Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

The Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical was an annual award given to the best featured actress in a musical 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 Musical" in 1999.

The award was retired in 2022 and replaced by Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical and Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical in gender-neutral performance categories.

Karen Ziemba holds the record for most wins, with three trophies from three nominations, followed closely by Laura Benanti and Jane Krakowski with two wins each. Benanti holds the record for most nominations in the category, with four nominations.

Awards winners

Key

1990s

Year	Actor	Work	Role
1997
	Lillias White	*The Life*	Performer
	Alix Korey	No Way to Treat a Lady	Flora / Mrs. Sullivan / Carmella / Alexandra / Sadie
	Marcia Lewis	Chicago	Matron "Mama" Morton
	Debra Monk	Steel Pier	Shelby Stevens
1998
	Tsidii Le Loka	*The Lion King*	Tateh
	Jan Maxwell	The Sound of Music	Baroness Elsa Schraeder
	Audra McDonald	Ragtime	Sarah
	Michele Pawk	Cabaret	Fräulein Kost
1999
	Kristin Chenoweth	*You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown*	Sally Brown
	Cheryl Freeman	The Civil War	Bessie Toler
	Elizabeth Parkinson	Fosse	Performer

2000s

Year	Actor	Work	Role
2000
	Karen Ziemba	*Contact*	Performer
	Blair Brown	James Joyce’s The Dead	Gretta Conroy
	Ruth Williamson	The Music Man	Eulalie Shinn
	Deborah Yates	Contact	Performer
2001
	Cady Huffman	*The Producers*	Ulla Bloom
	Kathleen Freeman	The Full Monty	Jeanette Burmeister
	Kate Levering	42nd Street	Peggy Sawyer
	Mary Testa	42nd Street	Maggie Jones
2002
	Spencer Kayden	*Urinetown*	Little Sally
	Laura Benanti	Into the Woods	Cinderella
	Angela Christian	Thoroughly Modern Millie	Miss Dorothy Brown
	Andrea Martin	Oklahoma!	Aunt Eller
2003
	Jane Krakowski	*Nine*	Carla Albanese
	Laura Benanti	Nine	Claudia Nardi
	Mary Beth Peil		Guido's Mother
	Mary Stuart Masterson		Luisa Contini
	Kerry Butler	Hairspray	Penny Piggleton
2004
	Karen Ziemba	*Never Gonna Dance*	Mabel Pritt
	Ayesha Dharker	Bombay Dreams	Rani
	Randy Graff	Fiddler on the Roof	Golde
	Isabel Keating	The Boy from Oz	Judy Garland
	Carole Shelley	Wicked	Madame Morrible
2005
	Sara Ramirez	*Spamalot*	The Lady of the Lake
	Sarah Uriarte Berry	The Light in the Piazza	Franca Naccarelli
	Kelli O'Hara	The Light in the Piazza	Clara Johnson
	Joanna Gleason	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	Muriel Eubanks
	Jan Maxwell	Chitty Chitty Bang Bang	Baroness Bomburst
2006
	Beth Leavel	*The Drowsy Chaperone*	The Chaperone
	Megan Lawrence	The Pajama Game	Gladys Hotchkiss
	Mary Louise Wilson	Grey Gardens	"Big" Edie Beale
	Elisabeth Withers-Mendes	The Color Purple	Shug Avery
2007
	Karen Ziemba	*Curtains*	Georgia Hendricks
	Charlotte d'Amboise	A Chorus Line	Cassie Ferguson
	Rebecca Luker	Mary Poppins	Winifred Banks
	Orfeh	Legally Blonde	Paulette
2008
	Laura Benanti	*Gypsy*	Louise
	Amy Warren	The Adding Machine	Daisy Devore
	Harriet Sansom Harris	Cry-Baby	Mrs. Vernon-Williams
	Sherie Rene Scott	The Little Mermaid	Ursula
2009
	Haydn Gwynne	*Billy Elliot*	Mrs. Wilkinson
	Carole Shelley	Billy Elliot	Grandma
	Karen Olivo	West Side Story	Anita
	Kathy Fitzgerald	9 to 5	Roz Keith
	Martha Plimpton	Pal Joey	Gladys Bumps

