New York Drama Critic's Circle Awards

The New York Drama Critic's Circle met on 7 May 2007 to vote for the winners of the 2007 New York Drama Critic's Circle Awards. The winners were:

• Best Play: The Coast of Utopia, by Tom Stoppard
• Best American Play: Radio Golf, by August Wilson
• Best Musical: Spring Awakening, by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater
• Special Citation: The Broadway revival of Journey�s End

Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia almost won the Best Play Award on the first ballot, gaining 10 votes, one short of the necessary majority. (There are 20 voting members). There were a further two ballots before the Coast of Utopia won Best Play, with August Wilson's Radio Golf in second position, followed by Peter Morgan�s Frost/Nixon.

This marks Tom Stoppard's sixth award, which ties him with August Wilson�s record for most Best Play wins.

Wilson's Radio Golf won 9 votes in the first ballot for Best American Play, two short of the necessary majority. There were two further ballots before Radio Golf won Best American Play, with Christopher Shinn�s Dying City in second position, followed by A.R. Gurney�s Indian Blood.

With eight awards, August Wilson is now the most-awarded author in New York Drama Critics� Circle History, a position he previously tied with Stephen Sondheim. Six of Wilson's plays have won Best Play, and two have won Best American Play.

Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's Spring Awakening won Best Musical on the first ballot, gaining 17 of the 20 votes. Only two other musicals were voted for in the ballot. The MTC's production of LoveMusik, book by Alfred Uhry and featuring music by Kurt Weill, gained two votes, while Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria's In the Heights gained one vote.

The awards will be presented at a cocktail reception to be held at the Algonquin Hotel on 14 May 2007.

The New York Drama Critics' Circle was founded in 1935 by Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley, among others. It is the nation's second oldest theatre award, after the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Current members of the New York Drama Critics' Circle are: President: Adam Feldman (Time Out New York), Vice President: Frank Scheck (New York Post), Treasurer: Michael Kuchwara (Associated Press), Clive Barnes (New York Post), Melissa Rose Bernardo (Entertainment Weekly), David Cote (Time Out New York), Joe Dziemianowicz (New York Daily News), Michael Feingold (Village Voice), Robert Feldberg (Bergen Record), Elysa Gardner (USA Today), Eric Grode (New York Sun), John Heilpern (New York Observer) Jacques le Sourd (Gannett newspapers), Jeremy McCarter (New York), David Rooney (Variety), David Sheward (Back Stage), John Simon (Bloomberg News), Michael Sommers (Newhouse newspapers), Terry Teachout (Wall Street Journal), Linda Winer (Newsday), Richard Zoglin (Time) and Emeritus: Howard Kissel (New York Daily News).