Pulitzer Prize Winners in the Performing Arts: Communications and Biographies about Dramatists and Composers 1918 - 2000 (Pulitzer Prize Panorama) 364391492X, 9783643914927

Table of contents :
Cover
Contents
Jury Communications
Drama Winners
Music Winners
Bibliography

Citation preview

Heinz-Dietrich Fischer

Pulitzer Prize Winners in the Performing Arts Communications and Biographies about Dramatists and Composers 1918 – 2000

Pulitzer Prize Panorama No. 29

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Heinz-Dietrich Fischer

Pulitzer Prize Winners in the Performing Arts

Pulitzer Prize Panorama edited by

Prof. Dr. Heinz-Dietrich Fischer (Bochum)

Volume 29

LIT

Heinz-Dietrich Fischer

Pulitzer Prize Winners in the Performing Arts Communications and Biographies about Dramatists and Composers 1918 – 2000

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I

Preface Among the prizes that Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911) defined in detail in his last will, there was also one for outstanding achievements in the theater. The original description of the award read: „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 moral, good taste and good manners.“ Although, as Pulitzer Prize historian John Hohenberg remarked, „the American theater was stagnant at the time the first Pulitzer Prizes in Drama were awarded, there was a lot of excitement on Broadway, but much of the standard fare was both trivial and banal.“ Therefore, in the beginning, it was rather difficult for the jurors to reach decisions that met with general acceptance. So in the inaugural year of 1917 no Drama award could be given. Music also was one of Joseph Pulitzer’s passion. He particularly loved the compositions of Beethoven, Wagner and Liszt. The publisher’s will bequeathed $ 500.000 to the New York Philharmonic Society. But the man’s testament did not ask for a prize in music. It called only for a scholarship for music students. This was the situation when the Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in 1917 for the first time. At the beginning of the 1940s, after 22 Music Scholarships had been granted in total, the Music Department of Columbia University started a new initiative and suggested to increase the fund for music to a regular Pulitzer Prize for Music. The idea was taken up and in 1943 the Advisory Board on the Pulitzer Prizes established the new award, defined as „for distinguished musical composition by an American in any of the larger forms, including chamber, orchestral, choral, opera, song, dance, or other forms of musical theatre.“ So, from 1943 on, there exist two parallel running Performing Arts Pulitzer Prizes, „Drama“ and „Music.“ Their history is presented in this volume, based on the decisions written down in the annual jury reports, the winner biographies and facsimiles of the original first performance programs. I am very much indebted to Edward M. Kliment, Administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes. He not only made available the confidential jury reports but he also opened the doors to the Pulitzer Prize Collection at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University, New York. October 22, 2021 Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

H.-D. Fischer

II

In Memory of Composer

Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Karel Husa Pulitzer Prize Winner in Music 1969 * August 7, 1921, in Prague, Czechoslovakia † December 12, 2016, in Apex, North Carolina on his 100th Birthday

III

Contents PREFACE ................................................................................................................

I

JURY COMMUNICATIONS Prizes for Top Artistic Achievements ................................................................... Drama Awards 1918 - 2000 ................................................................................. Music Awards 1943 - 2000 ...................................................................................

2 2 29

DRAMA WINNERS Biographies and Premiere Programs ..................................................................... 1918 Why Marry?, by Jesse L. Williams ............................................................... 1920 Beyond the Horizon, by Eugene O’Neill .................................................... 1921 Miss Lulu Bett, by Zona Gale .................................................................... 1922 Anna Christie, by Eugene O’Neill .............................................................. 1923 Icebound, by Owen Davis ........................................................................... 1924 Hell-Bent Fer Heaven, by Hatcher Hughes ................................................. 1925 They Knew What They Wanted, by Sidney C. Howard ................................ 1926 Craig’s Wife, by George E. Kelly ............................................................... 1927 In Abraham’s Bosom, by Paul Green .......................................................... 1928 Strange Interlude, by Eugene O’Neill ......................................................... 1929 Street Scene, by Elmer C. Rice ................................................................... 1930 The Green Pastures, by Marcus C. Connelly ................................................ 1931 Alison’s House, by Susan K. Glaspell ......................................................... 1932 Of Thee I Sing, by George S. Kaufman/Morrie Ryskind/Ira Gershwin ....... 1933 Both Your Houses, by Maxwell Anderson ................................................... 1934 Men In White, by Sidney Kingsley .............................................................. 1935 The Old Maid, by Zoe Akins ........................................................................ 1936 Idiot’s Delight, by Robert E. Sherwood ...................................................... 1937 You Can’t Take It With You, by Moss Hart/George S. Kaufman .................. 1938 Our Town, by Thornton N. Wilder .............................................................. 1939 Abe Lincoln In Illinois, by Robert E. Sherwood ......................................... 1940 The Time Of Your Life, by William Saroyan ............................................... 1941 There Shall Be No Night, by Robert E. Sherwood ...................................... 1943 The Skin Of Our Teeth, by Thornton N. Wilder .......................................... 1944 Oklahoma !, by Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II ............................ 1945 Harvey, by Mary C. Chase ........................................................................... 1946 State Of The Union, by Russel Crouse/Howard Lindsay ............................. 1948 A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams ..................................... 1949 Death Of A Salesman, by Arthur Miller ...................................................... 1950 South Pacific, by R. Rodgers/O. Hammerstein II/J. L. Logan III ................ 1952 The Shrike, by Joseph Kramm ..................................................................... 1953 Picnic, by William M. Inge ......................................................................... 1954 The Teahouse Of The August Moon, by John Patrick .................................. 1955 Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, by Tennessee Williams ......................................... 1956 The Diary Of Anne Frank, by Albert Hackett/Frances Goodrich ................ 1957 Long Day’s Journey Into Night, by Eugene O’Neill ....................................

