Mirren, Chenoweth win OCC Awards

When this year's Outer Critics Circle Awards were announced Monday morning, a British import emerged as a big winner: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which earned five awards, including outstanding new Broadway play.

The Circle — an association whose members are affiliated with newspapers, magazines, websites, radio and television stations, and theater publications in the USA and abroad — distinguishes between Broadway and off-Broadway in four categories awarding new plays and musicals. Between Riverside and Crazy, a recipient of this year's Pulitzer Prize for drama, was named outstanding new off-Broadway play.

An American in Paris and Hamilton were respectively recognized as Broadway and off-Broadway musicals. Paris collected four awards, including two for star choreographer and first-time director Christopher Wheeldon. Hamilton and a celebrated Lincoln Center Theater revival of The King and I each earned three.

On the Twentieth Century leading lady Kristin Chenoweth took the prize over King and I's Kelli O'Hara for actress in a musical, a category that will be closely watched at this year's Tony Awards. Helen Mirren was named outstanding actress in a play, for her (latest) portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony on May 21 at Sardi's Restaurant in the theater district.