2010s

Year	Actor	Work	Role
2010
	Katie Finneran	*Promises, Promises*	Marge MacDougall
	Angela Lansbury	A Little Night Music	Madame Armfeldt
	Carolee Carmello	The Addams Family	Alice Beineke
	Cass Morgan	Memphis	Mama/Gladys
	Terri White	Finian's Rainbow	Dottie
2011
	Laura Benanti	*Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown*	Candela
	Laura Osnes	Anything Goes	Hope Harcourt
	Marla Mindelle	Sister Act	Sister Mary Robert
	Nikki M. James	The Book of Mormon	Nabulungi
	Patti LuPone	Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown	Lucia
2012
	Judy Kaye	*Nice Work If You Can Get It*	Duchess Estonia Dulworth
	Da'Vine Joy Randolph	Ghost the Musical	Oda Mae Brown
	Jayne Houdyshell	Follies	Hattie Walker
	Melissa Van Der Schyff	Bonnie & Clyde	Blanche Barrow
	Rebecca Luker	Death Takes a Holiday	Duchess Stephanie Lamberti
2013
	Andrea Martin	*Pippin*	Berthe
	Annaleigh Ashford	Kinky Boots	Lauren
	Charlotte d'Amboise	Pippin	Fastrada
	Keala Settle	Hands on a Hardbody	Norma Valverde
	Victoria Clark	Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella	Marie/Fairy Godmother
2014
	Marin Mazzie	*Bullets Over Broadway*	Helen Sinclair
	Judy Kuhn	Fun Home	Helen Bechdel
	Anika Larsen	Beautiful: The Carole King Musical	Cynthia Weil
	Sydney Lucas	Fun Home	Small Alison
	Lisa O'Hare	A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder	Sibella Hallward
2015
	Ruthie Ann Miles	*The King and I*	Lady Thiang
	Heidi Blickenstaff	Something Rotten!	Bea Bottom
	Victoria Clark	Gigi	Inez Alvarez
	Megan Fairchild	On the Town	Ivy
	Mary Louise Wilson	On the Twentieth Century	Letitia Primrose
2016
	Jane Krakowski	*She Loves Me*	Ilona Ritter
	Danielle Brooks	The Color Purple	Sofia
	Andrea Burns	On Your Feet!	Gloria Fajardo
	Sophia Anne Caruso	Lazarus	Girl
	Heléne Yorke	American Psycho	Evelyn Williams
2017
	Jenn Colella	*Come From Away*	Beverley Bass and Others
	Kate Baldwin	Hello, Dolly!	Irene Molloy
	Stephanie J. Block	Falsettos	Trina
	Caroline O'Connor	Anastasia	Countess Lily
	Mary Beth Peil	Anastasia	Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna
2018
	Lindsay Mendez	*Carousel*	Carrie Pipperidge
	Kerry Butler	Mean Girls	Mrs. Heron/Mrs. Norbury
	Lauren Molina	Desperate Measures	Bella Rose
	Ashley Park	Mean Girls	Gretchen Wieners
	Emily Skinner	Prince of Broadway	Performer
2019
	Amber Gray	*Hadestown*	Persephone
	Leslie Kritzer	Beetlejuice	Delia Schlimmer
	Bonnie Milligan	Head Over Heels	Pamela
	Sarah Stiles	Tootsie	Sandy Lester
	Ali Stroker	Oklahoma!	Ado Annie

2020s

Year	Actor	Work	Role
2020 (Hon.)	Eisa Davis	The Secret Life of Bees	June Boatwright
	Kathryn Gallagher	Jagged Little Pill	Bella Fox
	LaChanze	The Secret Life of Bees	August Boatwright
	Judy McLane	Romeo & Bernadette	Camille Penza
	Lauren Patten	Jagged Little Pill	Jo Taylor
	Saycon Sengbloh	The Secret Life of Bees	Rosaleen
2021	No award given due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2022
	Patti LuPone	*Company*	Joanne
	Shoshana Bean	Mr. Saturday Night	Susan Young
	Jenn Colella	Suffs	Carrie Chapman Catt
	Judy Kuhn	Assassins	Sara Jane Moore
	Bonnie Milligan	Kimberly Akimbo	Debra

Multiple wins

3 wins

Karen Ziemba

2 wins

Laura Benanti
Jane Krakowski

Multiple nominations

4 nominations

Laura Benanti

3 nominations

Karen Ziemba

2 nominations

Jan Maxwell
Patti LuPone
Rebecca Luker
Andrea Martin
Jane Krakowski
Mary Beth Peil
Kerry Butler
Carole Shelley
Mary Louise Wilson
Charlotte d'Amboise
Victoria Clark
Bonnie Milligan
Judy Kuhn
Jenn Colella

