Pulitzer 2014

[Sauja]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 3:10pm

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.

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 3:19pm

jesus after Water By The Spoonful came out of nowhere last year and won I don't know what to expect...

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 3:21pm

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.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 3:40pm

Would I be correct in saying THE GREAT COMET would be ineligible (having debuted during a previous period of eligibility)?

FUN HOME, THE FLICK and MR. BURNS all seemed to make a hell of a mark this year and would all be worthy recipients in my eyes. And Richard Nelson winning for REGULAR SINGING could also be viewed as a win for the Apple Family plays as a whole, which wouldn't be bad either. Off-Broadway really had a bounty of riches for original works this year! BAD JEWS also might make the shortlist, though it strikes me as too much a promising-young-playwright piece than a Pulitzer-winner.

One thing I try to look for when thinking about what might be on their shortlist: returning authors. They do sometimes like to give the award to someone they've shortlisted in the past.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 3:49pm

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

[jnb9872]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 3:51pm

I will rule out ALL THE WAY for you. Schenkkan already has his Pulitzer, for a much better work.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 4:07pm

Oh, and APPROPRIATE.

[JayG 2]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 4:15pm

The Apple Plays by Richard Nelson. No competition.

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 4:26pm

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

[jnb9872]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 4:31pm

Wait, isn't HERE LIES LOVE eligible too?

[dreaming]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 5:35pm

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

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 5:55pm

I really don't know how this works, so forgive me if this is a dumb comment. (I'm not sure what the start and end dates for eligibility are.) But to pick up on what jnb9872 said, I'm going to guess that Belleville by Amy Herzog will be nominated. Her 4000 Miles was a finalist last year. Since I didn't care for Belleville at all, I still hope Fun Home is in the running.


Updated On: 3/21/14 at 05:55 PM

[mikem]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 7:11pm

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.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 7:26pm

I would LOVE for Regular Singing to win in recognition of The Apple Family plays. Does anyone know of Nelson submitted each play individually each year? Knowing that he was commissioned to write 4, is it possible that he would wait to submit them as a set in the 4th year? If that's the case, he in my opinion would be the HEAVY favorite to win the award.

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:33am

"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

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:35am

That "Keys" number REALLY cranked your gourd, didn't it?

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:38am

"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...

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:39am

^

It turned my stomach is more like it.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:54am

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

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:59am

^

I had no problems with it at musicals like No, No, Nanette, Hello, Dolly!, Milk and Honey etc., etc.....

In other words..... GOOD ones.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 1:06am

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.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 1:07am

Namo, you are in the vast majority as far as how that song was received.

[Jonah332]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 10:05am

What about Hand to God?

[undercoveractor]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 2:09am

'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. '

I've told you before that I find you fascinating, After Eight, but I'm even more fascinated that you use the term 'beloved' to describe theatre. I swear that I'm not trying to offend or start an argument, but it seems that disliking and disparaging well-received new works is more 'beloved' to you than theatre in the greater sense. If everything is so bad, why do you see all of it?

[ABB2357]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 3:39am

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.