2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Predictions

[NYCtheaterguy]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 12:30am

The Pulitzers will be announced May 8, 2023.  

Here are the eligibility rules for the drama prize:

The Pulitzer Prize in Drama is awarded "for a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life." Eligible works include full-length dramas that opened in the United States between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022.

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So what are the likely nominees/winner?

- English by Sanaz Toossi

- The Case for the Existence of God by Samuel Hunter

- King James by Rajiv Joseph

What else?

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 12:41am

DOWNSTATE was previously eligible, right?

Any musicals that could possibly contend? I think no, but could be forgetting something.

[JoeW4]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 12:41am

Looking forward to this! It's was a really strong year, I think.

Just so everyone knows, I did some digging and found out that Downstate was, in fact, submitted in a previous year, making it ineligible.

I haven't seen King James yet, and I'm sure I missed plenty more - but from the ones I was able to see, these are the ones I think could be in the mix:

--English
--Prayer for the French Republic
--A Case For the Existence of God

And here are a few more that I PERSONALLY think deserve Pulitzer recognition, but maybe aren't as likely:

--Tambo & Bones
--Epiphany
--Evanston Salt Costs Climbing
--The Far Country
--The Nosebleed

Unclear whether The Chinese Lady is eligible, having had previous runs - it just depends on whether they chose to submit it in a prior year, and we just don't know that.

Oratorio for Living Things is a tricky one - this would be my #1 pick to win, IF they don't ding it for not being "drama" in the traditional sense.

Updated On: 3/4/23 at 12:41 AM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 3/5/23 at 7:36pm

I would abolutely love it if English or A Case for the Existence of God won (or even just got to be a finalist).  I think Plays for the Plague Year could also have a shot.  Some other ones that I enjoyed a lot but think would be reaches are You Will Get Sick, The Far Country, American (Tele)visions, and Wolf Play (if it wasn't submitted before).

[Ledaero]

Posted: 3/30/23 at 10:23am

^Apologies for the double post, somehow was logged into a different email that I’ve never used before lol

Based on what I saw last year in NYC and what’s eligible (presumably), I would bet that the three finalists will be:

English

Epiphany

A Case for the Existence of God

And I think the board will pick English as the winner, particularly given their inclination towards awarding diversity and underrepresented voices in past years.

I also wouldn’t count out the following as contenders:

Corsicana

Prayer For the French Republic

Shhhh

Tambo & Bones

 
Oratorio For Living Things is also an interesting wildcard. An easy favorite of so many (myself included), but I would think that they’d submit the score for Music and not Drama.

Updated On: 3/30/23 at 10:23 AM

[bear88]

Posted: 4/8/23 at 2:38am

NYCtheaterguy said: "The Pulitzers will be announced May 8, 2023.

Here are the eligibility rules for the drama prize:

The Pulitzer Prize in Drama is awarded "for a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life."Eligible works include full-length dramas that opened in the United States betweenJanuary 1, 2022andDecember 31, 2022.

=======

So what are the likely nominees/winner?

- English by Sanaz Toossi

- The Case for the Existence of God by Samuel Hunter

- King James by Rajiv Joseph

What else?

I saw English at the Berkeley Rep last weekend and wondered whether it would be eligible. 
 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The entire play is set in Iran, where students hoping to pass the English test to go elsewhere. And while it turns out that one of the students has American citizenship, which is significant to the plot, it seems like a bit of a stretch to say it deals with American life, aside from references to Julia Roberts and American films.

I realize the Pulitzer folks can be flexible. Was Sunday in the Park with George really about American life, even though young George is an American and a couple of scenes take place in the U.S.?

I just wondered how picky the committee has been about this, especially since it’s listed as a preference.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 4/8/23 at 8:56am

The language of the citation -- "preferably original in its source and dealing with American life" -- leaves a lot of leeway. Ruined is not about American life, nor is I Am My Own Wife. Adaptations have won in the past. It really is up to the committee, which changes annually, and what is submitted for consideration in a given year.

[JoeW4]

Posted: 4/8/23 at 12:56pm

In addition to being a "preference," the "American life" criteria also can be / has been stretched pretty liberally to include things that are APPLICABLE to America, or otherwise relevant to America, even from an outside perspective.

Sunday in the Park may take place primarily in France, but a case could be made that Act II George is the real protagonist of the story, in a non-traditonal way. And his journey centers largely on themes of capitalism, the Sisyphean bureaucracy of the arts, and trying to keep ties to your family's immigrant heritage. All themes that resonate deeply from an American perspective. Not exclusively American, but distinctly enough to feel like it fits the bill.

And meanwhile, plays like English and Selling Kabul depict life in other countries that have felt the effects of America's foreign influence - either culturally or tangibly.

