Theater News

Coast of Utopia, Journey’s End, Radio Golf, and Spring Awakening Win NYDCC Awards

Brían F. O'Byrne and Josh Hamiltonin The Coast of Utopia
(© Paul Kolnik)
Brían F. O’Byrne and Josh Hamilton
in The Coast of Utopia
(© Paul Kolnik)

The winners of the 71st annual New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards were announced on May 7. The awards will be presented at a cocktail reception to be held on Monday, May 14 at the Algonquin Hotel.

The Coast of Utopia, written by Sir Tom Stoppard, was named Best Play; this was the sixth time Stoppard has won this award. Spring Awakening, by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, was named Best Musical.

Radio Golf, by the late August Wilson, was named Best American Play, marking the eighth NYDCC Award for Wilson. It was the first time the organization has given a posthumous award since 1996, when Jonathan Larson won for Rent. In addition, the NYDCC awarded a special citation to David Grindley’s revival of R.C. Sherriff’s Journey’s End.

The New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award has been bestowed every year since 1936. It is the nation’s second oldest theater award, after the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The award for best play carries with it a cash prize of $2,500, and a cash award of $1,000 will go to the playwright who receives the award for best American or foreign play. The awards are made possible by a grant from the Lucille Lortel Foundation.

The New York Drama Critics’ Circle comprises 21 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines, and wire services based in the New York metropolitan area.