Awards and Honors

Phillips wins George Jean Nathan Award

Maya Phillips Cornell University’s Department of English, which administers the award for excellence in dramatic criticism endowed by Cornell alumnus, the late George Jean Nathan (1882-1958), awarded  Maya Phillips, New York Times critic at large and ATCA member, the 2020-21 George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism....

Theater Hall of Fame 50th anniversary ceremony scheduled November 15, 2021

Joel Grey. Image Joseph Marzullo. The Theater Hall of Fame honorees for 2021 were announced in June. The 50th annual Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater induction ceremony to honor this new cohort -- actor-playwright Anna Deavere Smith, composer Alan...

J. Nicole Brooks wins 2021 Steinberg/ATCA Award for “Her Honor, Jane Byrne”

J. Nicole Brooks NEW YORK – Playwright J. Nicole Brooks has won the 2021 Harold and Mimi Steinberg / American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for their play “Her Honor, Jane Byrne.”The Steinberg/ATCA Award, which carries a $25,000 cash prize, recognizes an outstanding script that premiered professional outside...

Douglas Williams wins ATCA’s Osborn New Play Award for “Ship”

Douglas Williams NEW YORK – Douglas Williams has won the American Theatre Critics Association’s (ATCA) 2021 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award for his play “SHIP.” Given by ATCA in memory of critic, director, educator and new play advocate M. Elizabeth “Betty” Osborn (1941-1993), the prize recognizes the work of a...

2021 inductees announced for Theater Hall of Fame

June 14, 2021 -- The Theater Hall of Fame, for which ATCA members compose the majority of the electorate, announced today the 2021 class of inductees. The 2021 cohort includes playwright Lynn Nottage, actor-playwright Anna Deavere Smith, composer Alan Menkin, set designer Bob Crowley, actor...

ATCA Names Finalists for 2021 Steinberg/ATCA Award

NEW YORK -- The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) has selected five finalists for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, recognizing playwrights for the best scripts that premiered professionally outside New York City during 2020. “Top-quality work was staged prior to...

Stephanie Alison Walker wins 2019 Francesca Primus Prize

Stephanie Alison Walker FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Sept. 1, 2020 — ATCA has named Stephanie Alison Walker recipient of the 2019 Francesca Primus Prize, which recognizes an emerging woman playwright. Administered by ATCA since 2002, the prize is named in honor of Francesca Primus, a playwright, dramaturg, theater critic, and ATCA...

Pandemic causes one-year hiatus in Regional Theatre Tony Award

The American Theater Wing and the Broadway League have just announced they will give (delayed) Tony Awards for Broadway’s abbreviated season, online this fall. They have decided not to include the Special Tony Award for Regional Theatre, but will return to giving the award next...

ATCA names three finalists for 2019 Francesca Primus Prize: Jennifer Barclay, Ifa Bayeza, and Stephanie Alison Walker

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, July 8, 2020 Jennifer Barclay The American Theatre Critics Association has selected three finalists for the 2019 Francesca Primus Prize, which recognizes an emerging woman playwright. The prize, administered through ATCA, is named in honor of Francesca Primus, a playwright, dramaturg, theater critic, and ATCA member who...

E.M. Lewis wins 2020 Steinberg/ATCA Award for “How the Light Gets In”

NEW YORK – Playwright E.M. Lewis and her play “How the Light Gets In” have received the 2020 Harold and Mimi Steinberg / American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award. E.M. Lewis The Steinberg/ATCA Award, which comes with a $25,000 prize, recognizes playwrights for the best scripts that premiered professionally outside New...