The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were awarded that year."1917 Winners" . The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2013-12-20. (No Drama prize was given, however, so that one was inaugurated in 1918, in a sense.) It recognizes a theatrical work staged in the U.S. during the preceding calendar year.
Joseph Pulitzer stipulated that the Pulitzer Prize for Drama should be awarded, "...Annually, for the original American play, performed in New York, which shall best represent the educational value and power of the stage in raising the standard of good morals, good taste, and good manners." The original prize was $1,000.
Until 2007, eligibility for the Drama Prize ran from March 1 to March 2 to reflect the Broadway "season" rather than the calendar year that governed most other Pulitzer Prizes.
The drama jury is composed of four members and a chair. Typically, these are three or four critics, complemented by academics or playwrights. The jury reviews scripts submitted by New York and regional theater productions, taking the production of the play into account. The jury makes recommendations to the Pulitzer board, which the board is not required to accept. This can result in the prize being awarded to another play, or in no prize being awarded.
Rejections of the jury's recommendations In 1924, the board's selection of Hell-Bent fer Heaven over the jury's recommendation of George Kelly's The Show-Off caused a minor scandal as the recipient of the award, Hatcher Hughes, taught at Columbia, which oversees the award. The jury resigned.
In 1955 Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. pressured the prize jury into presenting the Prize to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which the jury considered the weakest of the five shortlisted nominees ("amateurishly constructed... from the stylistic points of view annoyingly pretentious"), instead of Clifford Odets' The Flowering Peach or Maxwell Anderson's The Bad Seed.Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich & Erika J. Fischer. The Pulitzer Prize Archive: A History and Anthology of Award-Winning Materials in Journalism, Letters, and Arts München: K.G. Saur, 2008. p. 246
Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was selected for the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Drama by that year's jury. However, the jury was overruled by the award's advisory board, the trustees of Columbia University, because of the play's then-controversial use of profanity and sexual themes. The jurors, John Gassner and John Mason Brown, resigned, calling the decision "a farce."
In 1986, the jury's only recommendation was Robert Wilson's the CIVIL warS and the board declined to award a prize. Critic Dan Sullivan criticized both the board, for ignoring the jury of experts and refusing to acknowledge the avant-garde auteur Wilson, and the jury, for not selecting other plays as finalists, such as Aunt Dan and Lemon by Wallace Shawn or The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer.
Awards and nominations No award for said category was presented when the Prizes were first held in 1917.A Peek into the Pulitzer Prize|Goodman Theatre
The most recipients of the prize in one year was five, when Michael Bennett, James Kirkwood, Jr., Nicholas Dante, Marvin Hamlisch, and Edward Kleban shared the 1976 prize for the musical A Chorus Line.
Notes † marks winners of the Tony Award for Best Play.
* marks winners of the Tony Award for Best Musical.
≠ marks nominees of the Tony Award for Best Play or the Tony Award for Best Musical
1910s YearProductionAuthor1917 1918Why Marry?Jesse Lynch Williams1919
1920s YearProductionAuthor1920Beyond the HorizonEugene O'Neill1921Miss Lulu BettZona Gale1922Anna ChristieEugene O'Neill1923IceboundOwen Davis1924Hell-Bent fer HeavenHatcher Hughes1925They Knew What They WantedSidney Howard1926Craig's WifeGeorge Kelly1927In Abraham's BosomPaul Green1928Strange InterludeEugene O'Neill1929Street SceneElmer Rice