47 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 102 104 106 108 110 112 114 116 118

IV 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1965 1967 1969 1970 1971 1973 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000

Look Homeward, Angel, by Ketti (Kathryn) H. Frings ................................ J. B., by Archibald MacLeish ...................................................................... Fiorello !, by J. Weidman/G. F. Abbott/J. L. Bock/S. M. Harnick ............... All The Way Home, by Tad Mosel ............................................................... How To Succeed In Business Without Trying, by F. Loesser/A. Burrows ... The Subject Was Roses, by Frank D. Gilroy ................................................ A Delicate Balance, by Edward F. Albee ..................................................... The Great White Hope, by Howard Sackler ................................................ No Place To Be Somebody, by Charles Gordone ......................................... The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds, by P. Zindel That Championship Season, by Jason Miller .............................................. Seascape, by Edward F. Albee .................................................................... A Chorus Line, by M. Bennett/J. Kirkwood/N. Dante/M. F. Hamlisch/E.L. Kleban The Shadow Box, by Michael Cristofer ....................................................... The Gin Game, by Donald L. Coburn ......................................................... Buried Child, by Sam(uel) Shepard ............................................................. Talley’s Folly, by Lanford E. Wilson ............................................................ Crimes Of The Heart, by Beth Henley ........................................................ A Soldier’s Play, by Charles H. Fuller Jr. .................................................... Night, Mother, by Marsha Norman ............................................................. Glengarry Glen Ross, by David A. Mamet ................................................. Sunday In The Park With George, by Stephen J. Sondheim/James E. Lapine Fences, by August Wilson ........................................................................... Driving Miss Daisy, by Alfred Uhry ........................................................... The Heidi Chronicles, by Wendy Wasserstein ............................................ The Piano Lesson, by August Wilson .......................................................... Lost In Yonkers, by M. Neil Simon ............................................................. The Kentucky Cycle, by Robert F. Schenkkan ............................................. Angels In America, by Tony Kushner ......................................................... Three Tall Women, by Edward F. Albee ...................................................... The Young Man From Atlanta, by Horton Foote ......................................... Rent, by Jonathan Larson ............................................................................ How I Learned To Drive, by Paula Vogel ................................................... Wit, by Margaret Edson ............................................................................... Dinner With Friends, by Donald Margulies ................................................

120 122 124 126 128 130 132 134 136 138 140 142 144 146 148 150 152 154 156 158 160 162 164 166 168 170 172 174 176 178 180 182 184 186 188

1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951

MUSIC WINNERS Biographies and Premiere Programs ........................................................... Secular Cantata No. 2, by William H. Schuman ......................................... Symphony No. 4, Opus 34, by Howard H. Hanson ..................................... Appalachian Spring, by Aaron Copland ...................................................... The Canticle Of The Sun, by Leo Sowerby ................................................. Symphony No. 3, by Charles E. Ives ........................................................... Symphony No. 3, by Walter H. Piston Jr. .................................................... Louisiana Story, by Virgil G. Thomson ....................................................... The Consul, by Gian-Carlo Menotti ............................................................ Giants In The Earth, by Douglas S. Moore ................................................

191 192 194 196 198 200 202 204 206 208

V Symphony Concertante, by Gail T. Kubik ................................................... Concerto For Two Pianos And Orchestra, by Quincy W. Porter ................ The Saint Of Bleecker Street, by Gian-Carlo Menotti ................................. Symphony No. 3, by Ernst Toch .................................................................. Meditations on Ecclesiastes, by Norman Dello Joio ................................... Vanessa, by Samuel Barber ......................................................................... Concerto For Piano and Orchestra, by John La Montaine ......................... Second String Quartet, by Elliot C. Carter Jr. ............................................. Symphony No. 7, by Walter H. Piston Jr. .................................................... The Crucible, by Robert E. Ward ................................................................ Piano Concerto No. 1, by Samuel Barber ..................................................... Variations for Orchestra, by Leslie R. Bassett ............................................ Quartet No. 3, by Leon Kirchner ................................................................ Echoes Of Time And The River, by George H. Crumb ................................ String Quartet No. 3, by Karel Husa ........................................................... Time’s Encomium, by Charles P. Wuorinen .................................................. Synchronisms No. 6 For Piano and Electronic Sound, by Mario Davidovsky Windows, by Jacob R. Druckman ................................................................ String Quartet No. 3, by Elliot C. Carter Jr. ................................................ Notturno, by Donald J. Martino .................................................................. From The Diary Of Virginia Woolf, by Dominick Argento ......................... Air Music, by Ned Rorem ........................................................................... Visions Of Terror And Wonder, by Richard F. Wernick ............................... Déjà Vu For Percussion Quartet and Orchestra, by Michael C. Colgrass ... Aftertones Of Infinity, by Joseph Schwantner ............................................. In Memory Of A Summer Day, by David Del Tredici .................................. Concerto For Orchestra, by Roger H. Sessions .......................................... Symphony No. 1, by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich ................................................... „Canti Del Sole“ For Tenor And Orchestra, by Bernhard Rands ............... Symphony, Riverrun, by Stephen J. Albert .................................................. Wind Quintet IV, by George Perle ............................................................... The Flight Into Egypt, by John Harbison .................................................... 12 New Etudes For Piano, by William E. Bolcom ...................................... Whispers Out Of Time, by Roger L. Reynolds ............................................. „Duplicates“: A Concerto For Two Pianos And Orchestra, by Mel Powell Symphony, by Shulamit Ran ........................................................................ The Face Of The Night, The Heart Of The Dark, by Wayne T. Peterson .... Trombone Concerto, by Christopher C. Rouse III ....................................... Of Reminiscences And Reflections, by Gunther A. Schuller ........................ Stringmusic, by Morton Gould .................................................................... Lilacs, by George T. Walker Jr. ................................................................... Blood On The Fields, by Winton Marsalis ................................................. String Quartet No. 2, by Aaron J. Kernis .................................................... Concerto For Flute, Strings And Percussion, by Melinda Wagner ............. Life Is A Dream, by Lewis Spratlan .............................................................

