Just as they did in 2004, the organization voted not to award a Best Musical honor this year. The decision is somewhat surprising, given that the musicals Spamalot, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Light in the Piazza and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee all had their partisans this season.
The Circle, which voted on May 11, was founded in 1935. Current voters are Clive Barnes (NY Post), David Cote (Time Out New York), Gordon Cox (Newsday), Michael Feingold (Village Voice), Robert Feldberg (Bergen Record), Elysa Gardner (USA Today), John Heilpern (NY Observer), Howard Kissel (Daily News), Michael Kuchwara (AP), Jacques LeSourd (Gannett), Jeremy McCarter (New York Sun), Ken Mandelbaum, John Simon (New York magazine), Frank Scheck (Hollywood Reporter), David Sheward (Back Stage), Michael Sommers (Newhouse Newspapers), Linda Winer (Newsday) and Richard Zoglin (Time).