New York Drama Critics Circle
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jones, Kenneth
Passing Strange and August: Osage County Win 2007–08 NY Drama Critics Circle Award"
playbill.com, May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
Hetrick, Adam
"NY Drama Critics' Circle Awards Matilda and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike With Top Honors"
playbill.com, May 3, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
The organization was founded in 1935 at the
Algonquin Hotel The Algonquin Hotel is a hotel at 59 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 181-room hotel, opened in 1902, was designed by architect Goldwin Starrett for the Puritan Realty Company. The hotel has hosted numer ...
by a group that included
Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...
,
Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and ...
, and
Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at '' The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thr ...
. Adam Feldman of '' Time Out New York'' has been President of the organization since 2005; Joe Dziemianowicz is currently Vice President, and Zachary Stewart of TheaterMania serves as Treasurer.


Member affiliations

*''
amNewYork ''AM New York Metro'' is a free daily newspaper that is published in New York City by Schneps Media. According to the company, the average Friday circulation in September 2013 was 335,900. When launched on October 10, 2003, ''AM New York'' was the ...
'' *''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' *''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' *''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
'' *''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' *''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' *''
The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...
'' *TheaterMania *'' Time Out New York'' *'' The Undefeated'' *''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' *''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''


''The New York Times'' membership history

Although Brooks Atkinson of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' was the first President of the NYDCC, ''Times'' critics are no longer permitted to be members of the group. In 1989, the newspaper's executive editor decreed that their critics could no longer participate in any awards voting. ''Times'' critics remained in the organization as non-voting members until 1997, when the newspaper reversed its policy and allowed its critics to resume voting for the awards. However, in 2003, the newspaper adopted a revised ethics policy that forbade its journalists from membership in an awards-voting body, and its critics withdrew from the NYDCC. , the ''Times''s policy against membership remains in effect.


New York Drama Critics' Circle Award

The New York Drama Critics' Circle meets twice a year. At the end of each theater season, it votes on the annual New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards, the second oldest theater award in the United States (after the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
). The main award is for Best Play. If the winner of that award is American, the Circle then votes on whether to give an award for Best Foreign Play as well; if the Best Play winner is of foreign origin, the Circle may give out an award for Best American Play. The awards are later presented in a small ceremony. Since 1945, the Circle has also given out awards for Best Musical. Special Citations may also be awarded for actors, companies or work of special merit. The award for Best Play includes a cash prize of $2,500, and a cash award of $1,000 is given to the playwright who receives the award for Best American or Foreign Play.