210 212 214 216 218 220 222 224 226 228 230 232 234 236 238 240 242 244 246 248 250 252 254 256 258 260 262 264 266 268 270 272 274 276 278 280 282 284 286 288 290 292 294 296 298

Bibliography ..........................................................................................................

300

1952 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

1

Jury Communications Decision-Making Processes in Drama and Music 1918 - 2000

2

PRIZES FOR TOP ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Since Joseph Pulitzer liked arts and artists as well; there was also one of this type in the original plan of awards. It was the Pulitzer Prize for "Drama" which later on also included comedy. It took several decades before another award in the field of the performing arts was created - for "Music." Beside the two prizes for outstanding achievements in theatre and composition, a third award in the artistic field should not be overlooked: it was for "Editorial Cartoons." Although the works of this type sometimes are mainly mentioned in connection with journalism, it is no question that cartoonists are artists of a special nature.

Drama Winners Drama Awards

The original description for the Drama prize read: "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." 1 Although, as John Hohenberg remarked, ''the American theater was stagnant at the time the first Pulitzer Prizes in Drama were awarded ... there was a lot of excitement on Broadway, particularly about the Ziegfeld Follies and George M. Cohan's brassy musical shows." But, he adds, "much of the standard fare was both trivial and banal. In the hinterlands, there were a few struggling stock companies and occasional road shows. What it all added up to ... was distressingly little."2 Therefore, in the beginning it was rather difficult for the jurors to reach decisions that met with general acceptance-3 In view of this constellation it is hardly surprising that the first Pulitzer Prize Drama Jury, that had to judge in the spring of 1917 on the Broadway production of the previous year, had considerable problems to extract an outstanding perlormance. "Considering the conditions of the Pulitzer award for drama, its aims and requirements," the jurors wrote in the end in their report to the Advisory Board, "your committee is not agreed upon a recommendation. "4 The Board consented to this vote, thus deciding on "no award" right away in the very first year of the drama category.5 Similarly unanimous were the three jurors in 1918, when the chairman of the jury stated in his report: "My vote emphatically is for Williams' Comedy Why Marry?" 6 And another member of the jury expressed among other things the following opinion: "I have seen Why Marry? by Jesse Lynch Williams and find it an admirable piece of comedy ... There are some things in the piece which I do not like but on the whole it is the best piece of drama I have seen this year." 7 The third juror also voted "in favor of Why Marry? ... for the award to the play produced

Biographies and Premiere Programs 1918 - 2000

1 Quoted from DeForest O'Dell, The History of Journalism Education in the United States, New York 1935, p. 109. 2 John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes. A History of the Awards in Books, Drama, Music. and Journalism. New York - London 1974, p. 43. 3 John L. Toohey, A History of the Pulitzer Prize Plays, New York 1967, p. Vil. 4 Drama Jury Report, May 1, 1917, p. 1. 5 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes 1917-1991, New York 1991 , p. 54. 6 Letter to Frank D. Fackenthal, Columbia University, March 6, 1918, p. I. 7 Letter to Frank D. Fackenthal, Columbia University, March 25, 191 8, p. I.

