Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were awarded that year.^[1] (No Drama prize was given, however, so that one was inaugurated 1918 in a sense.)^[2] It recognizes a theatrical work staged in the U.S. during the preceding calendar year.

Through 2006 the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year. The decision was made, however, that the 2007 Prize would consider works staged during an eligibility period of January 1 to December 31, 2006—thus bringing the schedule for the Drama Prize in line with those of the other prizes.

The drama jury, which consists of one academic and four critics, attends plays in New York and in regional theaters. The Pulitzer board has the authority to overrule the jury's choice, however, as happened in 1986 when the jury chose the CIVIL warS to receive the prize, but due to the board's opposition no award was given.

In 1955, Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. pressured the prize jury into presenting the Prize to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which the jury considered the weakest of the five shortlisted nominees ("amateurishly constructed... from the stylistic points of view annoyingly pretentious"), instead of Clifford Odets' The Flowering Peach (their preferred choice) or The Bad Seed, their second choice.^[3] Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was selected for the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Drama by that award's committee. However, the committee's selection was overruled by the award's advisory board, the trustees of Columbia University, because of the play's then-controversial use of profanity and sexual themes. Had Albee been awarded, he would be tied with Eugene O'Neill for the most Pulitzer Prizes for Drama (four).

Awards and nominations

In its first 98 years to 2013, the Drama Pulitzer was awarded 82 times; none was given in 15 years and it was never split. Many of the prizes were won by multiple people for their collaboration, as many as five in 1976.^[2]

* Star marks winners of the annual Tony Award for Best Play or Best Musical.

1910s

• 1917: no award^[1]
• 1918: Why Marry? – Jesse Lynch Williams
• 1919: no award

1920s 1920: Beyond the Horizon – Eugene O'Neill 1921: Miss Lulu Bett – Zona Gale 1922: Anna Christie – Eugene O'Neill 1923: Icebound – Owen Davis 1924: Hell-Bent Fer Heaven – Hatcher Hughes 1925: They Knew What They Wanted – Sidney Howard 1926: Craig's Wife – George Kelly 1927: In Abraham's Bosom – Paul Green 1928: Strange Interlude – Eugene O'Neill 1929: Street Scene – Elmer Rice

1930s 1930: The Green Pastures – Marc Connelly 1931: Alison's House – Susan Glaspell 1932: Of Thee I Sing – George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, Ira Gershwin, 1933: Both Your Houses – Maxwell Anderson 1934: Men in White – Sidney Kingsley 1935: The Old Maid – Zoë Akins 1936: Idiot's Delight – Robert E. Sherwood 1937: You Can't Take It with You – Moss Hart, George S. Kaufman 1938: Our Town – Thornton Wilder 1939: Abe Lincoln in Illinois – Robert E. Sherwood

1940s 1940: The Time of Your Life – William Saroyan 1941: There Shall Be No Night – Robert E. Sherwood 1942: no award 1943: The Skin of Our Teeth – Thornton Wilder 1944: no award 1945: Harvey – Mary Coyle Chase 1946: State of the Union – Russel Crouse, Howard Lindsay 1947: no award 1948: A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams 1949: Death of a Salesman * – Arthur Miller

1950s 1950: South Pacific * – Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Joshua Logan 1951: no award 1952: The Shrike – Joseph Kramm 1953: Picnic – William Inge 1954: The Teahouse of the August Moon * – John Patrick 1955: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – Tennessee Williams 1956: The Diary of Anne Frank * – Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich 1957: Long Day's Journey into Night * – Eugene O'Neill 1958: Look Homeward, Angel – Ketti Frings 1959: J.B. * – Archibald MacLeish

1960s 1960: Fiorello! * – Jerome Weidman, George Abbott, Jerry Bock, and Sheldon Harnick 1961: All the Way Home – Tad Mosel 1962: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying * – Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows 1963: no award[4] 1964: no award 1965: The Subject Was Roses * – Frank D. Gilroy 1966: no award 1967: A Delicate Balance – Edward Albee 1968: no award 1969: The Great White Hope * – Howard Sackler

