Isa Briones (Just in Time, The Pitt) and Sepideh Moafi (New Born, The Pitt) will host the live announcement of the 2026 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations, on Tuesday, April 21. The nominations announcement event will be held at 10:00AM ET at the Museum of Broadway, and will be livestreamed on BroadwayWorld.
Nominees, past winners, and members will be celebrated at a cocktail reception on Monday, April 27 at West Bank Cafe. Winners of the 2026 Outer Critics Circle Awards will be announced on Monday, May 11, 2026, followed by an awards ceremony held on Thursday, May 21, 2026 at the MMAC Theater.
Founded during the 1949-50 Broadway season by respected theater journalist John Gassner, The Outer Critics Circle is an esteemed association with members affiliated with more than ninety newspapers, magazines, broadcast stations, and online news organizations, in America and abroad. Led by its current President David Gordon, the OCC Board of Directors also includes Vice President Richard Ridge, Recording Secretary Joseph Cervelli, Corresponding Secretary Patrick Hoffman, Treasurer David Roberts, Cynthia Allen, Harry Haun (1940-2026), Dan Rubins, Janice Simpson and Doug Strassler. Simon Saltzman is President Emeritus & Board Member (Non-nominating) and Stanley L. Cohen serves as Financial Consultant & Board Member (Non-nominating).
BIOGRAPHIES
Isa Briones currently stars as ‘Dr. Trinity Santos’ on the award-winning series “The Pitt” on HBO Max, for which she and the cast recently won The Actor Award (formerly known as the SAG Award) for “Ensemble in a Drama Series.” She is also playing Connie Francis in Just in Time, which excitingly marks her return to Broadway since her debut as ‘Eurydice’ in Hadestown in 2024. Her additional TV and stage credits include the Disney+ series “Goosebumps,” the Paramount+ series “Star Trek: Picard,” FX’s “American Crime Story: Versace,” the First National Touring Company of Hamilton, Musical Theatre West’s production of Grease, and East West Players’ Next to Normal, for which she won an L.A. Ovation Award.
Sepideh Moafi is a critically acclaimed actor whose work spans television, film, and on stage. Currently, Moafi can be seen starring in the second season of the Emmy Award-winning HBO Max drama “The Pitt” opposite Noah Wyle. She will also star in the 2026 Off-Broadway production of New Born, a trio of monologues written by Ella Hickson and directed by Ian Rickson, from May 8th to June 8th opposite Marianna Gailus and Hugh Jackman. Prior to this, she starred in the Apple TV+ limited series “Black Bird” and in FX/Hulu’s “Class of ’09.” She is also widely known for her fan-favorite role as Gigi in Showtime’s “The L Word: Generation Q.” Moafi’s television work includes “The Deuce” (HBO), “Falling Water” (USA), “Notorious” (ABC), “Black Box” (ABC) and the animated series “Scavengers Reign” (HBO Max), among others. On the film side, she stars in I’ll Be Right There and the Sundance Film Festival favorite The Killing of Two Lovers (Neon). A versatile performer, Moafi has sung in original Off-Broadway musicals, plays, and operas at renowned venues around the world, including Lincoln Center Theater, David Geffen Hall with the New York Philharmonic, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, and The John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and an M.F. A. in Acting from the University of California, Irvine. Moafi is also a proud ambassador for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), advocating for displaced people and communities in crisis around the world.