3 in 1917."8 Faced with such extreme concordance in the jurors' judgment the Advisory Board endorsed this evaluation and gave the Pulitzer Prize for drama to Jesse Lynch Williams for the New York performance of his play Why Marry t-J Right at the beginning of their report the jury for the award of 1919 came to the crucial point by explaining to the Advisory Board: "In the judgement of your committee no play produced in New York City within the calendar year 1918.is entirely worthy the prize of the Pulitzer Bequest. Whether by reason ·of the turmoil of war or from some change in the temper of managers and audiences, most of the plays of the year in question are either very light entertainment or so crudely melodramatic as to be of little literary value. No play by a native author stands out commandingly and as your committee can not wholeheartedly commend any candidate, we advise that the award go over to another year." 10 The Advisory Board accepted the vote of the jury and likewise decided on "no award." 11 In their report the jurors recommended furthermore "that as the period of play production is during the winter months, the theatrical and not the calendar year be taken as the limit in which the competing plays shall be staged. Confusion results from splitting the theatrical season in half." 12 This suggestion also was taken up by the Advisory Board.13 In spite of certain disagreements among the jurors of 1920 about who was to be the potential prize-winner, in the end it said in the report of the jury chairman: "Up to the present moment Beyond the Horiwn by Eugene O'Neill has no competitor as 'the outstanding play of the season.' It is not an 'uplifting play' in the terms of the Pulitzer Bequest but it is highly significant and I will join the other members in commending it for the prize although I am still in doubt about the author·s motive. It certainly is not a mere 'show' and could not have been composed with any commercial success in mind. It is well written."1 4 And another member of the jury added: "The committee is almost a unit in favor of Beyond the Horizon, Eugene O'Neill's play... So far as my own judgment is concerned I can not bring myself to vote for a prize to a mere entertainment such as most of the successful plays are, and yet I can not regard O'Neill's play as 'Noble' or 'Uplifting' ... Nevertheless as it is the outstanding play of the season, thus far, I will join in the award." 15 As the verdict of the jury was not unanimous this resulted in extensive discussions within the Advisory Board, but in the end "the Board agreed with the Drama Jury and recommended Beyond the Horizon" by Eugene O'Neill.16 Varying views also surfaced when the members of the jury of 1921 met and put The First Year by Frank Craven on their shortlist as well as Nemesis by Augustus Thomas and Miss Lulu Bett by Zona Gale. Although one of the jurors was "disposed to vote 'No Prize,"' 17 finally several compromises were reached, and soon it became evident that Miss Lulu Bett still had the best chances to win a majority: That very juror, who at first had pleaded for 'no award,' gave in and indicated that he would join the vote of the two 8 Letter to Frank D. Fackenthal, Columbia University, March 29, 191 &, p. l. 9 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op, cir., p. 54. 10 Drama Jury Report, March 22, I 9 I 9, p. I. 11 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes. op. cir., p. 54. 12 Drama Jury Report, op. cit.• p. I. 13 Cf. Heinz-D. Fischer/Erika J. Fischer {Ed.), The Pulitzer Prize Archive, Vol. 12: Drama/Comedy Awards 1917--1996, Munich 1998, pp, 9 [ l 4 Drama Jury Report, April 30, 1920, p, 1. 15 Letterto Nicholas M. Butler, President of Columbia University, May 11, 1920, p. I. 16 John Hohenberg. The PulitzerPrizes,op . cir. , p.48. 17 Letter to Frank D. Fackenthal, Columbia University, May 11, 192 1, p. l.

4 other members of the jury in favor of "Lulu Bett if that will solve the difficulty."18 The chainnan of the jury then declared in his final vote on behalf of the whole jury: "Lulu Bett is not a great play but it is original and interesting, and Miss Gale is a woman to whom such an honor can go with justice... Personally," the chairman of the jury remarked in adding to the report from his own point of view, "I do not feel deep enthusiasm for any of the plays ... of the year. Not one has in it the element of greatness." 19 Despite these concerns the Advisory Board decided to bestow the Pulitzer Prize on Zona Gale for her play Miss Lulu Bett.20 In 1922 "Eugene O'Neill once again became an active contender for the Pulitzer Prize... with a more conventional play, Anna Christie."21 Therefore, it came as no surprise that the jurors partly also were of differing opinions. One juror said that he and another jury member will "vote for Anna Christie by Eugene O'Neill. In our opinion this deserves the prize for the best play of the year, and we have no second choice; in fact we are quite strongly of the opinion that the prize should not be given to any other play." The third jw-or, he continued, "has not seen Anna: Christie but feels sure that he would not like it and will not vote for it. He has no other play to suggest and in his opinion the prize should not be given at all; he thinks that it would be better for the interests of the drama that no prize should be given this year."22 The championship of O'Neill was upheld by both the Advisory Board and the Trustees and so Eugene O'Neill won his second award.23 There also was to be no unanimous vote of the jury in 1923, either, as can be inferred from the report to the Advisory Board: "By a two to one vote, your Committee votes to give the Pulitzer Prize to Iceqoundby Owen Davis."24 As Hohenberg found out, "Elmer Rice's remarkable play... The Adding Machine" was also under consideration,25 but the Advisory Board decided in favor of Icebound by Owen Davis.26 In the following year, 1924, the recommendation of the jurors was brief and concise as well with the report stating: "The Committee have decided that the Pulitzer Prize for the best current American play should go to The Show-Off by George Kelly. We think. this is an extremely good and original American play. 27 But before the Advisory Board could discuss the suggestion of the jury, a docent of Columbia University, although neither a member of the jury nor member of the Advisory Board, intervened and spoke out against its verdict. He "wrote privately to {Columbia University) President Butler... to protest the Drama Jury's selection of George Kelly's satirical comedy... Instead... (he) called for a prize for Hell-Bent Fer Heaven, a hillbilly drama set in the Kentucky mountains, by a fellow member of the Columbia faculty, Hatcher Hughes ... The Board... voted for Hell-Bent Fer Heaven," 28 and so Hatcher Hughes won the Pulitzer Prize for best drama. Because of the cow-se the events had taken the previous year, the jury that went to work in 1925 had two new members. This new jury, however, did not stay complete up 00

18 Drama Jury Report (I), May 20, 1921, p. I. 19 Drama Jury Report (11), May 22, 1921, p. 1. 20 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. ciL, p. 54. 21 John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 51. 22 Drama Jury Report, May 1, 1922, p. 1. 23 John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Priz.es, op. cit., p. 54. 24 Drama Jury Report, March 31, 1923, p. 1. 25 John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Priz.es, op. cit., pp. 94 f. 26 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54. 27 Drama Jury Report, April 3, 1924, p. 1. 28 John Hohcnberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., pp. 94 f.