1970s 1970: No Place to be Somebody – Charles Gordone 1971: The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds – Paul Zindel 1972: no award 1973: That Championship Season * – Jason Miller 1974: no award 1975: Seascape – Edward Albee 1976: A Chorus Line * – Michael Bennett, Nicholas Dante and James Kirkwood, Jr., Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban 1977: The Shadow Box * – Michael Cristofer 1978: The Gin Game – Donald L. Coburn 1979: Buried Child – Sam Shepard

1980s

1980: Talley's Folly – Lanford Wilson 1981: Crimes of the Heart – Beth Henley 1982: A Soldier's Play – Charles Fuller 1983: 'night, Mother – Marsha Norman True West – Sam Shepard 1984: Glengarry Glen Ross – David Mamet Fool for Love – Sam Shepard Painting Churches – Tina Howe 1985: Sunday in the Park with George – James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim The Dining Room – A. R. Gurney The Gospel at Colonus – Lee Breuer, Bob Telson

1986: no award 1987: Fences * – August Wilson Broadway Bound – Neil Simon A Walk in the Woods – Lee Blessing 1988: Driving Miss Daisy – Alfred Uhry Boy's Life – Howard Korder Talk Radio – Eric Bogosian 1989: The Heidi Chronicles * – Wendy Wasserstein Joe Turner's Come and Gone – August Wilson M. Butterfly* – David Henry Hwang

1990s

1990: The Piano Lesson – August Wilson And What of the Night? – María Irene Fornés Love Letters – A. R. Gurney 1991: Lost in Yonkers * – Neil Simon Prelude to a Kiss – Craig Lucas Six Degrees of Separation – John Guare 1992: The Kentucky Cycle – Robert Schenkkan Conversations with My Father – Herb Gardner Miss Evers' Boys – David Feldshuh Two Trains Running – August Wilson Sight Unseen – Donald Margulies 1993: Angels in America: Millennium Approaches * – Tony Kushner The Destiny of Me – Larry Kramer Fires in the Mirror – Anna Deavere Smith 1994: Three Tall Women – Edward Albee Keely and Du – Jane Martin A Perfect Ganesh – Terrence McNally

1995: The Young Man From Atlanta – Horton Foote The Cryptogram – David Mamet Seven Guitars – August Wilson 1996: Rent * – Jonathan Larson A Fair Country – Jon Robin Baitz Old Wicked Songs – Jon Marans 1997: no award Collected Stories – Donald Margulies The Last Night of Ballyhoo – Alfred Uhry Pride's Crossing – Tina Howe 1998: How I Learned to Drive – Paula Vogel Freedomland – Amy Freed Three Days of Rain – Richard Greenberg 1999: Wit – Margaret Edson Running Man – Cornelius Eady and Diedre Murray Side Man * – Warren Leight

2000s

2000: Dinner with Friends – Donald Margulies In the Blood – Suzan-Lori Parks King Hedley II – August Wilson 2001: Proof * – David Auburn The Play About the Baby – Edward Albee The Waverly Gallery – Kenneth Lonergan 2002: Topdog/Underdog – Suzan-Lori Parks The Glory of Living – Rebecca Gilman Yellowman – Dael Orlandersmith 2003: Anna in the Tropics – Nilo Cruz The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? * – Edward Albee Take Me Out * – Richard Greenberg 2004: I Am My Own Wife * – Doug Wright Man from Nebraska – Tracy Letts Omnium Gatherum – Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros

2005 Doubt: A Parable * – John Patrick Shanley The Clean House – Sarah Ruhl Thom Pain (based on nothing) – Will Eno 2006: no award Miss Witherspoon – Christopher Durang The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow – Rolin Jones Red Light Winter – Adam Rapp 2007: Rabbit Hole – David Lindsay-Abaire Bulrusher – Eisa Davis Orpheus X – Rinde Eckert Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue – Quiara Alegría Hudes 2008 August: Osage County *– Tracy Letts Dying City – Christopher Shinn Yellow Face – David Henry Hwang 2009 Ruined – Lynn Nottage Becky Shaw – Gina Gionfriddo In the Heights * – Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes

