Next to Normal Wins 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Kitt & Yorkey 'Shocked'

Next to Normal has been awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The award, to be presented to Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (book and lyrics) was declared the winner over three finalists by the Pulitzer board, which cited the show as “a powerful rock musical that grapples with mental illness in a suburban family and expands the scope of subject matter for musicals." The Pulitzer Prize is awarded to “a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in it source and dealing with American life” and includes a cash prize of $10,000.

Speaking less than two hours after learning of the Pulitzer win, Brian Yorkey described his reaction as "complete and utter shock." Echoed Tom Kitt, "It's something we never could have dreamed would be possible." The duo found out the big news from producer David Stone, "and I made him swear he wasn't playing a joke," quipped Yorkey, adding, "I'm still a little bit shaky, if you want to know the truth." Kitt was in rehearsal as American Idiot's music supervisor when he learned of the Pulitzer. "I started yelling something; I'm not sure what! But I was overjoyed by the news."

Adding to the excitement is the fact that musicals rarely win the prestigious prize. Since A Chorus Line took the Pulitzer in 1976, only three tuners have won: Sunday in the Park with George (1985), Rent (1996) and now Next to Normal. "What's cool is that Tom and I always said that without Rent and without Sondheim, there's no Next to Normal," Yorkey noted. "So to be in their company in this way is a real honor." And, the librettist pointed out, two of those shows have something in common: "It's Michael Greif's second Pulitzer Prize-winning musical," he said of the director of Next to Normal and Rent. "I call him 'the Pulitzer maker.'"

Nominated as finalists in the category were The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz, a play invoking the exaggerated role-playing of professional wrestling to explore themes from globalization to ethnic stereotyping, as the audience becomes both intimate insider and ringside spectator; Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo by Rajiv Joseph, a play about the chaotic Iraq war that uses a network of characters, including a caged tiger, to ponder violent, senseless death, blending social commentary with tragicomic mayhem; and In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl, an inventive work that mixes comedy and drama as it examines the medical practice of a 19th century American doctor and confronts questions of female sexuality and emancipation.

A fact sheet released upon announcement of the Pulitzers noted that in the drama category, "After a three-fourths vote, the prize went to a musical that had not been nominated by the jury." A board of 17 voting members made the selection.

Yorkey and Kitt's show had a long development, including a 2008 off-Broadway production at Second Stage, a revised production at DC's Arena Stage and the current Broadway production, which opened on April 15, 2009, at the Booth Theatre. The show won Tony Awards for Kitt and Yorkey's score, Kitt and Michael Starobin's orchestrations and Alice Ripley's lead performance.

The 2010 Pulitzer Prize jury included Charles McNulty, drama critic of The Los Angeles Times (chair); John M. Clum, professor of theater studies and English at Duke University; playwright Nilo Cruz, former Variety theater critic David Rooney and Chicago Sun-Times theater and dance critic Hedy Weiss. The jurors considered a total of 79 plays.

After speaking with the press, Kitt and Yorkey said they plan to head over to the Booth Theatre to share the excitement with the Next to Normal cast. "This was an adventure for all of us, and every person on that stage believed in this show and made it possible," Yorkey said. "We're going to congratulate and thank them."