Pulitzer 2014

We're about three weeks off the next Pulitzer announcement, and I'm just starting to think about last year and what shows might have a chance. Doesn't look like it will end up being a show that started on Broadway unless it were to go to The Assembled Parties and The Nance will be eligible. Nothing else from 2013 on Broadway looks like it would have much of a chance. My heart wants it to go to Fun Home. There's also Regular Singing or The Jacksonian. And I would be thrilled (though I know MANY would be outraged) if The Flick or Mr. Burns got it.

I'm sure there are tons of shows that opened outside of New York that could be contenders. I'd love to know if anyone else has thoughts on shows that could be in the running. Or if anything looks like a front runner.

I agree with Sauja: Fun Home Fun Home Fun Home!

But PlayItAgain, you're right. It could be something that hasn't even played in New York City yet.

But I still hope it's Fun Home.

I wouldn't rule out ALL THE WAY, DETROIT '67 (which won the Kennedy prize this year), and some of the new Marcus Gardley plays (THE HOUSE THAT WILL NOT STAND and BLACK ODYSSEY).

And the powerful, new play BROWNSVILLE SONG by Kimber Lee, which is premiering at the Humana Festival this year, could be a major contender .

Updated On: 3/21/14 at 03:49 PM

Oh, and APPROPRIATE.

Or at least the last one, which would be the only one eligible, right?

Here Lies Love doesn't deal with an American topic. The Pulitzers tend to go to shows dealing with a subject in American history or life. (There are notable exceptions, but with the strength of the competition meeting that criteria, I'd say the chances are slim.)

I'd be happy to see Fun Home get short listed (in my heart I want it to win-it has brought a new voice to a particular segment of the population).

I think Mr. Burns might be a contender, Detroit '67, The Apple Plays are all very strong possibilities. (I think The Nance is also a strong contender.)

Updated On: 3/21/14 at 05:35 PM

If Vanya and Sonia is eligible, I would think it would be the frontrunner. Some plays are purposely held from Pulitzer consideration until they are finalized. The other Tony nominees were The Assembled Parties, which might win, and Lucky Guy and The Testament of Mary, which won't.

Fun Home has the pedigree to get the Pulitzer. I agree the committee seems to care about that kind of thing. I would be extremely happy if it won.

Regular Singing didn't seem to get quite the reviews as the previous play in the series, so I don't think it will win here. I would agree with those who think All the Way is out of the running. It might go to The Flick, which I didn't see. Mr Burns seems less likely.

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"FUN HOME, THE FLICK and MR. BURNS "

These are the three that I predicted in one of those interminable Fun Home threads.

It's really very simple. Just ask yourself what three shows of the year were the most irritating and/or boring and/or offensive. And voilà, you have your three finalists right there, in this case, the above-mentioned trio.

Which will win? Well, that's a toughie. I have a feeling it will be the most wretched of the three. I mean, what could top a little girl miauling her passion for a delivery woman in jeans?

If there's any consolation to be found in this rotten state of affairs, it is knowing that at least two of the three will lose. But unfortunately for our beloved theatre, one of them will win.

Updated On: 3/22/14 at 12:33 AM

"These are the three that I predicted in one of those interminable Fun Home threads."

It must be hell for you to be trapped in a place that you personally have to click to enter every time you find yourself there...

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I can't imagine having such a sensitive tummy. Must be a challenge.

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Personally I thought Fun Home was gorgeous and smart as hell and the Keys number reminded me of stories lots of queer people have told about the dawning of same sex attraction for them. Of course, I was expecting a scene like that, having read and loved Bechdel's book, but I didn't know there would be a song that captured the experience so beautifully. It reminded me of a story one gay man told in The Spada Report about being in the back seat of his family car when he was a little kid and seeing a telephone lineman atop a pole, shirtless on a hot summer day. The chest hair caught his attention and then the kid made eye contact with the man. At that minute, the kid KNEW something about himself. As the car pulled off the man at the pole winked at him and the guy telling Spada the story said he was thankful to that phone guy for the rest of his life.

That's what "Keys" reminded me of, an adult remembering the sensation as a child. It's not even like the woman with the keys acknowledged Alison, like the winking man up that pole. But if acknowledging that children have sexuality upsets your stomach, it upsets your stomach, and I guess there's nothing to be done about that.

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What about Hand to God?

FUN HOME is a near masterpiece and I would be thrilled if it won.

And while I understand interpreting "Ring of Keys" as being about adolescent sexuality, I don't think the song is sexual at all. Throughout the show, we see young Alison rejecting girly things like dresses and barrettes, wanting to get a crew cut, etc., and this is the first time she sees a grown woman in that image. She's not old enough to experience sexual desire, she's just recognizing the woman as a person like herself. Listen to the lyrics! It's incredibly moving and there's nothing creepy about it at all.