Theatre awards and citation winners


Best Play

*1936: '' Winterset'' –
Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...
*1937: '' High Tor'' –
Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...
*1938: ''
Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...
'' –
John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
*1940: ''
The Time of Your Life ''The Time of Your Life'' is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened on Broadway in 1939. Ch ...
'' –
William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''T ...
*1941: '' Watch on the Rhine'' –
Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted aft ...
*1943: '' The Patriots'' –
Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...
*1945: ''
The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...
'' –
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
*1947: ''
All My Sons ''All My Sons'' is a three-act Play (theatre), play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and r ...
'' –
Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
*1948: ''
A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of per ...
'' –
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
*1949: ''
Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage ...
'' –
Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
*1950: ''
The Member of the Wedding ''The Member of the Wedding'' is a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers. It took McCullers five years to complete, although she interrupted the work for a few months to write the novella '' The Ballad of the Sad Café''.McDowell, Marga ...
'' –
Carson McCullers Carson McCullers (February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits ...
*1951: ''
Darkness at Noon ''Darkness at Noon'' (german: link=no, Sonnenfinsternis) is a novel by Hungarian-born novelist Arthur Koestler, first published in 1940. His best known work, it is the tale of Rubashov, an Old Bolshevik who is arrested, imprisoned, and tried ...
'' –
Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...
*1952: ''
I Am a Camera ''I Am a Camera'' is a 1951 Broadway play by John Van Druten adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1939 novel '' Goodbye to Berlin'', which is part of ''The Berlin Stories''. The title is a quotation taken from the novel's first page: "I am a ca ...
'' –
John Van Druten John William Van Druten (1 June 190119 December 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observation ...
*1953: ''
Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...
'' –
William Inge William Motter Inge (; May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973) was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broad ...
*1954: '' The Teahouse of the August Moon'' – John Patrick *1955: ''
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...
'' –
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
*1956: ''
The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...
'' –
Frances Goodrich Frances Goodrich (December 21, 1890 – January 29, 1984) was an American actress, dramatist, and screenwriter, best known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her h ...
and
Albert Hackett Albert Maurice Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American actor, dramatist and screenwriter most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich. Early years Hackett was born in New York City, the s ...
*1957: '' Long Day's Journey into Night'' –
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earli ...
*1958: ''
Look Homeward, Angel ''Look Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life'' is a 1929 novel by Thomas Wolfe. It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American coming-of-age story. The character of Eugene Gant is generally believed to be ...
'' – Ketti Frings *1959: ''
A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...
'' –
Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin in the Sun'', highli ...
*1960: '' Toys in the Attic'' –
Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted aft ...
*1961: '' All the Way Home'' –
Tad Mosel Tad Mosel (May 1, 1922 – August 24, 2008) was an American playwright and one of the leading dramatists of hour-long teleplay genre for live television during the 1950s. He received the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' All the Way H ...
*1962: ''
The Night of the Iguana ''The Night of the Iguana'' is a stage play written by American author Tennessee Williams. It is based on his 1948 short story. In 1959, Williams staged it as a one-act play, and over the next two years he developed it into a full-length play, p ...
'' –
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
*1963: ''
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...
'' –
Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as '' The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (196 ...
*1964: ''
Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (gi ...
'' –
John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter and actor, known for his prose that criticized established social and political norms. The success of his 1956 play '' Look Back in Anger'' tr ...
*1965: ''
The Subject Was Roses ''The Subject Was Roses'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1964 play written by Frank D. Gilroy, who also adapted the work in 1968 for a film with the same title. Background The play premiered on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on May 25, 1964, s ...
'' –
Frank D. Gilroy Frank Daniel Gilroy (October 13, 1925 – September 12, 2015) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film producer and director. He received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''The Subject Was Rose ...
*1966: ''
Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (german: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgrupp ...
'' by
Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and ''The Investigation'' and hi ...
*1967: ''
The Homecoming ''The Homecoming'' is a two-act play written in 1964 by Harold Pinter and first published in 1965. Its premières in London (1965) and New York (1967) were both directed by Sir Peter Hall. The original Broadway production won the 1967 Tony A ...
'' –
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...
*1968: ''
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Ham ...
'' –
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...
*1969: ''
The Great White Hope ''The Great White Hope'' is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre in October 1 ...
'' –
Howard Sackler Howard Oliver Sackler (December 19, 1929 – October 12, 1982) was an American screenwriter and playwright who is best known for writing ''The Great White Hope'' (play: 1967; film: 1970). ''The Great White Hope'' enjoyed both a successful run on ...
*1970: ''
