Actors Isa Briones and Sepideh Moafi are set to announce the nominees for the 2026 Outer Critics Circle Awards. The announcement will take place in a live ceremony at the Museum of Broadway on April 21 at 10 a.m. ET, and will also be livestreamed via BroadwayWorld.com.
After a stint in the touring production of “Hamilton,” Briones made her Broadway debut in “Hadestown” as a 2024 replacement in the role of Eurydice. She currently appears in “Just in Time,” having joined the show in the role of Connie Francis on April 1 alongside Matthew Morrison as Bobby Darin. Briones can also be seen in the Emmy Award-winning medical drama “The Pitt” with her co-host Moafi.
In 2024, Moafi was featured in J.T. Rogers’ Off-Broadway drama “Corruption” at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. Moafi will also appear in the Off-Broadway monologue series “New Born,” which is set to open at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre this May.
The Outer Critics Circle is currently led by president David Gordon, with a board of directors consisting of vice president Richard Ridge, recording secretary Joseph Cervelli, corresponding secretary Patrick Hoffman and treasurer David Roberts, along with Cynthia Allen, Harry Haun (from 1940 until his death in 2026), Dan Rubins, Janice Simpson and Doug Strassler. Non-nominating members include president emeritus Simon Saltzman and financial consultant Stanley L. Cohen.
The Outer Critics Circle was founded during the 1949-1950 Broadway season by theater journalist John Gassner, and presented its first awards that season. Nominees and winners are selected annually by a committee of journalists writing for out-of-town, digital and national publications that cover Broadway and Off-Broadway theater.
Nominees, past winners and members of the Outer Critics Circle will be celebrated at a cocktail reception at West Bank Cafe on April 27. Winners will be announced on May 11, with an awards ceremony to follow on May 21 at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center Theater.