5 until the final decision was reached, as is pointed out in the report: "We recommend for the Pulitzer Prize... the play called They Knew What They Wanted by Sidney Howard. In our opinion, this play stands head and shoulders above all the other American plays of the season, with only one exception (What Price Glory? by Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings)... We have chosen it positively, because we believe that it would stand out in any season, as one of the best plays ever written by an American author. They Knew What They Wanted treats a difficult and delicate theme with rare human insight and even rarer philosophical profundity."29 Faced with this praise the Advisory Board agreed with the vote of the jury and announced that Sidney Howard was winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his Broadway play They Knew What They Wanted.30 When the prize was to be decided upon in 1926 a completely new jury was put together, writing in its report to the Advisory Board that it was "unanimously of the opinion that the prize should go to Craig's Wife by George Kelly... The Jury has seen all the plays of American authorship eligible for the award. Several of them seemed meritorious to the Jury. It may not seem invidious to mention as among them: In a Garden by Philip Barry, A Man's Man by Patrick Karney, and The Wisdom Tooth by Marc Connelly. Neither of the Eugene O'Neill plays, The Fountain and The Great God Brown seemed to the Committee to be among the author's best works. Craig's Wife has been selected by the Jury on account of the dignity of its theme, the soundness of its construction, the excellence of its dialogue and its effectiveness in the theatre. Without sacrificing any of these essentials of a good play, it possesses in addition considerable literary quality - a thing none too common on the stage of today."31 The Advisory Board also reached the decision to give the Pulitzer Prize for drama to the theatrical play Craig's Wife, thus honoring its author, George Kelly.32 The jurors of 1927 discussed plays such as Saturday's Children by Maxwell Anderson, The Silver Cord by Sidney Howard, Broadway by Philip Dunning and George Abbott and several others, but soon had a clear favorite for the prize. "It is the unanimous opinion of the Drama Jury," it says at the beginning of the report, "that the Pulitzer Prize... should be awarded to Paul Green for his play entitled In Abraham's Bosom ... The play does not sentimentalize on the tragic situation of the negro. It is scrupulously fair to the white race. But it brings us face to face with one of the most serious of the social problems of this country, and forces us to view this problem in the light of tragic pity. The piece is loosely constructed... But this loose construction is almost necessitated by the nature of the material. The characterization is magnificently true, and the writing of the dialogue reveals a mastery of racial and local dialect."33 As both the Advisory Board and the University Trustees agreed and declared In Abraham's Bosom to be an outstanding achievement, Paul Green won the Pulitzer Prize.34 Looking for an outs~ding dramatist, the jury of 1928 put no fewer than eight plays on its shortlist, namely The Royal Family by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman, The Racket by Bartlett Cormack, Behold the Bridegroom by George Kelly, The Trial ofMary Dugan by Bayard Veiller, Paris Bound by Philip Barry, Coquette by Ann P. Bridgers and George Abbott, Four Walls by Dana Burnett and George Abbott as well as Strange 29 30 31 32 33 34

Drama Jury Report, undated (March 1925), pp. I f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54. Drama Jury Report, March 25, 1926, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit, p. 54. Drama Jury Report, March 15, 1927, pp. 1 ff. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 101.