Borstal Boy ''Borstal Boy'' is a 1958 autobiographical book by Brendan Behan. The story depicts a young, fervently idealistic Behan, who loses his naïveté over the three years of his sentence to a juvenile borstal, softening his radical Irish republican ...
'' – Frank McMahon *1971: ''
Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...
'' –
David Storey David Malcolm Storey (13 July 1933 – 27 March 2017) was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a professional rugby league player. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for his novel ''Saville''. He also won the MacMillan ...
*1972: ''
That Championship Season ''That Championship Season'' is a 1972 play by Jason Miller. It was the recipient of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. Plot synopsis The setting is 1972 at the Coach's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. O ...
'' – Jason Miller *1973: ''
The Changing Room ''The Changing Room'' is a 1971 play by David Storey, set in a men's changing room before, during and after a rugby league football game. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre on 9 November 1971, directed by Lindsay Anderson. The 1973 Broadway ...
'' –
David Storey David Malcolm Storey (13 July 1933 – 27 March 2017) was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a professional rugby league player. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for his novel ''Saville''. He also won the MacMillan ...
*1974: '' The Contractors'' –
David Storey David Malcolm Storey (13 July 1933 – 27 March 2017) was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a professional rugby league player. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for his novel ''Saville''. He also won the MacMillan ...
*1975: '' Equus'' –
Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...
*1976: ''
Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. The play centres on the figure of Henry Carr, an elderly man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he was writing '' Ulysses'' ...
'' –
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...
*1977: ''
Otherwise Engaged ''Otherwise Engaged'' is a bleakly comic play by English playwright Simon Gray. The play previewed at the Oxford Playhouse and the Richmond Theatre, and then opened at the Queen's Theatre in London on 10 July 1975, with Alan Bates as the sta ...
'' –
Simon Gray Simon James Holliday Gray (21 October 1936 – 7 August 2008) was an English playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years. While teaching at Q ...
*1978: '' Da'' –
Hugh Leonard Hugh Leonard (9 November 1926 – 12 February 2009) was an Irish dramatist, television writer, and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote nearly 30 full-length plays, 10 one-act plays, three volumes of essay, two autobiograph ...
*1979: ''
The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then we ...
'' –
Bernard Pomerance Bernard Pomerance (September 23, 1940 – August 26, 2017) was an American playwright and poet whose best known work is the play '' The Elephant Man''. Biography Pomerance was born in Brooklyn, New York City in 1940. He studied at the Univers ...
*1980: ''
Talley's Folly ''Talley's Folly'' is a 1980 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson. The play is the second in ''The Talley Trilogy'', between his plays '' Talley & Son'' and ''Fifth of July''. Set in an boathouse near rural Lebanon, Missouri in 1944, it i ...
'' –
Lanford Wilson Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937March 24, 2011) was an American playwright. His work, as described by ''The New York Times'', was "earthy, realist, greatly admired ndwidely performed." Fox, Margalit"Lanford Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright ...
*1981: ''
A Lesson from Aloes ''A Lesson from Aloes'' is a 1978 play by South African playwright Athol Fugard. Reception In 1994, Alvin Klein of ''The New York Times'' described ''A Lesson from Aloes'' as one of Fugard's major works. In 2009, Don Aucoin of ''The Boston Gl ...
'' – Athol Fugard *1982: ''
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play) ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' is an 8½ hour-long adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1839 novel, performed in two parts. Part 1 was 4 hours in length with one interval of 15 minutes. Part 2 was 4½ hours in length with two inter ...
'' – David Edgar *1983: ''
Brighton Beach Memoirs ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the first chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy. It precedes ''Biloxi Blues'' and ''Broadway Bound''. Productions ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' had a pre-Broadway e ...
'' –
Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...
*1984: ''
The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...
'' –
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...
*1985: ''
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson, and the only one not set in Pittsburgh – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. The play is set in a recording stu ...
'' –
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
*1986: ''
A Lie of the Mind ''A Lie of the Mind'' is a play written by Sam Shepard, first staged at the off-Broadway Promenade Theater on 5 December 1985. The play was directed by Shepard himself with stars Harvey Keitel as Jake, Amanda Plummer as Beth, Aidan Quinn as Franki ...
'' –
Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...
*1987: ''
Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...
'' –
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
*1988: ''
Joe Turner's Come and Gone ''Joe Turner's Come and Gone'' is a play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the second installment of his decade-by-decade chronicle of the African-American experience, ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. The play was first staged 1984 at the Eu ...
'' –
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
*1989: ''
The Heidi Chronicles ''The Heidi Chronicles'' is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Production history A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, starr ...
'' –
Wendy Wasserstein Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 ...
*1990: ''
The Piano Lesson ''The Piano Lesson'' is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the fourth play in Wilson's ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir nga se ...
'' –
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
*1991: ''
Six Degrees of Separation Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. It is also k ...
'' –
John Guare John Guare ( ;; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of '' The House of Blue Leaves'' and '' Six Degrees of Separation''. Early life He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckman ...
*1992: ''