[The Bittersweets]

Posted: 4/8/23 at 8:08pm

I’m not sure if this show is too late for submission this year, but I feel Letters From Max could be a candidate. A gorgeous show, and the committee seems to be quite fond of the work of Sarah Ruhl.

[nativenewyorker2]

Posted: 4/8/23 at 8:13pm

Bad Cinderella is the frontrunner for the Pulitzer

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 3:26pm

The winner is English!  The other finalists being On Sugarland and The Far Country.

I really was not expecting English to get it but I'm pretty happy about it.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 3:44pm

Interesting! I respect that play more than I like it, but it's pretty classic Pulitzer fare.

[SFFrontRow]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 3:51pm

I saw English at the Atlantic and it was playing at Berkeley Rep here in the Bay Area. Anyone think this has a chance to get a Broadway production?

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 3:51pm

No where on my radar.  Wonder if (and hope that) the Atlantic will bring it back.

[All So Ozmopolitan]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 4:07pm

SFFrontRow said: "I saw English at the Atlantic and it was playing at Berkeley Rep here in the Bay Area. Anyone think this has a chance to get a Broadway production?"

I think it's safe to assume that after this Pulitzer win (and some other notable wins/noms), English would receive a Broadway production in the coming years - especially with Atlantic's success in transferring. 

[JoeW4]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 4:13pm

Happy and unsurprised with this pick!

FYI - when I last asked at the Drama Bookshop, they told me that Samuel French hasn't published the script yet because they're hoping for a remount/transfer. Same thing with Hot Wing King, which also hasn't been published yet.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 4:25pm

SFFrontRow said: "I saw English at the Atlantic and it was playing at Berkeley Rep here in the Bay Area. Anyone think this has a chance to get a Broadway production?"

There's really no sales value in a Pulitzer win. It's possible, of course. But something like FAT HAM as a comedy is probably more populist than this, and that only did $370K last week - which is decent but lots of room to grow.

Updated On: 5/8/23 at 04:25 PM

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 5:24pm

JoeW4 said: "Happy and unsurprised with this pick!

FYI - when I last asked at the Drama Bookshop, they told me that Samuel French hasn't published the script yet because they're hoping for a remount/transfer. Same thing with Hot Wing King, which also hasn't been published yet."

On Amazon, there's an English/Wish You Were Here paperback available for pre-order ahead of a December 12 release. Of course, release dates get pushed back all of the time, but at least it's there.

And this is an exciting pick for me because in my neck of the woods, the Guthrie listed English as one of its productions for the 23-24 season, so I'll definitely have to make time next July to see it.

[NYCtheaterguy]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 5:28pm

The Pulitzer jury for drama consisted of

David John Chávez (Chair)
Chair, American Theatre Critics Association; Correspondent, San Jose Mercury News

Vinson Cunningham
Staff Writer, The New Yorker

Soraya Nadia McDonald
Senior Culture Critic, Andscape

Heidi Schreck
Playwright, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Kristina Wong
Performance Artist/Playwright, Los Angeles, Calif.

[suzycat]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 5:41pm

I’m just thrilled about this. English was the best thing I saw last year. Here’s to it having a long, long life. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 5:41pm

Although English was, I think, generally predicted to be the winner, The Far Country and On Sugarland seem like unexpected choices for the finalist positions.

On what is possibly a related note, this is the fifth year in a row that the winning playwright has been a person of color, and the second year in a row that all of the finalists were too. Perhaps Samuel D. Hunter and Bruce Norris no longer, um, fit the criteria...

[mar6411]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 5:51pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: 

this is the fifth year in a row that the winning playwright has been a person of color, and the second year in a row that all of the finalists were too. Perhaps Samuel D. Hunter and Bruce Norris no longer, um, fit the criteria..."

Oh FFS. White male privilege. Sickens me.

 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 6:27pm

If you think a white guy not getting recognized for five years is a sign of discrimination, boy do I have a story to tell you about the last couple of centuries...

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 6:47pm

I'll admit I expected A Case for the Existence of God to make finalist at least (On Sugarland wasn't even on my radar as a Pulitzer chance), but I do think Downstate was somewhat polarizing outside of this board and deep theater circles.  I don't know how Pulitzer deliberations are made well enough to say if this is for sure, but it could be that they didn't want something that controversial with its approach to victims.  Do we know for sure that it was submitted this year?

Otherwise, it's wonderful to be hearing from different voices.  Two years in a row isn't even that many, and there's a lot of competition for just 3 slots so I guess better luck next year to the white male playwright *shrug*

[JoeW4]

Posted: 5/8/23 at 7:17pm

chrishuyen said: "Do we know for sure that it was submitted this year?"

 

I'll do you one better: I know for sure that it was *NOT* submitted this year. I reached out to someone "on the inside" (lol) who was able to confirm it was submitted following its Steppenwolf run, so it was ineligible this year. But your points stand, because even before this year, it was already a play that the Pulitzers chose not to award.