A Strange Loop, Heroes of the Fourth Turning & More Recognized with New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards

The New York Drama Critics' Circle met via video conference on April 15 to determine the winners of its 85th annual awards. Will Arbery's Heroes of the Fourth Turning, which also received six Lucille Lortel Award nominations, won the award for Best Play of the 2019-2020 season. Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop, which garnered seven Lortel nominations, won Best Musical. The awards will be presented at a virtual ceremony on April 28.

The Circle also voted to award three Special Citations: to David Byrne and the Broadway production of American Utopia (which is currently scheduled to return to Broadway on September 18 at the Hudson Theatre); to Deirdre O’Connell for career excellence, including her recent performance in the off-Broadway production of Lucas Hnath’s Dana H. at the Vineyard Theatre; and to the New York theater community for its perseverance in the face of loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The award for Best Play carries a cash prize of $2,500; the award for Best American Play is a cash prize of $1,000. The prizes are made possible by a grant from the Lucille Lortel Foundation.

The New York Drama Critics’ Circle comprises 20 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines, wire service and websites based in the New York metropolitan area.

The New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, which has been presented every year since 1936 to the best new play of the season (with optional awards for foreign or American plays, musicals and special achievements), is the nation's second-oldest theater award, after the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. As previously reported, the Pulitzer Prize board has decided to postpone the 2020 awards to May 4 at 3PM via livestream due to the global coronavirus outbreak.