Dancing at Lughnasa ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in County Donegal in Ulster in the north of Ireland in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Eva ...
'' –
Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...
*1993: '' Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' –
Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...
*1994: ''
Three Tall Women ''Three Tall Women'' is a two-act play by Edward Albee, written in 1990, which won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Albee's third Pulitzer. Characters * A: A is a 92-year-old woman. She is thin, autocratic, proud, and wealthy, with "encroachi ...
'' –
Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as '' The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (196 ...
*1995: '' Arcadia'' –
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...
*1996: ''
Seven Guitars ''Seven Guitars'' is a 1995 play by American playwright August Wilson. It focuses on seven African-American characters in the year 1948. The play begins and ends after the funeral of one of the main characters, showing events leading to the funer ...
'' –
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
*1997: ''
How I Learned to Drive ''How I Learned to Drive'' is a play written by American playwright Paula Vogel. The play premiered on March 16, 1997, Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. Vogel received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work. It was written and develo ...
'' –
Paula Vogel Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright who received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''How I Learned to Drive.'' A longtime teacher, Vogel spent the bulk of her academic career – from 1984 to 2008 – at Bro ...
*1998: ''
Art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
'' –
Yasmina Reza Yasmina Reza (born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. The 2011 blac ...
*1999: '' Wit'' –
Margaret Edson Margaret "Maggie" Edson (born July 4, 1961) is an American playwright. She is a recipient of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''Wit''. She has been a public school teacher since 1992. Background and education Edson was born in Was ...
*2000: '' Jitney'' –
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
*2001: '' The Invention of Love'' –
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...
*2002: ''
The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' is a full-length play written in 2000 by Edward Albee which opened on Broadway in 2002. It won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and was a finalist for the 2003 ...
'' –
Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as '' The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (196 ...
*2003: '' Take Me Out'' –
Richard Greenberg Richard Greenberg (born February 22, 1958) is an American playwright and television writer known for his subversively humorous depictions of middle-class American life. He has had more than 25 plays premiere on and Off-Broadway in New York City ...
*2004: ''
Intimate Apparel Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...
'' – Lynn Nottage *2005: ''
Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty ...
'' –
John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer P ...
*2006: ''
The History Boys ''The History Boys'' is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where 185 performances were staged be ...
'' –
Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...
*2007: ''
The Coast of Utopia ''The Coast of Utopia'' is a 2002 trilogy of plays: ''Voyage'', ''Shipwreck'', and ''Salvage'', written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866. It was the recipient of the 2007 Ton ...
'' –
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...
*2008: '' August: Osage County'' –
Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received ...
*2009: ''
Ruined Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
'' – Lynn Nottage *2010: ''
The Orphans' Home Cycle ''The Orphans' Home Cycle'' is a 3-play drama written by Horton Foote. Each of the three plays in the trilogy comprises three one-act plays. They are ''The Story of a Childhood'' (Part 1), ''The Story of a Marriage'' (Part 2), and ''The Story of a ...
'' –
Horton Foote Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...
*2011: '' Good People'' –
David Lindsay-Abaire David Lindsay-Abaire ( Abaire; born November 14, 1969) is an American playwright, lyricist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play '' Rabbit Hole'', which also earned several Tony Award nominations. Early ...
*2012: ''
Sons of the Prophet ''Sons of the Prophet'' is a play by Stephen Karam. It is a comedy-drama about a Lebanese-American family and was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Productions ''Sons of the Prophet'' premiered in a production by Huntington The ...
'' – Stephen KaramJones, Kenneth
"Andrew Garfield, John Guare, Lin-Manuel Miranda Present NY Drama Critics' Circle Awards May 14"
playbill.com, May 14, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
*2013: ''
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike ''Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike'' is a comedy play written by Christopher Durang. The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, ...
'' –
Christopher Durang Christopher Ferdinand Durang (born January 2, 1949) is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s. ...
*2014: '' The Night Alive'' –
Conor McPherson Conor McPherson (born 6 August 1971) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded a doctorate of Literature, Honoris Causa, in June 2013 by the Un ...
*2015: '' Between Riverside and Crazy'' –
Stephen Adly Guirgis Stephen Adly Guirgis is a Pulitzer Prize Winning American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He is a member and a former co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company.Blake, Leslie (Hoban)"Comin' Uptown" ''Theater ...
*2016: '' The Humans'' – Stephen Karam *2017: ''
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
'' – J.T. Rogers *2018: ''Mary Jane'' –
Amy Herzog Amy Herzog is an American playwright. Her play ''4000 Miles'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2011, was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her play ''Mary Jane'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2017, won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Aw ...
*2019: '' The Ferryman'' –
Jez Butterworth Jeremy "Jez" Butterworth (born March 1969) is an English playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has written screenplays in collaboration with his brothers, John-Henry and Tom. Life and career In March 1969, Butterworth was born in Lo ...
*2020: '' Heroes of the Fourth Turning'' – Will Arbery *2021: ''A Case for the Existence of God'' – Samuel D. Hunter


