	Linda Lavin	Other Desert Cities	Silda Grauman
	Renée Elise Goldsberry	Good People	Kate
	Alison Pill	The House of Blue Leaves	Corrinna Stroller
	Estelle Parsons	Good People	Dottie
2012
	Spencer Kayden	Don't Dress for Dinner	Suzette	[33] [34]
	Daphne Rubin-Vega	A Streetcar Named Desire	Stella Kowalski
	Angela Lansbury	The Best Man	Sue-Ellen Gamadge
	Joanna Gleason	Sons of the Prophet	Gloria
	Judith Light	Other Desert Cities	Silda Grauman
2013
	Kristine Nielsen	Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike	Sonia	[35] [36]
	Judith Light	The Assembled Parties	Faye
	Cady Huffman	The Nance	Sylvie
	Judith Ivey	The Heiress	Aunt Lavinia Penniman
	Vanessa Williams	The Trip to Bountiful	Jessie Mae Watts
2014
	Mare Winningham	Casa Valentina	Rita	[37] [38]
	Andrea Martin	Act One	Various
	Anika Noni Rose	A Raisin in the Sun	Beneatha Younger
	Sophie Okonedo		Ruth Younger
Barbara Barrie	I Remember Mama	Katrin Hanson
2015
	Annaleigh Ashford	You Can't Take It With You	Essie Carmichael	[39] [40]
	Lydia Leonard	Wolf Hall	Anne Boleyn
	Patricia Clarkson	The Elephant Man	Mrs. Kendal
	Francesca Faridany	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time	Siobhan
	Julie Halston	You Can't Take It With You	Gay Wellington
2016
	Judith Light	Thérèse Raquin	Madame Raquin	[41] [42] [43]
	Pascale Armand	Eclipsed	Bessie
	Myra Lucretia Taylor	Familiar	Anne
	Saycon Sengbloh	Eclipsed	Helena
Zainab Jah	Maima
2017
	Cynthia Nixon	The Little Foxes	Birdie Hubbard	[44] [45]
	Nana Mensah	Man from Nebraska	Tamyra
	Jayne Houdyshell	A Doll's House, Part 2	Anne Marie
	Katrina Lenk	Indecent	Menke
	Johanna Day	Sweat	Tracey
2018
	Laurie Metcalf	Three Tall Women	B	[46] [47]
	Jamie Brewer	Amy and the Orphans	Amy
	Denise Gough	Angels in America	Harper Pitt
	Harriet Harris	The Low Road	Mrs. Trumpet / Belinda / Mrs. Low
	Mary Testa	The Government Inspector	Anna Andreyevna
2019
	Celia Keenan-Bolger	To Kill a Mockingbird	Scout Finch	[48] [49]
	Stephanie Berry	Sugar in Our Wounds	Aunt Mama
	Harriett D. Foy	The House That Will Not Stand	Makeda
	Fionnula Flanagan	The Ferryman	Aunt Maggie Far Away
	Joan Allen	The Waverly Gallery	Ellen Fine

2020s

Year	Actor	Work	Role	Ref.
2020 (Hon.)	Liza Colón-Zayas	Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven	Sarge	[50]
	Montego Glover	All the Natalie Portmans	Ovetta
	Marsha Mason	Little Gem	Kay
	Krysta Rodriguez	Seared	Emily
	Lois Smith	The Inheritance	Margaret
	Jennifer Van Dyck	The Confession of Lily Dare	Lily Dare
2021	No award given due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2022
	Uzo Aduba	Clyde's	Clyde	[51] [52]
	Chanté Adams	Skeleton Crew	Shanita
	Nancy Robinette	Prayer for the French Republic	Irma Salomon
	Francis Benhamou		Elodie Benhamnou
	Phylicia Rashad	Skeleton Crew	Faye

Multiple wins

2 wins

• Allison Janney
• Laurie Metcalf

Multiple nominations

4 nominations

• Jan Maxwell

3 nominations

• Kristine Nielsen
• Jayne Houdyshell
• Judith Light

2 nominations

• Allison Janney
• Patricia Clarkson
• Linda Lavin
• Cady Huffman
• Julie Halston
• Hallie Foote
• Laurie Metcalf
• Angela Lansbury
• Andrea Martin

See also

• Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
• Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

References

1. "Nightingales, Wit, Iceman & Fosse Win Outer Critics Awards; Ceremony May 28". Playbill. April 26, 1999. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
2. Andrew Gans (January 24, 2023). "Dates Set for 2023 Outer Critics Circle Awards; Gender Removed From Acting Categories". Playbill.
3. "1996–1997 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
4. Lefkowitz, David (May 5, 1997). "Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Announced". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
5. "1997–1998 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
6. Viagas & Lefkowitz (April 27, 1998). "Lion King Roars With Six Outer Critics Circle Awards". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
7. "1998–1999 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
8. "Nightingales, Wit, Iceman & Fosse Win Outer Critics Awards; Ceremony May 28". Playbill. April 26, 1999. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
9. "1999–2000 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
10. "Contact and Kiss Me, Kate Big Winners of 2000 Outer Critics Awards". Playbill. April 30, 2000. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
11. "2000–2001 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
12. Simonson & Lefkowitz (May 24, 2001). "2001 Outer Critics Circle Awards Held at Sardi's, May 24". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
13. "2001–2002 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
14. "The 2001–2002 Outer Critics Circle Award Winners". TheaterMania. April 29, 2002. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
15. "2002–2003 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
16. Gans, Andrew (May 5, 2003). "Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Announced; Hairspray Leads the Pack". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
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18. "Wicked, Wonderful Town, I Am My Own Wife Top 2004 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Playbill. May 2, 2004. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
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20. "2005 Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Announced". New York Theatre Guide. May 9, 2005. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
21. "2005–2006 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
22. Hernandez, Ernio (May 14, 2006). "The Drowsy Chaperone and The History Boys Top Outer Critics Awards". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
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29. "MEMPHIS & LA CAGE Top Outer Critics Circle Winners". BroadwayWorld. May 17, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
30. "2009–2010 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
31. "The Book of Mormon, War Horse and Anything Goes Top 2011 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Broadway.com. May 16, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
32. "2010–2011 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
33. Gans, Andrew (May 14, 2012). "Outer Critics Circle Winners Announced; Once and One Man, Two Guvnors Are Top Winners". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
34. "2011–2012 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
35. "Outer Critics Circle 2013 Award Winners". New York Theatre Guide. May 13, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
36. "2012–2013 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
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38. "2013–2014 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
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40. "2014–2015 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
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42. Viagas, Robert (May 9, 2016). "Bright Star and The Humans Win Top 2016 NY Outer Critics Circle Awards". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
43. "2015–2016 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
44. Lefkowitz, Andy (May 8, 2017). "2017 Outer Critics Circle Awards: Come From Away & More Win Top Prizes". Broadway.com. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
45. "2016–2017 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
46. McPhee, Ryan (May 7, 2018). "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, My Fair Lady Win Big at 2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
47. "2017–2018 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
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49. "2018–2019 Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
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51. "2021–2022 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Outer Critics Circle. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
52. Culwell-Block, Logan (May 17, 2022). "The Lehman Trilogy Leads 2022 Outer Critics Circle Awards, Six Wins Best Musical; See the Complete List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2025.