6 Interlude by Eugene O'Neill. Whereas the production of Four Walls was second choice on the jurors' list of priorities, O'Neill's Strange Interlude was regarded as the absolute favorite. "This play," it says in the jury-report, "repeats nothing of his former work... This drama of the subconscious and of frustration is sound and thoughtful in its development; but it also has great intensity of feeling, moments of beauty, and above all it shows dramatically that the conscious emotions, which give us dignity in our own eyes as individuals, cannot be ignored... Strange Interlude gets its fingers deeply tangled in the web of human life, it has depth and intellectual power above any and all of its rivals. "35 This vote was brought forward so convincingly that the Advisory Board joined in, awarding Eugene O'Neill his third Pulitzer Prize for Strange Interlude.36 The jurors that had to decide upon a potential Pulitzer Prize winner in 1929 concentrated on only one favorite. This favorite, however, was controversely discussed. "Unfortunately," they wrote to the Advisory Board, "the Committee is devided in its opinion. The majority ... are completely persuaded that the play Street Scene by Elmer Rice is not only the best American play of the year, coming under the terms of the Pulitzer award, but also that it is the only play of the year, deserving of the prize ... The majority ... consider Street Scene as a technical achievement in American drama of rather high order, inasmuch as it dramatizes the melting pot in a New York tenement... Incidentally, the play is, no doubt for that very reason, extremely popular, its truthful qualities of observation being amply recognized. "37 Although one member of the jury did not agree with this praise and even made the suggestion to give no award at all,38 the Advisory Board bestowed the award on Street Scene and thus on its author, Elmer L. Rice. 39 In 1930 the jury was partly reconstituted, and after its members "had visited all the American plays of the New York season which showed any pretension to serious consideration," it arrived at the following vote: "One play - The Green Pastures by Marc Connelly - towers so far above the other American plays of the season and comes so near to setting a new standard of excellence for the American drama of all time that the jurors desire, with unusual enthusiasm, to recommend it for the Pulitzer Prize. It is a work of astonishing originality... It is simple, gentle, kindly, tender, humorous, compassionate, wise, beautiful, exalted, and exulting. It interprets the religion of thousands of Negroes in the deep South with the simple sincerity of the very best of the Mediaeval Mystery Plays. A delicate task bas been accomplished with faultless taste; and the piece deserves to be cherished as a Devine Comedy of a living religion interpreted consistently in the terms of its believers. On this occasion, the jurors state emphatically that they have no second cboice."40 The Pulitzer Prize for drama was given to The Green Pastures by Marc Connelly.41 The decision-making process in 1931 turned out to be more complicated as the jurors did not reach a unanimous vote, even though the jury-report at first glance might give a different impression, stating among other things: "The jury... consider Alison's House by Susan Glaspell... as the best candidate. The reason for this choice to a considerable 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

Drama Jury Report, March 17, 1928, pp. I f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54. Drama Jury Report, April 1, 1929, p. I.

Ibid.

Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit.• p. 54. Drama Jury Report, undated (March 1930), p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes.op. cit., p. 54.

7 extent is found in the fine sincerity of the dramatist, her choice of a theme which is fresh, taken out of American life, and worthy of serious attention, and her evident interest in what she had to say, quite apart from any considerations of temporal styles or box office appeal. Technically the play is by no means perfect, less nearly so than some others of the season, but it excels all of them in the freshness of its theme and the honesty of its treatment."42 The majority of the jurors put Five Star Final by Louis Weitzenkom under second place on their lists of finalists, while As Husbands Go by Rachel Crothers ranked third. 43 One member of the jury, however, regretted that he could not endorse the "enthusiasm for Alison's House," and said ''that it might be a wise decision to give no prize this season."44 The Advisory Board supported the majority vote of the jury, and therefore declared Alison's House by Susan Glaspell to be the best play.45 The year 1932 was to bring a special surprise as the jurors had the courage to give preference to a genre hitherto neglected in the tradition of the Pulitzer Prize. "The jury for drama recommends," as can be read in the report, "that the award... be given to George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind for the... musical comedy Of Thee I Sing. This may seem unusual, but the play is unusual. Not only is it coherent and well knit enough to class as a play, aside from the music, but it is a biting and true satire on American politics and the public attitude toward them... The play is genuine, and we feel the prize could not serve a better purpose than to recognize such work. Few other plays," the juryreport continues, "this past season deserve much consideration. Those which have been seriously considered are, in order of merit: Mourning Becomes Electra by Eugene O'Neill, The Animal Kingdom by Philip Barry, and The House of Connelly by Paul Green, with The Left Bank by Elmer Rice a possibility."46 The Advisory Board publicly announced Of Thee I Sing and gave the award to George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind and Ira Gershwin.47 But the Board as well as the jurors did not mention at all George Gershwin, the composer! Those plays taken into consideration by the jury of 1933 belonged once again to more traditional genres. The jury-report gave the following comments on the resultant short list: "The Play Jury recommend that the Pulitzer Prize for Drama... be awarded to Maxwell Anderson for his play Both Your Houses ... The spirit of the play is idealistic, it breathes a fine indignation, but it is so conducted that legitimate entertainment values are not lost, and the characters speak and act with convincing naturalness... The play considered next in value by the jury is Another Language (by Rose Franken) ... It was a truthful and interesting picture of domestic life in a family which tried to put the same stamp on all its members. Miss Rachel Crothers' When Lo.dies Meet was probably thir(I choice... Alien Com by Sidney Howard seemed not so good as the play with which he had already won a prize, and so was not seriously considered. Two other candida(es, not quite up to the prize standard, were Pigeons and People by George M. Cohan, and Biography by Samuel N. Behrman."48 The Advisory Board decided as the jury had suggested thus granting Maxwell Anderson the award for Both Your Houses.49 Drama Jury Report, March 21, 1931, p. 1. Letter to Frank D. Fackenthal, Columbia University, March 23, 1931, p. 3. Letter to the Committee of Award for the Pulitzer Prize, March 21, 1931, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54. Drama Jury Report, March 16, 1932, pp. If. 47 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54. 48 Orama Jury Report, March 23, 1933, p. I. 49 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54.

