are the most publicized awards in the United States.

Drama Desk Awards

Nominations for these awards were announced this year on April 28 at Feinstein’s/54 Below. The winners will be announced at an awards show at The Town Hall on June 5th.

The Drama Desk Awards were begun in 1955. The members of the Drama Desk are almost all theater critics and journalists. The Drama Desk Awards are the only awards that consider Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway shows together in the same competitive categories. This has the advantage of giving attention to often-obscure nominees. For example, in 2013, Daniel Everidge was one of the nominees for Outstanding Actor in a Play for his role as a young man with autism in the Off-Broadway play, Falling — right up there with TomHanks, and Nathan Lane and Tracy Letts. You see the problem here right away: The winners almost inevitably are the better-known (Broadway) competitors.

In 2015, however, “Hamilton” upended the usual results. Then Off-Broadway, it received 13 nominations, more than any other show, including those on Broadway, and won the Outstanding Musical award plus six others; again, more any other show.

The Outer Critics Circle Awards

Founded in 1959, originally established as an alternative to the Drama Critics Circle, The Outer Critics Circle is made up of theater critics and journalists from out-of-town, national and online publications. It, too, recognizes both Broadway and Off-Broadway, but considers them in separate categories with just a few exceptions.

New York Drama Critics Circle AwardsThe 25 critics (from what are deemed the major New York publications) that