Best Foreign Play

*1938: ''
Shadow and Substance ''Shadow and Substance ''is a four-act play written in 1937 by Paul Vincent Carroll. In 1938 it won the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for best foreign play. Description Set in Ireland, the play has a cast of six men and four women. Acc ...
'' – Paul Vincent Carroll *1939: '' The White Steed'' – Paul Vincent Carroll *1941: ''
The Corn Is Green ''The Corn Is Green'' is a 1938 semi-autobiographical play by Welsh dramatist and actor Emlyn Williams. The play premiered in London at the Duchess Theatre in September 1938; with Sybil Thorndike as Miss Moffat and Williams himself portraying Mo ...
'' – Emlyn Williams *1942: ''Blithe Spirit (play), Blithe Spirit'' – Noël Coward *1944: ''Jacobowsky and the Colonel (Jacobowsky und der Oberst)'' – Franz Werfel *1947: ''No Exit'' – Jean-Paul Sartre *1948: ''The Winslow Boy'' – Terence Rattigan *1949: ''The Madwoman of Chaillot'' – Jean Giraudoux *1950: ''The Cocktail Party'' – T. S. Eliot *1951: ''The Lady's Not for Burning'' – Christopher Fry *1952: ''Venus Observed'' – Christopher Fry *1953: ''The Love of Four Colonels'' – Peter Ustinov *1954: ''Ondine (play), Ondine'' – Jean Giraudoux *1955: ''Witness for the Prosecution (play), Witness for the Prosecution'' – Agatha Christie *1956: ''Tiger at the Gates'' – Jean Giraudoux and Christopher Fry *1957: ''The Waltz of the Toreadors'' – Jean Anouilh *1958: ''Look Back in Anger'' –
John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter and actor, known for his prose that criticized established social and political norms. The success of his 1956 play '' Look Back in Anger'' tr ...
*1959: ''The Visit (play), The Visit'' – Friedrich Dürrenmatt and Maurice Valency *1960: ''Five Finger Exercise'' –
Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...
*1961: ''A Taste of Honey'' – Shelagh Delaney *1962: ''A Man for All Seasons (play), A Man for All Seasons'' – Robert Bolt *1972: ''The Screens'' – Jean Genet *1980: ''Betrayal (play), Betrayal'' –
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...
*1983: ''Plenty (play), Plenty'' – David Hare (playwright), David Hare *1986: ''Benefactors (play), Benefactors'' – Michael Frayn *1987: ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Hampton play), Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' – Christopher Hampton *1988: ''The Road to Mecca (play), The Road to Mecca'' – Athol Fugard *1989: ''Aristocrats (play), Aristocrats'' –
Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...
*1990: ''Privates on Parade'' – Peter Nichols (playwright), Peter Nichols *1991: ''Our Country's Good'' – Timberlake Wertenbaker *1993: ''Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' – Frank McGuinness *1996: ''Molly Sweeney'' –
Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...
*1997: ''Skylight (play), Skylight'' – David Hare (playwright), David Hare *1999: ''Closer (play), Closer'' – Patrick Marber *2000: ''Copenhagen (play), Copenhagen'' – Michael Frayn *2003: ''Talking Heads (play), Talking Heads'' –
Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...
*2005: ''The Pillowman'' – Martin McDonagh *2009: ''Black Watch (play), Black Watch'' – Gregory Burke *2011: ''Jerusalem (play), Jerusalem'' – Jez Butterworth *2012: ''Tribes (play), Tribes'' – Nina Raine *2018: ''Hangmen (play), Hangmen'' – Martin McDonagh