42 43 44 45 46

8 In 1934 the search for an outstanding dramatist led to a resounding row, after the members of the jury gave notice in their report that they had "voted unanimously in favor of Mary ofScotland by Maxwell Anderson, a historical play of fine dramatic and literary accomplishment... The merits of this piece have been so generally recognized that a detailed criticism is not deemed necessary in this report. The jurors," they added, "have not endeavored to agree upon a second choice.1150 Despite this definite recommendation the Advisory Board turned down the proposal of the jury and did not give the award to Mary of Scotland but declared Men in White by Sidney Kingsley as best play of the theatrical season.51 Although the winning play had been among the six titles compiled by the jurors as being worthy of further discussion, it had not reached the jury's short list.52 Hohenberg stresses that "none of the jurors questioned the right of the Board to reverse them," but the snub did annoy them all the same.53 Three new jurors selected the prize-worthy plays in 1935 and worked out a list of "four plays in the order of preference: 1. The Old Maid (by Zoe Akins), 2. Personal Appearance (by Lawrence Riley), 3. Merrily We Roll Along (by George S. Kaufman), 4. Valley Forge (by Maxwell Anderson)."54 Once again there were lots of rumours and speculations about the way this list materialized all the while until finally the winner was announced. The Advisory Board as well as the University Trustees decided in favor of The Old Maid, and so the Pulitzer Prize for drama went to Zoe Akins.55 In 1936 the fo1lowing constellation arose in the jury: "l. We are absolutely in complete agreement in recommending... Idiot's Delight by Robert E. Sherwood," it says in the report. "It is a first-rate play, full of dramatic invention, and one or two of the comedy scenes have a Molierian richness... 2 . ... End ofSummer by Samuel N. Behrman. This is a sophisticated society comedy with possibly smarter and more finished dialogue... 3. Murder in the Cathedral by Thomas S. Eliot This within limits is a very fine poetic drama, but its appeal is that of a pageant rather than of a play... We may add," the members of the drama jury stated at the end of their report, "that... we... have no hesitation in recommending Idiot's Delight."56 The Advisory Board accepted the verdict of the jury, and so Robert E. Sherwood received the Pulitzer Prize.57 The jury of 1937, after watching and judging all of the eligible plays, found themselves "unable to agree after a number of extremely interesting and wholly amicable discussions... Since no agreement was reached, each member of the Committee is presenting an individual, signed statement." All of these statements contained evaluations of the following four plays: You Can't Take It With You by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, High Tor by Maxwell Anderson, Marching Song by John Howard Lawson, and Tide Rising by George Brewer Jr.58 One juror explained that his "preference among the plays of Mr. Anderson is for High Tor," followed by other plays by the same author.59 Another jury member criticized that so much attention was being paid to the work of this one dramatist, even to the point of interceding that no award 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59

Drama Jury Report, March 22, 1934, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54. Drama Jury Report, op. cit., p. 1. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 148. Drama Jury Report, March 14, 1935, p. 1. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., pp. 149 f. Drama Jury Report, April 3, I936, pp. I f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., p. 54. Drama Jury Report, undated (April 1937), p. I. Minority Report I, April 7, 1937, p. l.

9 should be given that year. She indicated, however, that she was "willing to agree that You Can't Take It With You is the most lively and entertaining dramatic offering of the year."60 The third juror was of the opinion, "that You Can't Take It With You is far and away the best play of the season."61 The Advisory Board decided to honor You Can't Take It With You, thus giving the Pulitzer Prize to the team of Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. 62 In 1938 the jurors had only one clear favorite. In their report they informed the Advisory Board that they were "enthusiastically and unanimously agreed in nominating and recommending ... for the award... Our Town by Thornton Wilder. We are not only agreed on this, but we are also agreed that there is really no good second choice."63 When the Advisory Board asked for an additional report, this was what the jurors added about the selection of Our Town: "Our reasons for this (suggestion) are that both from the standpoint of dramatic ability and of the theatre the play seems to us the most original, the most beautiful, and the most impressive of the season... We wish it distinctly understood that in our judgment there is, strictly speaking, no second place because we think that all the other plays, good as they may be, are inferior to our first choice. "64 In an additional paragraph the jurors simply stated that they had also discussed in detail the plays Susan and God by Rachel Crothers, The Star-Wagon by Maxwell Anderson as well as On Borrowed Time by Paul Osbom.65 Paced with this explicit praise for Our Town the Advisory Board gave the award to Thornton Wilder.66 Referring to the unanimity of the jurors in the preceding year, the chairman of the jury of 1939 wrote to the Advisory Board: "I am sorry that I can't report an agreement in the three members of the committee. But one reason for this, in my own judgment, is that there is no absolutely first-class outstanding play as there was last year... I am equally devided in my own mind for first place between Abe Lincoln in Illinois (by Robert E. Sherwood) and Family Portrait."67 Another jury member spoke out in favor of Abe Lincoln in Illinois, because "first of all, it is an American chronicle-play, and, as such, of importance in American theatrical history; secondly, it is a competent play by an experienced dramatist, with the chief figure movingly presented, with the minor characters done adequately and adroitly. 068 After two jurors finally supported the idea of ranking Abe Lincoln in Illinois first on their shortlist, the third juror stated with vehemence that he himself did not endorse this vote, as he still considered Family Portrait (by Leonore Coffee and William J. Cowen) to be the best theatrical play.69 So Abe Lincoln in Illinois ranked first with two jurors, while the third one held the play in lower regard. 70 The majority vote was accepted by the Advisory Board. Therefore, the Pulitzer Prize for drama was given to Robert E. Sherwood,71 receiving this award already for the second time.

