The Pulitzer Prize for Drama- Page 3

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:37pm

i think THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA is definitely worthy and as pointed out it is about 2 Americans experience in Italy.
And best 12 bars the Answer was:
WHAT IS South Pacific?
Updated On: 2/23/06 at 01:37 PM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:42pm

Good point, Margo. Maybe in that respect, CAROLINE should have won...

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:57pm

I heard a rumor -- unconfirmed -- that Brantley so disliked CAROLINE that he insisted on it not even be put up for a vote by the committee and that he even threatened to walk off the board, if they fought him on it. Since I wasn't in the room, I can't prove it happened, but my source insists it did.

Updated On: 2/23/06 at 01:57 PM

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:58pm

What a pity they didn't call his bluff and do it anyway just to be rid of him.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:59pm

if so Margo,
They should have let him leave the board!

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:07pm

Well, half of them wanted to give it to Virginia Woolf, but they decided the language was too vulgar.

Why the hell should Light in the Piazza win?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:27pm

It was last year, anyway...

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 3:41pm

PIAZZA opened April of 2005, so it would be eligible for the 2006 Pulitzer.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:03pm

Does that mean it was ineligible last year?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:21pm

Yes. The upcoming 2006 Pulitzer is for shows that emerged between January 1 and December 31, 2005. The 2005 Pulitzer (that went to DOUBT) was for shows that happened in 2004, and so on.....

[karlean7]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:45pm

There's about one Pulitzer a year for a musical, with 1975, 1985, and 1996 being A Chorus Line, Sunday, and Rent, respectively.

Personally I thought that Avenue Q should have won.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:45pm

Any link to Brantley's review of Caroline? I can't imagine a critic not liking it. I admit its sort of hard to get into, but I really like it. And that says a lot considering my fav. shows are usually rock/pop type stuff.

I don't think Piazza would be a good choice. I'm just not sure I see it up there with August Wilson & Albee type stuff.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:53pm

Caroline received mostly mixed-to-negative reviews by our incompetent little fraternity of NYC critics. Only John Lahr of the New Yorker, John Heilprin of the Observer and Frank Rich (in his Sunday column in the Times) raved about the show, all declaring it an important masterpiece. Several west coast critics also raved during the LA and San Francisco engagements that occurred after the Broadway run.

Brantley's Caroline review

Updated On: 2/23/06 at 04:53 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:56pm

"In theatre however, The Pulitzer is something of a joke in many circles, having made one bone-headed decision after another through the years"

Please add The Young Man From Atlanta to that list. I saw the premiere and left wondering why it was produced in the first place.

[DG]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 5:10pm

Just want to add one more little voice to the 'CAROLINE should have won the Pulitzer' chorus.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 3/25/06 at 9:03pm

I think The Light in the Piazza is the play that is most deserving.

Lucas wrote a genius level book for it.

And there is no doubt whatever in my mind that Mr. Mays made great contributions to I Am My Own Wife that were perhaps not credited because he is a wonderful words person.

And in one of the articles I read about the beginnings of the play at Sundance, it was he who focused on the furniture, the antiques themselves. My intuition also tells me it was he who originated the line about how you leave the patina of age, or imperfections on antiques (to refinish them lessens their value) which was a great analogy to acknowledging the character of his lead with all his/her faults and imperfections.

Mr. Mays would know about antiques, probably more than the playwright. And I thought that was the bit of genius in the piece. Ah, well, but that is just my intuition, and how will we ever know without a confession... Updated On: 3/25/06 at 09:03 PM

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 3/25/06 at 11:27pm

"I heard a rumor -- unconfirmed -- that Brantley so disliked CAROLINE that he insisted on it not even be put up for a vote by the committee and that he even threatened to walk off the board, if they fought him on it. Since I wasn't in the room, I can't prove it happened, but my source insists it did."

If true, I have new respect for Brantley. Would that he would have had the courage to state his dislike unequivocally in his review instead of writing back-handed gibberish like "it's too good to be good."

Tootie "The Most Horrible" Smith
St. Louis, MO

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 3/25/06 at 11:45pm

I found the Caroline and the Wicked songs on that year's Tony Awards to be so horrible I never went to either of the shows.

One just ugly and angry and the other all huffing and gasping. Good grief.

I can't speak for the whole shows but what I saw and heard made we want to run for cover rather than attend.

[QMAN03]

Posted: 3/26/06 at 12:38am

So who are some of the strong contenders for this year?

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 3/26/06 at 1:36am

LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA was on the shortlist I believe 2 years ago, no?

[IssaMe]

Posted: 3/26/06 at 6:46pm

...well, at least before the extension to July 2 was announced.

It was another brilliant performance with an enthusiastic audience...probably a lot of repeat people there for what was once to be the final performance.

Don't think I've ever seen Victoria Clark give such an emotionally deep and wrenching performance as today's. Great to see Katie Clarke back. Aaron Lazar was his usual brilliant self...and the whole cast was exceptional.

Even the soccer ball ----which was not only present but gave a sterling interpretation of ---- well, being a soccer ball.

However, Victoria's glasses which are frequently used as a prop were missing today and weren't prominently featured.

It was just another run-of-the-mill totally brilliant performance for this totally brilliant show.

[Dgrav30]

Posted: 3/27/06 at 4:03pm

i was there as well and thought it was fantastic, hasn't lost any steam at all.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/27/06 at 4:09pm

No, PIAZZA only opened in March of last year, so obviously it couldn't have been shortlisted before. This upcoming Pulitzer is the first one it could have been eligible for.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 3/27/06 at 5:53pm

Thank you, IssaMe, for updating us on the presence and well-being of Apollo's chariot, that romping soccer ball.

So glad to hear that Piazza retains its sensational fine form!

Piazza for Pulitzer!

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 3/27/06 at 6:14pm

Margo, perhaps you can clarify. What is the reasoning behind Piazza becoming eligible just this year when it had two productions (Seattle and Chicago) the year before?