Best American Play

*1970: ''The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds'' – Paul Zindel *1971: ''The House of Blue Leaves'' –
John Guare John Guare ( ;; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of '' The House of Blue Leaves'' and '' Six Degrees of Separation''. Early life He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckman ...
*1973: ''The Hot l Baltimore'' –
Lanford Wilson Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937March 24, 2011) was an American playwright. His work, as described by ''The New York Times'', was "earthy, realist, greatly admired ndwidely performed." Fox, Margalit"Lanford Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright ...
*1974: ''Short Eyes (play), Short Eyes'' – Miguel Piñero *1975: ''The Taking of Miss Janie'' – Ed Bullins *1976: ''Streamers (play), Streamers'' – David Rabe *1977: ''American Buffalo (play), American Buffalo'' – David Mamet *1981: ''Crimes of the Heart'' – Beth Henley *1982: ''A Soldier's Play'' – Charles Fuller *1984: ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' – David Mamet *1992: ''Two Trains Running'' –
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
*1995: ''Love! Valour! Compassion!'' – Terrence McNally *1998: ''Pride's Crossing'' – Tina Howe *2001: ''Proof (play), Proof'' – David Auburn *2007: ''Radio Golf'' –
August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
*2014: ''All the Way (play), All the Way'' – Robert Schenkkan *2019: ''What the Constitution Means to Me'' – Heidi Schreck


