New York Drama Critic's Circle names 'Intimate Apparel' best play Of the 2003-2004 Season

Wed 12 May 2004 New York Drama Critic's Circle names 'Intimate Apparel' best play Of the 2003-2004 Season Intimate Apparel named best play of the 2003 - 2004 season by New York Drama Critics' Circle and award a special citation to Barbara Cook Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for best play of the 2003-2004 season. The Circle also awarded a special citation to Barbara Cook for her contribution to musical theatre. The selection was made at the annual voting meeting of the organization at the Variety offices in Manhattan. Ms. Nottage will receive $1,000 with her New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. No awards were given for best musical or best foreign play. Intimate Apparel, written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Daniel Sullivan, received its world premiere in February 2003 at Baltimore's Center Stage as a co-production and co-commission of Center Stage and Costa Mesa, California's South Coast Repertory. The play had its New York premiere April 11, 2004 in a Roundabout Theatre Company production at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, where it currently is playing a limited engagement through June 6, 2004. Barbara Cook appeared this season in 'Barbara Cook's Broadway', which played at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre earlier this spring. The show returns to Lincoln Center Theater on June 2. Ms. Cook currently is performing the show in London's West End. Founded in 1935, the Circle is comprised of 20 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines, and wire services based in the New York metropolitan area. Charles Isherwood of Variety is the president of the organization. The New York Drama Critics' Circle Award is the nation's second oldest theatre award, after the Pulitzer Prize for drama. In addition to Mr. Isherwood, the members of the New York Drama Critics' Circle are Clive Barnes of the New York Post; David Cote of Time Out New York; Gordon Cox of Newsday; Michael Feingold of the Village Voice; Robert Feldberg of the Bergen Record; Elysa Gardner of USA Today; John Heilpern of The New York Observer; Howard Kissel of the Daily News; Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press; Jacques le Sourd of Gannett Newspapers; Donald Lyons of the New York Post; Ken Mandelbaum of Broadway.com; Jeremy McCarter, The New York Sun; Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter; David Sheward of Back Stage; John Simon of New York; Michael Sommers of Newhouse Newspapers; Linda Winer of Newsday; and Richard Zoglin of Time.