2021 Pulitzer Price for Drama delayed until June

Are they even going to bother with a prize for Drama this year? There have been years where they didn't give out an award (most recently 2006), so that might be the route they go this year.

I understand the Pulitzer committee just considers the written text of the show, rather than the physical production, but I don't even know what shows would be in the running this year.

I would guess that most people on this message board aren't in a good position to judge the state of the competition. Lots of eligible works, I imagine, weren't even available for public viewing. As for online originals - I personally have not been keeping up with them at all. There was such a massive deluge of digital plays, and personally I didn't care for watching digital theatre anyway.

I would be curious to hear from people on this board: does anyone feel like they followed the digital theatre scene closely enough to gage which plays, if any, might be in contention for a Pulitzer? I'm genuinely asking. As I said, I don't feel confident weighing on on that. But there was so much digital theatre happening, I have a hard time believing that the competition for the Pulitzer is thin enough to warrant a "no award" year.

I think one of the biggest mysteries right now is:

Will the Pulitzer committee be inclined to reward a digital theatre piece, as a means of recognizing the artistic innovation and resilience that has taken place during the pandemic? OR will they want to reward a live theatre piece as a means of honoring the live theatre that DID take place in 2020 / the ones that were cut short or cancelled?



Having said all of that, I'd just like to throw out there that Celine Song's "Endlings" is a PERFECT candidate, and I would be overjoyed to see it win. Early reports were mixed, but I loved it. And it ticks all the boxes for what the Pulitzer is supposed to prioritize. On top of that, it tackles the topic of racism in the the NYC theatre community, which is obviously an extremely potent subject right now. And it does so specifically through the lens of an Asian playwright - adding yet another layer to its hot-button relevance at this moment, where discussion around anti-Asian racism is surging.

Updated On: 4/2/21 at 12:56 PM

Thanks for drawing up that list!

Worth noting, however, that "In Love and Warcraft" is not new. It's been kicking around for about 6-7 years. I saw a small production of it in London about 4 years ago.

Dana H is probably eligible, but might not be taken seriously as a contender, considering it doesn't really have an original script, per se. It's all recordings of his mother telling a story from her life.

If Ratatouille TikTok gets a Pulitzer then you might as well never award the prize again....

Synecdoche2 said: "unfortunately Endlings was terrible and easily her worst play to date."