1930s YearProductionAuthor1930The Green PasturesMarc Connelly1931Alison's HouseSusan Glaspell1932Of Thee I SingGeorge S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind and Ira Gershwin1933Both Your HousesMaxwell Anderson1934Men in WhiteSidney Kingsley1935The Old MaidZoë Akins1936Idiot's DelightRobert E. Sherwood1937You Can't Take It with YouMoss Hart and George S. Kaufman1938Our TownThornton Wilder1939Abe Lincoln in IllinoisRobert E. Sherwood
1940s YearProductionAuthor1940The Time of Your LifeWilliam Saroyan1941There Shall Be No NightRobert E. Sherwood1942 1943The Skin of Our TeethThornton Wilder1944 1945HarveyMary Coyle Chase1946State of the UnionRussel Crouse and Howard Lindsay1947 1948A Streetcar Named DesireTennessee Williams1949Death of a Salesman†Arthur Miller
1950s YearProductionAuthor1950South Pacific*Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan1951 1952The ShrikeJoseph Kramm1953PicnicWilliam Inge1954The Teahouse of the August Moon†John Patrick1955Cat on a Hot Tin Roof≠Tennessee Williams1956The Diary of Anne Frank†Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich1957Long Day's Journey into Night†Eugene O'Neill1958Look Homeward, Angel≠Ketti Frings1959J.B.†Archibald MacLeish
1960s YearProductionAuthor1960Fiorello!*Jerome Weidman, George Abbott, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick1961All the Way Home≠Tad Mosel1962How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying*How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – Frank LosserFrank Loesser and Abe Burrows1963 1964 1965The Subject Was Roses†Frank D. Gilroy1966 1967A Delicate Balance≠Edward Albee1968 1969The Great White Hope†Howard Sackler
1970s YearProductionAuthor1970No Place to Be SomebodyCharles Gordone1971The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon MarigoldsPaul Zindel1972 1973That Championship Season†Jason Miller1974 1975Seascape≠Edward Albee1976A Chorus Line*Michael Bennett, Nicholas Dante, James Kirkwood, Jr., Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban1977The Shadow Box†Michael Cristofer1978The Gin Game≠Donald L. Coburn1979Buried ChildSam Shepard
1980s YearProductionAuthor1980Talley's Folly≠Lanford Wilson1981Crimes of the Heart≠Beth Henley1982A Soldier's PlayCharles Fuller1983'night, Mother≠Marsha NormanTrue WestSam Shepard1984Glengarry Glen Ross≠David MametFool for LoveSam ShepardPainting ChurchesTina Howe1985Sunday in the Park with George≠James Lapine and Stephen SondheimThe Dining RoomA. R. GurneyThe Gospel at ColonusLee Breuer and Bob Telson1986 the CIVIL warS: a tree is best measured when it is downRobert Wilson1987Fences†August WilsonBroadway Bound≠Neil SimonA Walk in the WoodsLee Blessing1988Driving Miss DaisyAlfred UhryBoys' LifeHoward KorderTalk RadioEric Bogosian1989The Heidi Chronicles†Wendy WassersteinThe Piano Lesson≠August WilsonM. Butterfly†David Henry Hwang
1990s YearProductionAuthor1990The Piano Lesson≠August WilsonAnd What of the Night?María Irene FornésLove LettersA. R. Gurney1991Lost in Yonkers†Neil SimonPrelude to a Kiss≠Craig LucasSix Degrees of Separation≠John Guare1992The Kentucky Cycle≠Robert SchenkkanConversations with My FatherHerb GardnerMiss Evers' BoysDavid FeldshuhTwo Trains Running≠August WilsonSight UnseenDonald Margulies1993Angels in America: Millennium Approaches†Tony KushnerThe Destiny of MeLarry KramerFires in the MirrorAnna Deavere Smith1994Three Tall WomenEdward AlbeeKeely and DuJane MartinA Perfect GaneshTerrence McNally1995The Young Man from AtlantaHorton FooteThe CryptogramDavid MametSeven Guitars≠August Wilson1996Rent*Jonathan LarsonA Fair CountryJon Robin BaitzOld Wicked SongsJon Marans1997 Collected StoriesDonald MarguliesThe Last Night of Ballyhoo†Alfred UhryPride's CrossingTina Howe1998How I Learned to DrivePaula VogelFreedomlandAmy FreedThree Days of RainRichard Greenberg1999WitMargaret EdsonRunning ManCornelius Eady and Diedre MurraySide Man†Warren Leight
