Theater News

New York Drama Critics' Circle Names Fun Home Best Musical of the 2013-14 Season

”The Night Alive” wins the award for Best Play.

Michael Cerveris and Sydney Lucas in the New York Drama Critics Circle Award-winning Best Musical Fun Home at the Public Theater.
Michael Cerveris and Sydney Lucas in the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award-winning Best Musical Fun Home at the Public Theater.
(© Joan Marcus)

Irish playwright Conor McPherson's The Night Alive has been announced as the winner of the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play of the 2013-14 season. The drama opened off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company on December 12, 2013, following a premiere at London's Donmar Warehouse. The award carries a cash prize of $2,500, made possible by a grant from the Lucille Lortel Foundation.

Robert Schenkkan's Lyndon Johnson-themed play, All the Way, joins The Night Alive in the winners circle as this year's winner for Best American Play. The historical drama, which follows Johnson through the first year of his presidency, enjoyed an acclaimed run at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in September 2013 and opened at Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre on March 6, 2014, where it is currently playing with Tony nominee Bryan Cranston leading the cast. Alison Bechdel, Jeanine Tesori, and Lisa Kron's Fun Home, which premiered at The Public Theater earlier this season, earned the award for Best Musical.

Special Citations have also been awarded to the Shakespeare's Globe's productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III, as well as to playwright Richard Nelson and the company of The Apple Family Plays. The Globe productions were performed in repertory at Broadway's Belasco Theatre from October 15, 2013-February 16, 2014, and earned a total of eight Tony nominations, including two performance nominations for actor Mark Rylance. The Apple Family Plays were performed at the Public Theater from October 22-December 16, 2013. The cast featured Maryann Plunkett, Jay O. Sanders, Laila Robins, Jon DeVries, Stephen Kunken, and Sally Murphy.

The awards will be presented at a cocktail reception to be held on Friday, May 16, at 54 Below.