Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Coming up next, we'll talk with members of Fake Friends, Michael Breslin, Patrick Foley, Rory Pelsu, Kat Rodriguez, and Ariel Sibbert about their digital theater work created during the pandemic.

Their book collects Circle Jerk, the first digital theater work to be shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and This American Wife.

The plays explore AI influencers, social media, queer fandom, reality television, and the possibilities of theater on the internet as our political and personal lives become increasingly online.

Joining the conversation is arts and culture writer and critic Juan A. Ramirez, who moderates a discussion about the creative, practical, and interpersonal process behind bringing these digitally native works to life.

I hope you enjoy this deep dive into the inner workings of the creative process.

My guest today is Ead Akhtar, novelist and playwright and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

His work has been published and performed in over two dozen languages.

He is the author of the novels American Dervish and Homeland Elegies, which the New York Times named one of the best books of 2020.

It opened at the Music Box in New York on December 26, 1931, just squeezing right in on the end of 1931. and it ran for 441 performances.

Of the I Sing is one of the first Broadway productions to deal with the American political scene, and it is the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Now I picked this one because of its length, the run, you know, over 400 performances, because it was Gershwin.

I did know of this musical even though I've never listened to it before.

And we're back at the libraries in January for Jose Rivera's Mysterious Cloud Tectonics.

The winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Liberation by Bess Wall opens in February for a four-week run, and The Chilling the Thin Place by Lucas Nath will take stage at two libraries in March and April.

Joth Inspector's Eureka Day sees the beginning of a new partnership with the folks over Third Street.

That comic commentary has a four-week run starting in May.

okay the drama desk awards in 1996 also nominated them for outstanding musical outstanding book actor actress featured actor director outstanding orchestrations which was a winner lyrics, music, and costume design.

It also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama that year, Theater World Awards for Adam Pascal and Daphne Rubin Vega, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.

Pretty much most of the things.

It was nominated in 1997 as well for the Best Musical Show Album at the Grammys.

His brothers Dan, John, also in show business.

Dad won the Tony for Best Play and the Pulitzer for Drama.

So, yeah, really smart kid.

Graduated from high school at 16.

Number three is Jason Miller.

He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best Play for writing that championship season.

And he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Father Damien Karras in The Exorcist.

a role that he reprised in The Exorcist III.