2000s YearProductionAuthor2000Dinner with FriendsDonald MarguliesIn the BloodSuzan-Lori ParksKing Hedley II≠August Wilson2001Proof†David Auburn The Play about the BabyEdward AlbeeThe Waverly GalleryKenneth Lonergan2002Topdog/Underdog≠Suzan-Lori ParksThe Glory of LivingRebecca GilmanYellowmanDael Orlandersmith2003Anna in the Tropics≠Nilo CruzThe Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?†Edward AlbeeTake Me Out†Richard Greenberg2004I Am My Own Wife†Doug WrightMan from NebraskaTracy LettsOmnium GatherumTheresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros2005Doubt: A Parable†John Patrick ShanleyThe Clean HouseSarah RuhlThom Pain (based on nothing)Will Eno2006 Miss WitherspoonChristopher DurangThe Intelligent Design of Jenny ChowRolin JonesRed Light WinterAdam Rapp2007Rabbit Hole≠David Lindsay-AbaireBulrusherEisa DavisOrpheus XRinde EckertElliot, a Soldier's FugueQuiara Alegría Hudes2008August: Osage County†Tracy LettsDying CityChristopher ShinnYellow FaceDavid Henry Hwang2009RuinedLynn NottageBecky ShawGina GionfriddoIn the Heights*Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes
2010s YearProductionAuthor2010Next to Normal≠Tom Kitt and Brian YorkeyBengal Tiger at the Baghdad ZooRajiv JosephThe Elaborate Entrance of Chad DeityKristoffer DiazIn the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)≠Sarah Ruhl2011Clybourne Park†Bruce NorrisDetroitLisa D'AmourA Free Man of ColorJohn Guare2012Water by the SpoonfulQuiara Alegría HudesOther Desert Cities≠Jon Robin BaitzSons of the ProphetStephen Karam2013Disgraced≠Ayad AkhtarRapture, Blister, BurnGina Gionfriddo4000 MilesAmy Herzog2014The FlickAnnie BakerThe (Curious Case of the) Watson IntelligenceMadeleine GeorgeFun Home*Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron2015Between Riverside and Crazy≠Stephen Adly GuirgisMarjorie Prime Jordan HarrisonFather Comes Home from the WarsSuzan-Lori Parks2016Hamilton*Lin-Manuel MirandaThe Humans†Stephen KaramGloriaBranden Jacobs-Jenkins2017Sweat≠Lynn NottageA 24-Decade History of Popular MusicTaylor MacThe Wolves Sarah DeLappe2018Cost of Living≠Martyna MajokEverybodyBranden Jacobs-JenkinsThe Minutes≠Tracy Letts2019FairviewJackie Sibblies DruryDance NationClare BarronWhat the Constitution Means to Me≠Heidi Schreck
2020s YearProductionAuthorRef2020A Strange Loop*Michael R. JacksonHeroes of the Fourth TurningWill ArberySoft PowerDavid Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori2021The Hot Wing KingKatori HallCircle JerkMichael Breslin and Patrick FoleyStewZora Howard2022Fat Ham≠James IjamesKristina Wong, Sweatshop OverlordKristina WongSelling KabulSylvia Khoury2023English≠Sanaz ToossiThe Far CountryLloyd SuhOn SugarlandAleshea Harris2024Primary TrustEboni BoothHere There Are BlueberriesAmanda Gronich and Moises KaufmanPublic ObscenitiesShayok Misha Chowdhury2025Purpose†Branden Jacobs-JenkinsThe AllyItamar MosesOh, Mary!≠Cole Escola2026Liberation†Bess WohlBowl EPNazareth HassanMeet the CartoziansTalene Monahon
Notes
Musicals Ten musicals have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, roughly one per decade from the 1930s to the 2020s¹. They are: George and Ira Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing (1932), Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific (1950), Bock & Harnick's Fiorello! (1960), Frank Loesser's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1962), Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood, Jr., and Nicholas Dante's A Chorus Line (1976), Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George (1985), Jonathan Larson's Rent (1996), Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt's Next to Normal (2010), Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton (2016), and Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop (2020). Though it did not win for Drama, Oklahoma! was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944.
Of note, South Pacific won the 1950 Pulitzer for Drama but its source material, James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific, also won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Similarly, non-musical All the Way Home by Tad Mosel won the 1961 Pulitzer and was based on James Agee's 1957 Pulitzer winning novel A Death in the Family.