2025 Pulitzer Prize Predictions — Page 2

The 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded to PURPOSE by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

The other two finalists were OH', MARY by Cole Escola and THE ALLY by Itamar Moses.

Updated On: 5/5/25 at 03:25 PM

Can this help ''Purpose'' shot at the Tonys? But then again... COLE ESCOLA WAS A FINALIST!

Well this definitely shakes up the Best Play Tony prize—crazy that there are TWO Pulitzer winners and one finalist in the Tony category this year.



I think if John Proctor had a premiere at a more high profile theater in 2022 it might’ve been a finalist the year ENGLISH won.



I’d still say Oh Mary and JPIV might be front runners but I think this fully takes the wind out of the sails of English—which I think is probably the “best” and most masterfully written of the bunch.



EDIT: on second thought I also think this takes the wind out of the sails for John Proctor a bit, giving a play like Oh Mary—which could be seen as frivolous in comparison to the others—credence from a historically pretty serious prize.

Updated On: 5/5/25 at 03:33 PM

I don't know about Purpose winning Best Play. I really get it winning the Pulitzer, but I think John Proctor is the Villain is more of a completion for Oh Mary.

The Pulitzer seems to come down to more content some times then actual structure of a play. Purpose is very good, but it's not BJJ's best work compared to Appropriate last year.

The Pulitzers are a lot more idiosyncratic than the Tonys. I also really don't know how much of an effect they have on a Tony race, generally. In 2023, there were three Pulitzer winners up for best play and none won. The Tonys tend to skew more populist, by virtue of the fact that they are decided by 800+ voters of all stripes rather than a panel of 4 critics and 1 academic.

QueenAlice said: "For what its worth, winning a Pulitzer doesn't always correlate to a Tony win...

Was John Proctor submitted this year or would it be eligible next? It seems like the EXACT kind of thing the Pulitzer would honor, or at least mention on a shortlist. And Proctor still feels like the Tony winner this year to me too."


John Proctor would have been eligible for the 2023 Prize, which English won.



JPITV premiered in 2022 at the Studio theater in DC, which probably hurt its chances. It’s not really a theater that is looked at as being at the forefront of defining American Theater the way other regional theaters might be. I’m not sure it was much on the radar that year

Plays are not necessarily "eligible" the year they are first performed. They have to be submitted to the Pulitzer Committee for consideration of the honor, and that very often is not until a play has already had some developmental (regional) productions.

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

We all knew Purpose was going to win especially me, but the big surprise was Oh, Mary! getting in as a finalist. That speaks volumes. Oh, Mary! still takes best play.

QueenAlice is correct here. Plays, unlike novels, are not automatically published and available as written texts. In order for the Pulitzer committee to consider the play, they need to receive a manual submission to review, which happens once the playwright decides the work is finished. Consider Sweat, which premiered in 2015 in Oregon but wasn't submitted to the Pulitzers until after the 2016 Public Theatre production, eventually winning the 2017 prize.

Oh, Mary! has the Tony in the bag I would imagine.

Though this conversation just brings back the fact that the Tonys do a disservice to plays in that the trophy often goes to the best production of a new play rather than based on the written play. There really should be 2 as there are with Musical. Best New Play (i.e. Book + Score) and Best Production of a New Play (i.e. Best Musical).

There's an industry story about how when Rudin was campaigning for M'fer With A Hat, for his Tony voter mailing, he simply sent the voters the script of War Horse.

Alex Kulak2 said: "I'm glad Branden Jacobs-Jenkins finally got the Pulitzer, but I was really disappointed byPurposewhen I saw it at Steppenwolf, especially by the second act. I have to assume that it had a MAJOR overhaul before Broadway, considering all the praise/awards it's getting."

FWIW (and I’m a big BJJ fan), I liked PURPOSE, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near his best work. It’s flawed. But thrilled he finally won, regardless - he’s truly one of this generation’s best playwrights.

I enjoyed the show when I saw it on Broadway, but I thought the narration was not needed. There's so many scenes where the main character says "I walked into the room and overheard the conversation." And then proceeds to walk in the room and hear the conversation. It just wasn't needed.