The New York Drama Critics Circle passed over all the plays on Broadway and chose "Ruined" — which is running in the basement of City Center — as the best of the year. This new play by Lynn Nottage about the rape and genital mutilation of women during the civil war in the African Congo won the Pulitzer Prize last month. And it was the first choice of 12 of the 19 voters in the Drama Critics Circle, which is made up of critics from Gotham-based newspapers and magazines (with the exception of the New York Times).

The last time the critics named an off-Broadway production as their top choice was five years ago when they went with "Intimate Apparel," another play by Lynn Nottage. Because Nottage is American, the group then considered making an award for best foreign play. They ultimately went with another off-Broadway production — "Black Watch" — about a Scottish troop under fire in Iraq.

Unlike the Gotham film critics, the legit reviewers give full details on the voting. As reported on the circle's website: "None of the contenders received a majority on the first ballot; 'Blasted' received the most votes, with seven, while National Theatre of Scotland's 'Black Watch' -- a holdover from last year -- received five. 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 'Black Watch' squeaked out a victory with 30 points, versus 27 each for 'Blasted' and 'God of Carnage.' (The minimum number of points necessary to win was 28.)"