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 by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley. Adam Feldman of Time Out New York has been President of the organization since 2005; Zachary Stewart of TheaterMania is currently Vice President and Treasurer."Current Membership" dramacritics.org. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
Member affiliations
amNewYork The Daily Beast Deadline Hollywood The Hollywood Reporter
Lighting & Sound America New York New York Daily News New York Post
New York Observer The New Yorker New York Sun TheaterMania
Time Out New York Variety Wall Street Journal TheWrap
The New York Times membership history Although Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times 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 Timess policy against membership remains in effect.
New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards 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 playwriting award in the United States (after the Pulitzer Prize). The main award is for Best Play. Since 1945, the Circle has also given out awards for Best Musical; in 2025, it introduced new awards for Best Individual Performance and Best Ensemble Performance. 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.Gans, Andrew. " 'Good People', 'Book of Mormon', 'Jerusalem' Named Winners of New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards" playbill.com, May 9, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2018. The awards are presented in a private ceremony.
The New York Drama Critics' Circle Award was conceived as an alternative to the Pulitzer Prize, and was initially limited to works by American playwrights. In 1938, the Circle began awarding a second prize, Best Foreign Play, to works of foreign origin. In the 1962–63 season, the Circle changed its rules so that the top winner, Best Play, could be of either American or foreign original, with the option for a secondary play award: If the winner of Best Play was of American origin, the Circle considered giving an award for Best Foreign Play as well; if the Best Play winner was of foreign origin, the Circle considered giving an award for Best American Play. No such secondary awards were given until 1970, after which they became more common. They were formally discontinued in 2025.
Theater awards and citation winners
Best Play A missing year in any section below indicates that the award was not given that year.
1936: Winterset – Maxwell Anderson 1937: High Tor – Maxwell Anderson 1938: Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 1940: The Time of Your Life – William Saroyan 1941: Watch on the Rhine – Lillian Hellman 1943: The Patriots – Sidney Kingsley 1945: The Glass Menagerie – Tennessee Williams 1947: All My Sons – Arthur Miller 1948: A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams 1949: Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller 1950: The Member of the Wedding – Carson McCullers 1951: Darkness at Noon – Sidney Kingsley 1952: I Am a Camera – John Van Druten 1953: Picnic – William Inge 1954: The Teahouse of the August Moon – John Patrick 1955: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – Tennessee Williams 1956: The Diary of Anne Frank – Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett 1957: Long Day's Journey into Night – Eugene O'Neill 1958: Look Homeward, Angel – Ketti Frings 1959: A Raisin in the Sun – Lorraine Hansberry 1960: Toys in the Attic – Lillian Hellman 1961: All the Way Home – Tad Mosel 1962: The Night of the Iguana – Tennessee Williams 1963: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Edward Albee 1964: Luther – John Osborne 1965: The Subject Was Roses – Frank D. Gilroy 1966: Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss 1967: The Homecoming – Harold Pinter 1968: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – Tom Stoppard 1969: The Great White Hope – Howard Sackler 1970: Borstal Boy – Frank McMahon 1971: Home – David Storey 1972: That Championship Season – Jason Miller 1973: The Changing Room – David Storey 1974: The Contractors – David Storey 1975: Equus – Peter Shaffer 1976: Travesties – Tom Stoppard 1977: Otherwise Engaged – Simon Gray 1978: Da – Hugh Leonard 1979: The Elephant Man – Bernard Pomerance 1980: Talley's Folly – Lanford Wilson 1981: A Lesson from Aloes – Athol Fugard 1982: The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play) – David Edgar
