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2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Predictions

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Next Monday, April 16, the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama will be announced! This year is an interesting one because I don't think there's a clear-cut favorite. And quite frankly, I don't think anything from the last year was particularly Pulitzer-worthy (not that I thought Sweat was but moving on.)

Here are a few plays I think could possibly get nominated or even win:

  1. Mary Jane by Amy Herzog. It's no secret that I loved this play. It's about a unique situation we don't often see on stage, with a unique protagonist. Herzog does a great job making us feel for Mary Jane and her situation without making the action too heavy-handed or sentimental. It is simply honest. Mary Jane's health insurance issues also make it timely without being preachy, and a great reflection of American life.
  2. The Antipodes by Annie Baker. Baker is one of my favorite playwrights but I think this one is one of her weaker works. But a weak Annie Baker > a play by most other playwrights. It was still a well-written and well-received play that was unlike anything else last year. However, I can't see the committee giving her another Pulitzer so soon after her first.
  3. If I Forget by Steven Levenson. While I found this one entertaining but not particularly unique or memorable, it is a play with a capital P. It's one of those "family gathers, secrets revealed" plays that borrow quite a bit from August: Osage County (right down to the set) that also deals with topical things such as Israel and presidential elections. It wouldn't get my vote but it's the type of play the committee tends to like.
  4. Junk by Ayad Akhtar. Okay, okay, I hated this one. I can't remember a play that made me angrier than Junk. It was long, meandering, overstuffed, underdeveloped, and dull. But again, it's a play with a capital P that deals with timely topics and it also won the Kennedy Prize this year. It is a reflection of American life, no matter what I thought of it. But it's a story we've heard over again--yes, the 80s were excessive and greed is good and the small companies are always going to get screwed in the end. Anyway, I do think Akhtar's recent win will work against him but I wouldn't count this out as a possible nominee.
  5. The Treasurer by Max Posner. I wasn't much of a fan of this but it got quite a bit of praise so I cannot count this out.
  6. Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau. It's timely, topical, and sufficiently liberal, plus Morisseau has been an important enough playwright lately that I could see the committee wanting to reward her.
  7. A Doll's House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath. Lucas Hnath is one of my idols so I'll keep this brief. There wasn't a stronger play written last year than this one, and Hnath is one of the best around right now and deserves more recognition. However, it's not American in any sense, which may work against it. (Then again, the committee plays fast and loose with that rule when it wants to.)

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