2014 Outer Critics Circle Awards2015 Outer Critics Circle Awards2016 Outer Critics Circle Awards2017 Outer Critics Circle Awards2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards2019 Outer Critics Circle Awards2020 Outer Critics Circle Awards2022 Outer Critics Circle Awards42nd Street (musical)9 to 5 (musical)A Chorus LineA Gentleman's Guide to Love and MurderA Little Night MusicAdding Machine (musical)Ali StrokerAmber GrayAmerican Psycho (musical)Amy WarrenAnastasia (musical)Andrea BurnsAndrea MartinAngela ChristianAngela LansburyAnika LarsenAnnaleigh AshfordAnything GoesAshley Park (actress)Assassins (musical)Audra McDonaldAyesha DharkerBeautiful (musical)Beetlejuice (musical)Beth LeavelBeverley BassBilly Elliot (musical)Blair BrownBlanche BarrowBombay DreamsBonnie & Clyde (musical)Bonnie MilliganBroadway theatreBullets Over Broadway (musical)Cabaret (musical)Cady HuffmanCarole ShelleyCarolee CarmelloCaroline O'Connor (actress)Carousel (musical)Carrie Chapman CattCharlotte d'AmboiseChicago (musical)Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (musical)CinderellaCinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein musical)Come From AwayCompany (musical)Contact (musical)COVID-19 pandemicCry-Baby (musical)Curtains (musical)Cynthia WeilDa'Vine Joy RandolphDanielle BrooksDeath Takes a Holiday (musical)Deborah YatesDebra MonkDesperate Measures (musical)Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical)Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a MusicalEisa DavisElisabeth Withers-MendesElizabeth ParkinsonEmily Skinner (actress, born 1970)FalsettosFastradaFiddler on the RoofFinian's RainbowFolliesFosse (musical)Fun Home (musical)Ghost (musical)Gigi (musical)Gretchen WienersGrey Gardens (musical)Gypsy (musical)Gypsy Rose LeeHadestownHairspray (musical)Hands on a Hardbody (musical)Harriet Sansom HarrisHaydn GwynneHead Over Heels (musical)Heidi BlickenstaffHeléne YorkeHello, Dolly! (musical)Into the WoodsIsabel KeatingJagged Little Pill (musical)Jan MaxwellJane KrakowskiJayne HoudyshellJenn ColellaJoanna GleasonJudy GarlandJudy KayeJudy KuhnKaren OlivoKaren ZiembaKate BaldwinKate LeveringKathleen FreemanKathryn GallagherKatie FinneranKeala SettleKelli O'HaraKerry ButlerKimberly Akimbo (musical)Kinky Boots (musical)Kristin ChenowethLaChanzeLaura BenantiLaura OsnesLauren MolinaLauren PattenLazarus (musical)Legally Blonde (musical)Leslie KritzerLillias WhiteLindsay MendezLisa O'HareLucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a MusicalMadame MorribleMarcia LewisMarin MazzieMarla MindelleMartha PlimptonMary Beth PeilMary Louise WilsonMary Poppins (musical)Mary Stuart MastersonMary TestaMean Girls (musical)Megan FairchildMegan LawrenceMemphis (musical)Michele PawkMr. Saturday Night (musical)Musical playNever Gonna DanceNew York CityNice Work If You Can Get It (musical)Nikki M. JamesNine (musical)Off-BroadwayOklahoma!On the Town (musical)On the Twentieth CenturyOn Your Feet!OrfehOuter Critics CircleOuter Critics Circle AwardOuter Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway PlayOuter Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway PlayPal Joey (musical)Patti LuPonePersephonePippin (musical)Prince of BroadwayPromises, Promises (musical)Ragtime (musical)Randy GraffRebecca LukerRuthie Ann MilesSally BrownSara Jane MooreSara RamirezSarah StilesSarah Uriarte BerrySaycon SengblohShe Loves MeSherie Rene ScottShoshana BeanSister Act (musical)Something Rotten!Sophia Anne CarusoSpamalotSpencer KaydenSteel Pier (musical)Stephanie J. BlockSuffsSydney LucasTerri WhiteThe Addams Family (musical)The Book of Mormon (musical)The Boy from OzThe Civil War (musical)The Color Purple (musical)The Dead (musical)The Drowsy ChaperoneThe Full Monty (musical)The King and IThe Lady of the LakeThe Life (musical)The Light in the Piazza (musical)The Lion King (musical)The Little Mermaid (musical)The Music ManThe Pajama GameThe Producers (musical)The Secret Life of Bees (musical)The Sound of MusicThoroughly Modern Millie (musical)Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a MusicalTootsie (musical)Tsidii Le LokaUrinetownUrsula (The Little Mermaid)Victoria ClarkWest Side StoryWicked (musical)Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (musical)You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Backlinks (34)

2008 Outer Critics Circle Awards2009 Outer Critics Circle Awards2010 Outer Critics Circle Awards2011 Outer Critics Circle Awards2012 Outer Critics Circle Awards2013 Outer Critics Circle Awards2014 Outer Critics Circle Awards2015 Outer Critics Circle Awards2016 Outer Critics Circle Awards2017 Outer Critics Circle Awards2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards2019 Outer Critics Circle Awards2020 Outer Critics Circle Awards2022 Outer Critic Circle Awards2022 Outer Critics Circle AwardsBonnie MilliganDesperate Measures (musical)FalsettosFun Home (musical)Head over Heels (musical)Jane KrakowskiKelli O'HaraKimberly Akimbo (musical)Lazarus (musical)Leslie KritzerMarla MindelleMary Beth PeilMichele PawkMr. Saturday Night (musical)OrfehOuter Critics Circle AwardsRagtime (musical)Sister Act (musical)Steel Pier (musical)

External links (58)

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Subject Facts

QID: Q136360753

Label: Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Description: American theatre award for Broadway actors

Wikidata Archive Data

Wikidata type ID: Q618779

Captured: August 8, 2026 4:26 PM

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Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Awards winners

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple wins

Multiple nominations

See also

Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Awards winners

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple wins

Multiple nominations

See also

See Also

Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award

Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Male Dancer in an Off-Broadway Show

Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Show

Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Female Dancer in an Off-Broadway Show

Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show