Maybe Happy Ending, the Will Aronson-Hue Park Broadway musical starring Darren Criss and Helen J Shen as life-like “helper-bots’ who, despite all their wiring, find romance, and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Purpose directed on Broadway by Phylicia Rashad were named the year’s Best Musical and Best Play, respectively, by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle.
The awards were announced today. Other awards announced by the Critics’ Circle were:
- Best Individual Performance: Andrew Scott, Vanya
- Best Ensemble Performance: The cast of Liberation
- Special Citations: Cole Escola for Oh, Mary!; Cats: The Jellicle Ball; David Greenspan for lifetime achievement
Although Escola was eligible for the special citation, Oh, Mary! as a Broadway production was ineligible since it was eligible during its Off Broadway run.
Earlier this week, Purpose was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play focuses on the fictional Jasper family, a prominent Chicago African-American family reuniting under troublesome circumstances. The family in the play has drawn comparisons to the family of civil rights icon Jesse Jackson.
This year’s winners will be honored at a private ceremony May 15. As a part of his win, Jacobs-Jenkins will receive a cash prize of $2,500.
The New York Drama Critics Circle counts 23 New York-area drama critics in its membership, representing daily newspapers, magazines, wire services, and websites. Their awards have been given annually since 1936, making it the second-oldest American playwriting award, after the Pulitzer. Time Out NY’s Adam Feldman is president of the group, and TheaterMania’s Zachary Stewart is vice president. Helen Shaw of The New Yorker is treasurer. The current membership also includes 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, Johnny Oleksinski, Brittani Samuel, Frank Scheck, David Sheward, Tim Teeman, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and Matt Windman.