1983: Brighton Beach Memoirs – Neil Simon 1984: The Real Thing – Tom Stoppard 1985: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom – August Wilson 1986: A Lie of the Mind – Sam Shepard 1987: Fences – August Wilson 1988: Joe Turner's Come and Gone – August Wilson 1989: The Heidi Chronicles – Wendy Wasserstein 1990: The Piano Lesson – August Wilson 1991: Six Degrees of Separation – John Guare 1992: Dancing at Lughnasa – Brian Friel 1993: Angels in America: Millennium Approaches – Tony Kushner 1994: Three Tall Women – Edward Albee 1995: Arcadia – Tom Stoppard 1996: Seven Guitars – August Wilson 1997: How I Learned to Drive – Paula Vogel 1998: Art – Yasmina Reza 1999: Wit – Margaret Edson 2000: Jitney – August Wilson 2001: The Invention of Love – Tom Stoppard 2002: The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? – Edward Albee 2003: Take Me Out – Richard Greenberg 2004: Intimate Apparel – Lynn Nottage 2005: Doubt – John Patrick Shanley 2006: The History Boys – Alan Bennett 2007: The Coast of Utopia – Tom Stoppard 2008: August: Osage County – Tracy Letts 2009: Ruined – Lynn Nottage 2010: The Orphans' Home Cycle – Horton FooteGans, Andrew. "New York Drama Critics' Circle Names 'Orphans' Home Cycle' Best Play" playbill.com, April 30, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2018. 2011: Good People – David Lindsay-Abaire 2012: Sons of the Prophet – 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 – Christopher Durang 2014: The Night Alive – Conor McPherson 2015: Between Riverside and Crazy – Stephen Adly Guirgis 2016: The Humans – Stephen Karam 2017: Oslo – J.T. Rogers 2018: Mary Jane – Amy Herzog 2019: The Ferryman – Jez Butterworth 2020: Heroes of the Fourth Turning – Will Arbery 2022: A Case for the Existence of God – Samuel D. Hunter 2023: Downstate – Bruce Norris 2024: Stereophonic – David Adjmi 2025: Purpose – Branden Jacobs-Jenkins 2026: Little Bear Ridge Road – Samuel D. Hunter
Best Musical
1946: Carousel – Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II 1947: Brigadoon – Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner 1949: 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 – 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 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, Francis Blanche, and Gérard Calvi 1960: Fiorello! – Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, George Abbott and Jerome Weidman 1961: Carnival! – Michael Stewart and Bob Merrill 1962: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert, and Frank Loesser 1964: Hello, Dolly! – 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 – John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff 1968: Your Own Thing – Donald Driver, Hal Hester, and Danny Apolinar 1969: 1776 – Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone 1970: Company – Stephen Sondheim and George Furth 1971: Follies – Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman 1972: Two Gentlemen of Verona – Galt MacDermot, John Guare and Mel Shapiro 1973: A Little Night Music – Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler 1974: Candide – Leonard Bernstein, Richard Wilbur, Hugh Wheeler and John La Touche 1975: A Chorus Line – Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante 1976: Pacific Overtures – Stephen Sondheim, John Weidman and Hugh Wheeler 1977: Annie – Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan
1978: Ain't Misbehavin' – Fats Waller and Richard Maltby Jr. 1979: Sweeney Todd – Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler 1980: Evita – Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice 1983: Little Shop of Horrors – Alan Menken and Howard Ashman 1984: Sunday in the Park with George – Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine 1987: Les Misérables – Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer 1988: Into the Woods – Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine 1990: City of Angels – Larry Gelbart, Cy Coleman, and David Zippel 1991: The Will Rogers Follies – Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Peter Stone 1993: Kiss of the Spider Woman – John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Terrence McNally 1996: Rent – Jonathan Larson 1997: Violet – Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley 1998: The Lion King – Elton John, Tim Rice, Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi 1999: Parade – Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry 2000: James Joyce's The Dead – Shaun Davey and Richard Nelson 2001: The Producers – Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan 2003: Hairspray – Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell 2006: The Drowsy Chaperone – Bob Martin, Don McKellar, Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison 2007: Spring Awakening – Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater 2008: Passing Strange – Stew and Heidi Rodewald 2009: Billy Elliot the Musical – Elton John and Lee Hall 2011: The Book of Mormon – Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez 2012: Once – Enda Walsh, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová 2013: Matilda the Musical – Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly 2014: Fun Home – Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron 2015: 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 – Itamar Moses and David Yazbek 2019: Tootsie – David Yazbek and Robert Horn 2020: A Strange Loop – Michael R. Jackson 2022: Kimberly Akimbo – David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori 2024: Dead Outlaw – Itamar Moses, David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna 2025: Maybe Happy Ending – Will Aronson and Hue Park
Best Foreign Play
1938: Shadow and Substance – Paul Vincent Carroll 1939: The White Steed – Paul Vincent Carroll 1941: The Corn Is Green – Emlyn Williams 1942: 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