Best Musical

*1946: ''Carousel (musical), Carousel'' – Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II *1947: ''Brigadoon'' – Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner *1949: ''South Pacific (musical), South Pacific'' – Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joshua Logan *1950: ''The Consul'' – Gian Carlo Menotti *1951: ''Guys and Dolls'' – Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling, *1952: ''Pal Joey (musical), Pal Joey'' – Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and John O'Hara *1953: ''Wonderful Town'' – Joseph Fields, Jerome Chodorov, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Leonard Bernstein *1954: ''The Golden Apple (musical)'' – John La Touche (lyricist), John La Touche and Jerome Moross *1955: ''The Saint of Bleecker Street'' – Gian Carlo Menotti *1956: ''My Fair Lady'' – Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner *1957: ''The Most Happy Fella'' – Frank Loesser *1958: ''The Music Man'' – Meredith Willson *1959: ''La Plume de Ma Tante'' – Robert Dhéry, Ross Parker (songwriter), Ross Parker, Francis Blanche, and Gérard Calvi *1960: ''Fiorello!'' – Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, George Abbott and Jerome Weidman *1961: ''Carnival!'' – Michael Stewart (playwright), Michael Stewart and Bob Merrill *1962: ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' – Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert, and Frank Loesser *1964: ''Hello, Dolly! (musical), Hello, Dolly!'' – Michael Stewart (playwright), Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman *1965: ''Fiddler on the Roof'' – Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein *1966: ''Man of La Mancha'' – Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh, and Joe Darion *1967: ''Cabaret (musical), Cabaret'' – John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff *1968: ''Your Own Thing'' – Donald Driver, Hal Hester, and Danny Apolinar *1969: ''1776 (musical), 1776'' – Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone (writer), Peter Stone *1970: ''Company (musical), Company'' – Stephen Sondheim and George Furth *1971: ''Follies'' – Stephen Sondheim and William Goldman *1972: ''Two Gentlemen of Verona (musical), Two Gentlemen of Verona'' – Galt MacDermot,
John Guare John Guare ( ;; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of '' The House of Blue Leaves'' and '' Six Degrees of Separation''. Early life He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckman ...
and Mel Shapiro *1973: ''A Little Night Music'' – Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler *1974: ''Candide (operetta), Candide'' – Leonard Bernstein, Richard Wilbur, Hugh Wheeler and John La Touche (lyricist), John La Touche *1975: ''A Chorus Line'' – Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood Jr., James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante *1976: ''Pacific Overtures'' – Stephen Sondheim, John Weidman and Hugh Wheeler *1977: ''Annie (musical), Annie'' – Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan (writer), Thomas Meehan *1978: ''Ain't Misbehavin' (musical), Ain't Misbehavin''' – Fats Waller and Richard Maltby Jr. *1979: ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (musical), Sweeney Todd'' – Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler *1980: ''Evita (musical), Evita'' – Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice *1983: ''Little Shop of Horrors (musical), Little Shop of Horrors'' – Alan Menken and Howard Ashman *1984: ''Sunday in the Park with George'' – Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine *1987: ''Les Misérables (musical), Les Misérables'' – Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer *1988: ''Into the Woods'' – Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine *1990: ''City of Angels (musical), City of Angels'' – Larry Gelbart, Cy Coleman, and David Zippel *1991: ''The Will Rogers Follies'' – Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Peter Stone (writer), Peter Stone *1993: ''Kiss of the Spider Woman (musical), Kiss of the Spider Woman'' – John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Terrence McNally *1996: ''Rent (musical), Rent'' – Jonathan Larson *1997: ''Violet (musical), Violet'' – Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley *1998: ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' – Elton John, Tim Rice, Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi *1999: ''Parade (musical), Parade'' – Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry *2000: ''James Joyce's The Dead'' – Shaun Davey and Richard Nelson (playwright), Richard Nelson *2001: ''The Producers (musical), The Producers'' – Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan (writer), Thomas Meehan *2003: ''Hairspray (musical), Hairspray'' – Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Thomas Meehan (writer), Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell *2006: ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' – Bob Martin (comedian), Bob Martin, Don McKellar, Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison *2007: ''Spring Awakening (musical), Spring Awakening'' – Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater *2008: ''Passing Strange (musical), Passing Strange'' – Stew (musician), Stew and Heidi Rodewald *2009: ''Billy Elliot the Musical'' – Elton John and Lee Hall (playwright), Lee Hall *2010: No awardGans,Andrew
"New York Drama Critics' Circle Names 'Orphans' Home Cycle' Best Play"
playbill.com, April 30, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
*2011: ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' – Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez *2012: ''Once (musical), Once'' – Enda Walsh, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová *2013: ''Matilda the Musical'' – Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly *2014: ''Fun Home (musical), Fun Home'' – Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron *2015: ''Hamilton (musical), Hamilton'' – Lin-Manuel Miranda *2016: ''Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed'' – George C. Wolfe, Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle *2017: ''The Band's Visit (musical), The Band's Visit'' – Itamar Moses and David Yazbek *2018: No awardFeldman, Adam
"No award this year for Best Musical"
twitter.com, May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
*2019: ''Tootsie (musical), Tootsie'' – David Yazbek and Robert Horn (writer), Robert Horn *2020: ''A Strange Loop'' – Michael R. Jackson *2021: ''Kimberly Akimbo (musical), Kimberly Akimbo'' –
David Lindsay-Abaire David Lindsay-Abaire ( Abaire; born November 14, 1969) is an American playwright, lyricist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play '' Rabbit Hole'', which also earned several Tony Award nominations. Early ...
and Jeanine Tesori


