2026 New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards Winners Will Be Announced on April 30
The awards will be presented in a private ceremony on Thursday, May 7.
The winners of the 2026 New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards will be announced Thursday, April 30 at 8pm. The selections will be made immediately beforehand at the organization’s 90th annual voting meeting. A full breakdown of the voting will be posted on the organization’s website later that night.
The awards include a cash prize of $2,500 for Best Play, made possible by a grant from the Lucille Lortel Foundation, and will be presented in a private ceremony on Thursday, May 7.
The New York Drama Critics’ Circle comprises 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines, wire services and websites based in the New York metropolitan area. The New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, which has been awarded every year since 1936 to the best new play of the season (alongside optional awards for musicals, performances and special achievements), is the nation's second-oldest playwriting award, after the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Recent Best Play winners include Purpose, Stereophonic, Downstate, A Case for the Existence of God, Heroes of the Fourth Turning and The Ferryman. Recent Best Musical winners include Dead Outlaw, Kimberly Akimbo, Strange Loop and The Band’s Visit. The Circle also presents awards for Best Musical, Best Individual Performance and Best Ensemble Performance, as well as Special Citations.
Adam Feldman, theater critic and editor for Time Out New York, has served as president of the NYDCC since 2005. Zachary Stewart of TheaterMania serves as vice president and treasurer.
In addition to Feldman and Stewart, the members of the New York Drama Critics' Circle are David Barbour, David Cote, Joe Dziemianowicz, Greg Evans, Rhoda Feng, David Finkle, Elysa Gardner, Robert Hofler, Sara Holdren, Charles Isherwood, Chris Jones, Soraya Nadia McDonald, Jackson McHenry, Emily Nussbaum, Johnny Oleksinski, Frank Scheck, David Sheward, Tim Teeman, Elisabeth Vincentelli and Matt Windman. Emeritus members include Melissa Rose Bernardo, Brian Scott Lipton, Michael Sommers, and Steven Suskin.
For more information on the New York Drama Critics' Circle, please visit www.dramacritics.org.
Videos