The New York Drama Critics’ Circle announced that Shuffle Along, or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, book by George C. Wolfe, music by Eubie Blake, lyrics by Noble Sissle, was the best musical in the 2015/16 season.Stephen Karam’s The Humans was named best play. The selections were made at the organization’s 81st annual voting meeting.
On the first ballot for Best Musical, Shuffle Along and Dear Evan Hansen each received seven votes. Shuffle Along won handily on the third ballot with 44 points, followed by Dear Evan Hansen (25 points), American Psycho (17 points) and First Daughter Suite (14 points).
On the first ballot for Best Play, The Humans won nine votes, short of a majority among the Circle’s 22 voting members. A second vote was then taken to determine whether an award would be given at all. Having agreed that one should, the Circle moved to a weighted third ballot, which The Humans won with 35 points. Annie Baker’s John placed second (19 points), followed by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Gloria (14 points) and Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed (12 points). The Circle opted not to give an award for Best Foreign Play.
The awards will be presented at a private cocktail reception on Tuesday, May 17.
The award for best play carries a cash prize of $2,500. The prize is made possible by a grant from the Lucille Lortel Foundation.
Special citations were voted to Oskar Eustis of the Public Theater; Lois Smith who appeared in the off-Broadway productions of John and Marjorie Prime; and Ivo van Hove and Jan Versweyveld, who were represented on Broadway this season by A View from the Bridge and The Crucible.
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 (with optional awards for foreign or American plays, musicals and performers), is the nation’s second oldest theater award, after the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Adam Feldman, theater critic for Time Out New York, has served as president of the NYDCC since 2005. Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post serves as vice president; Joe Dziemianowicz of the Daily News is treasurer.
In addition to Feldman, Vincentelli, and Dziemianowicz, the members of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle are: Hilton Als, The New Yorker; Melissa Rose Bernardo, Entertainment Weekly; David Cote, Time Out New York; Michael Feingold, TheaterMania; Robert Feldberg, Bergen Record; Elysa Gardner, USA Today; Jeremy Gerard, Deadline; Jesse Green, New York; Christopher Kelly, The Star-Ledger; David Rooney; Hollywood Reporter; Frank Scheck; New York Post; David Sheward, ArtsInNY; John Simon, Yonkers Tribune; Marilyn Stasio, Variety; Zachary Stewart, TheaterMania; Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal; Matt Windman, amNewYork; Linda Winer, Newsday; and Richard Zoglin, Time. Emeritus members include David Finkle, Brian Scott Lipton, Jesse Oxfeld, Michael Sommers and Steven Suskin.
Here is a look at how the voting went down.
Best Musical, third ballot:
Hilton Als:
abstain
Melissa Rose Bernardo:
Dear Evan Hansen
American Psycho
Shuffle Along
David Cote:
Shuffle Along
Waitress
School of Rock
Joe Dziemianowicz:
Dear Evan Hansen
Shuffle Along
School of Rock
Michael Feingold:
Dear Evan Hansen
First Daughter Suite
Death for Five Voices
Robert Feldberg:
Southern Comfort
Shuffle Along
Lazarus
Adam Feldman:
Dear Evan Hansen
Shuffle Along
Iowa
Elysa Gardner:
American Psycho
Shuffle Along
Bright Star
Jeremy Gerard:
First Daughter Suite
Shuffle Along
Southern Comfort
Jesse Green:
Shuffle Along
Dear Evan Hansen
First Daughter Suite
Christopher Kelly:
American Psycho
Shuffle Along
Bright Star
David Rooney:
Shuffle Along
Dear Evan Hansen
Lazarus
Frank Scheck:
Shuffle Along
American Psycho
Waitress
David Sheward:
Shuffle Along
Dear Evan Hansen
Waitress
John Simon:
Shuffle Along
First Daughter Suite
On Your Feet!
Marilyn Stasio:
Shuffle Along
American Psycho
Dear Evan Hansen
Zachary Stewart:
Shuffle Along
American Psycho
On Your Feet!
Terry Teachout (proxy):
First Daughter Suite
American Psycho
On Your Feet!
Elisabeth Vincentelli:
Dear Evan Hansen
Shuffle Along
Waitress
Matt Windman:
Dear Evan Hansen
First Daughter Suite
Invisible Thread
Linda Winer:
Shuffle Along
Lazarus
First Daughter Suite
Richard Zoglin:
Lazarus
Shuffle Along
American Psycho
Best Musical, first ballot:
Hilton Als: abstain
Melissa Rose Bernardo: Dear Evan Hansen
David Cote: Waitress
Joe Dziemianowicz: Dear Evan Hansen
Michael Feingold: Dear Evan Hansen
Robert Feldberg: Southern Comfort
Adam Feldman: Dear Evan Hansen
Elysa Gardner: American Psycho
Jeremy Gerard: First Daughter Suite
Jesse Green: Dear Evan Hansen
Christopher Kelly: American Psycho
David Rooney: Shuffle Along
Frank Scheck: Shuffle Along
David Sheward: Shuffle Along
John Simon: Shuffle Along
Marilyn Stasio: Shuffle Along
Zachary Stewart: Shuffle Along
Terry Teachout (proxy): First Daughter Suite
Elisabeth Vincentelli: Dear Evan Hansen
Matt Windman: Dear Evan Hansen
Linda Winer: Shuffle Along
Richard Zoglin: Lazarus
Best Play, third ballot:
Hilton Als:
John
Familiar
Gloria
Melissa Rose Bernardo:
Skeleton Crew
The Humans
Hold On to Me Darling
David Cote:
The Humans
John
Eclipsed
Joe Dziemianowicz:
The Humans
John
Gloria
Michael Feingold:
Red Speedo
John
The Humans
Robert Feldberg:
The Humans
Eclipsed
John
Adam Feldman:
The Humans
Marjorie Prime
John
Elysa Gardner:
Marjorie Prime
Hir
Ripcord
Jeremy Gerard:
John
The Humans
Smart People
Jesse Green:
The Humans
The Christians
John
Christopher Kelly:
Guards at the Taj
Familiar
John
David Rooney:
The Humans
Guards at the Taj
Eclipsed
Frank Scheck:
The Humans
Gloria
Marjorie Prime
David Sheward:
The Humans
Gloria
Hir
John Simon:
Eclipsed
Hold On to Me Darling
The Body of an American
Marilyn Stasio:
Guards at the Taj
Eclipsed
The Humans
Zachary Stewart:
Gloria
The Humans
Eclipsed
Terry Teachout (proxy):
Smart People
Hold On to Me Darling
Eclipsed
Elisabeth Vincentelli:
John
Gloria
The Christians
Matt Windman:
The Christians
Gloria
Eclipsed
Linda Winer:
The Humans
Marjorie Prime
Gloria
Richard Zoglin:
King Charles III
Red Speedo
The Christians
Best Play, first ballot:
Hilton Als: John
Melissa Rose Bernardo: Skeleton Crew
David Cote: The Humans
Joe Dziemianowicz: The Humans
Michael Feingold: Red Speedo
Robert Feldberg: The Humans
Adam Feldman: The Humans
Elysa Gardner: Marjorie Prime
Jeremy Gerard: John
Jesse Green: The Humans
Christopher Kelly: Guards at the Taj
David Rooney: The Humans
Frank Scheck (proxy): The Humans
David Sheward: The Humans
John Simon: Eclipsed
Marilyn Stasio: Guards at the Taj
Zachary Stewart: Gloria
Terry Teachout (proxy): Smart People
Elisabeth Vincentelli: John
Matt Windman: The Christians
Linda Winer: The Humans
Richard Zoglin: King Charles III
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