Special awards and citations

*1952: ''Don Juan in Hell'' – George Bernard Shaw *1963: ''Beyond the Fringe'' –
Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...
, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore *1964: ''The Trojan Women'' – Euripides *1966: ''Mark Twain Tonight'' – Hal Holbrook *1971: ''Sticks and Bones'' by David Rabe and ''Old Times'' by Harold Pinter *1980: Peter Brook's Le Centre International de Créations Théâtricales at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, La Mama *1981: Lena Horne for ''Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music'' and New York Shakespeare Festival's ''The Pirates of Penzance'' *1983: Young Playwrights Festival *1984: Samuel Beckett for the body of his work *1986: ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'' – Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner *1989: ''Largely New York'' – Bill Irwin *1992: Eileen Atkins – ''A Room of One's Own'' *1994: Anna Deavere Smith – ''Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992'' *1994: Signature Theatre Company (New York City), Signature Theatre Company's
Horton Foote Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...
season *1997: ''Chicago (musical), Chicago'' revival — Encores! *1998: ''Cabaret (musical), Cabaret'' – Roundabout Theatre Company *1999: David Hare (playwright), David Hare *2002: Elaine Stritch – ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' *2004: Barbara Cook *2006: John Doyle (director), John Doyle, Sarah Travis – ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sweeney Todd'' and Christine Ebersole – ''Grey Gardens (musical), Grey Gardens'' *2007: ''Journey's End'' – Broadway revival *2009: Angela Lansbury; Matthew Warchus and the cast of ''The Norman Conquests''; Gerard Alessandrini for ''Forbidden Broadway'' *2010: Lincoln Center Festival; Viola Davis; Annie Baker *2011: ''The Normal Heart''; Mark Rylance for ''La Bête'' and ''Jerusalem''; and the direction, design and puppetry of ''War Horse (play), War Horse'' *2012: Signature Theatre Company (New York City), Signature Theatre Company; Mike Nichols *2013: Soho Repertory Theatre, Soho Rep; New York City Center's Encores!; John Lee Beatty *2014: The Shakespeare's Globe productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Richard III (play), Richard III''; Richard Nelson (playwright), Richard Nelson and the company of the Apple Family Plays *2015: Ars Nova (theater), Ars Nova and Bob Crowley *2016: Oskar Eustis; Lois Smith; Ivo van Hove and Jan Versweyveld *2017: Taylor Mac for ''A 24-Decade History of Popular Music'', Ruben Santiago-Hudson and the cast of ''Jitney'', and
Paula Vogel Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright who received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''How I Learned to Drive.'' A longtime teacher, Vogel spent the bulk of her academic career – from 1984 to 2008 – at Bro ...
for career achievement as a playwright and mentor *2018: Park Avenue Armory for adventurous theatrical programming; Transport Group; the staging, design and illusions of ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' *2019: Irish Repertory Theatre; Page 73; Folksbiene, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's revival of ''Fidler Afn Dakh, Fiddler on the Roof (Fidler Afn Dakh)'' *2020: David Byrne and the Broadway production of ''American Utopia''; Deirdre O'Connell (actress), Deirdre O'Connell; the New York theater community for perseverance in the face of loss during the COVID-19 pandemic *2021: Actor Austin Pendleton for lifetime achievement; playwright Sanaz Toossi


Runners-up


See also

*Tony Awards *Drama Desk Awards *Obie Awards *Laurence Olivier Awards *Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards


References


Past Awards, New York Drama Critics' Circle


Notes

* * * *


External links


New York Drama Critics' Circle official site
{{Authority control American theater awards New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winners, Awards established in 1935 1935 establishments in New York City