2010s

2010: Next to Normal – Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo – Rajiv Joseph The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity – Kristoffer Diaz In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) – Sarah Ruhl 2011: Clybourne Park * – Bruce Norris Detroit – Lisa D'Amour A Free Man of Color – John Guare 2012: Water by the Spoonful – Quiara Alegría Hudes Other Desert Cities – Jon Robin Baitz Sons of the Prophet – Stephen Karam 2013: Disgraced – Ayad Akhtar Rapture, Blister, Burn – Gina Gionfriddo 4000 Miles – Amy Herzog 2014: The Flick – Annie Baker The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence – Madeleine George Fun Home * – Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron

2015: Between Riverside and Crazy – Stephen Adly Guirgis Marjorie Prime – Jordan Harrison Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, 3) – Suzan-Lori Parks 2016: Hamilton – Lin-Manuel Miranda The Humans – Stephen Karam Gloria – Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Musicals

Nine musicals have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, roughly one per decade from the 1930s to the 2010s¹. They are: George and Ira Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing (1932), Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific (1950), Bock & Harnick's Fiorello! (1960), Frank Loesser's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1962), Marvin Hamlisch, Ed Kleban, James Kirkwood, and Nicholas Dante's A Chorus Line (1976), Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George (1985), Jonathan Larson's Rent (1996), Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt's Next to Normal (2010), and Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton (2016).

Of Thee I Sing, Sunday in the Park with George, and Next to Normal are the only musicals that won the Pulitzer Prize and did not win the Tony Award for Best Musical. However, Of Thee I Sing opened when the Tony Awards did not exist, and Next to Normal won the Tony Award for Best Original Score and the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations.^[5]

The award goes to the playwright, although production of the play is also taken into account. In the case of a musical being awarded the prize, the composer, lyricist and book writer are generally the recipients. An exception to this was the first Pulitzer ever awarded to a musical: when Of Thee I Sing won in 1932, book authors George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, as well as lyricist Ira Gershwin, were cited as the winners, while composer George Gershwin's contribution was overlooked by the committee. The reason given was that the Pulitzer Prize for Drama is a dramatic award, and not a musical one. However, by 1950 the Pulitzer committee included composer Richard Rodgers as a recipient when South Pacific won the award, in recognition of music as an integral and important part of the theatrical experience.^[6]

Additionally, since 1983, when the identity of finalists was first disclosed, three musicals have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. They are: Lee Breuer and Bob Telson's The Gospel at Colonus (1985); Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes' In the Heights (2009); and Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron's Fun Home (2014).^[2] The latter two shows, however, each won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

_{¹All listed dates are Prize years. Generally, the musical in question opened in New York during either the preceding calendar year or the preceding Broadway season.}

Repeat winners

Eugene O'Neill won the Pulitzer for Drama four times, three in the 1920s. Several people have won two or three.

• Eugene O'Neill, 1920, 1922, 1928, and 1957
• George S. Kaufman, 1932 and 1937, both shared with collaborators
• Robert E. Sherwood, 1936, 1939, and 1941
• Thornton Wilder, 1938 and 1943
• Tennessee Williams, 1948 and 1955
• Edward Albee, 1967, 1975 and 1994
• August Wilson, 1987 and 1990

The most recipients of the prize in one Prize year was in 1976, when five people—Michael Bennett, James Kirkwood, Jr., Nicholas Dante, Marvin Hamlisch, and Edward Kleban—shared the prize for the musical A Chorus Line.^[2]

References

1. "1917 Winners". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
2. "Drama". The Pulitzer Prizes (pulitzer.org). Retrieved 2013-12-20.
3. Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich & Erika J. Fischer. The Pulitzer Prize Archive: A History and Anthology of Award-Winning Materials in Journalism, Letters, and Arts München: K.G. Saur, 2008. ISBN 3-598-30170-7 ISBN 9783598301704 p. 246
4. The Pulitzer committee recommended Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? *, but the Pulitzer board, who have sole discretion in awarding the prize, rejected the recommendation, due to the play's perceived vulgarity, and no award was given instead.
     Klein, Alvin. "Albee's 'Tiny Alice,' The Whole Enchilada". The New York Times. May 24, 1998: CT11.
5. Next to Normal at the Internet Broadway Database
6. Flinn, Denny Martin. Musical! A Grand Tour. Schirmer, first edition (April 17, 1997), pages 230–31. ISBN 0-02-864610-X