60 Minority Report II, April 7, 1937, p. 1. 61 Minority Report m, undated (April 1937), p. l. 62 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54. 63 Drama Jury Report, March 15, 1938, p. 1. 64 Drama Jury Report, March 18-, 1938, p. l. 65 Ibid. 66 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54. 67 Letterto Frank D. Fackenthal, Columbia University, April 3, 1939, p. I. 68 Report on Plays 1938-1939, April 2, 1939, p. l. 69 Letter to Frank D. Fackenthal, Columbia University, April 23, 1939, p. 1. 70 Drama Jury Report, April 26, 1939, p. 1. 71 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54.

10

In 1940, the three members of the jury reached a certain consensus of opinion and made clear at the beginning of their report: "Our... committee agrees on the following: first, the theatre season in New York has been the poorest in years; second, it is much better to award the prize than to withhold it; third, we agree unanimously on recommending to the Board that the prize be awarded to The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan. This play is wholly original, not taken from any novel, is wholly American in theme and treatment, and contains more promise for the future than any other play of the past season. "72 Furthermore, the jurors had long discussions on the following plays, even though their individual evaluations and rankings differed: Life With Father by Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay, Key Largo by Maxwell Anderson, The Male Animal by James Thurber and Elliott Nugent, The Man Who Came to Dinner by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, Two on an Island by Elmer Rice as well as Night Music by Clifford Odets.73 The Advisory Board gave the prize to The Time of Your Life, and thus William Saroyan received the award.74 The selection process caused comparatively few problems in 1941, although one of the three jurors temporarily did not wholeheartedly support the one favorite for the award who arose out of the discussions, even suggesting to consider "no award." Nevertheless, there was far-reaching agreement that There Shall Be No Night by Robert E. Sherwood should be regarded as best theatrical production. "This play is very far ahead of all possible competitors during the season," it says in the report, "and this not because of its opportuneness but because of its immense dramatic value, its profound sincerity, and its splendid artistic dealing with great issues; and furthermore its deeply spiritual quality which is felt by every spectator and yet always leaves the play as a work of art and never vulgarizes it into a sennon."75 In the evaluation of two jurors Claudia by Rose Franken ranked next on the list of recommendations. The Talley Method by Samuel N. Behanan also was put on the list of finalists, as were Johnny Belinda by Elmer Harris and Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring.76 The Advisory Board approved the vote of the jury and declared There Shall Be No Night best play of the season, thereby bestowing upon Robert E. Sherwood his third Pulitzer Prize.77 In 1942 the jury discussed among other plays the drama The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck as well as Cafe Crown by Hyman S. Kraft. But in the end it reached the following verdict: "Reviewing the whole season, we are... positively and unanimously agreed that it is better not to give the Pulitzer Prize this season. •'78 The Advisory Board considered the reasons for this vote, given in detail in the jury-report, and then accepted it, deciding on "no award."79 The same three jurors selected the prize-worthy production in 1943, and once again their judgment was unanimous. This time, however, all jury members were supporting one particular play. Aside from Harriet by Florence Ryerson and Colin Clements, The Patriots by Sidney Kingsley or The Eve of St. Mark by Maxwell Anderson, there was above all one outstanding achievement: The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder. "l am of the opinion that this play shows more imagination, more fresh theatrical invention, 72 Drama Jury Report, April 2, 1940, p. I. 73 Ibid., pp. I f. 74 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 54. 75 Drama Jury Report, undated (April 1941), p. I.

76 Ibid. 77 Columbia University, The Pulitrer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. 78 Drama Jury Report, April 12, 1942, p. 2. 79 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes. op. cit., p. 55.

11 more of an innovating spirit than any other play of the season," one juror commented, stressing: "It is far from being successfully projected, it is _even in parts confused and confusing, but it represents the highest imaginative and intellectual reach of any of the Broadway plays."So And another juror added: "This has vitality, a gay and fantastic invention, and is almost consistently entertaining. 1181 In view of this unanimity the Advisory Board raised no objections and gave the award to The Skin of Our Teeth. Thus Thornton Wilder received his second Pulitzer Prize.82 The jury of 1944 was partly reconstituted and dealt in particular with the production of The Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten and Winged Victory by Moss Hart. Although two jurors deemed Van Druten's play to be prize-worthy, the author's nationality - he was no American citizen - proved to be an obstacle.83 "What the Board did," Hohenberg writes, "was to pass the prize, but at the same time it took the unprecedented step of announcing a special award for Oklahoma! by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. This was evidently done on the Board's own initiative for there was no mention of Oklahoma! in the jury report. ,.g4 In 1945 the members of the jury, however, had hardly any problems at all in agreeing on a favorite: After conducting exhaustive discussions on Dark of the Moon by Howard Richardson and William Berney as well as The Hasty Heart by John Patrick they decided on Harvey by Mary Chase. They held this comedy in high regard "on account of its richness of content and the fresh imaginative field it has taken over; in plot and character it marks a departure from the usual Broadway play." Only one of the jurors even mentions The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, writing in his report: "I have not seen The Glass Menagerie but I am seeing it tonight and if, as seems unlikely, I should wish to put it first, I shall send... a supplementary report."85 There was no supplementary report, and so the Advisory Board voted the award to Harvey, 86 thus making Mary Chase a Pulitzer Prize-winner.87 Passing judgment on the theatrical achievements of 1946, the drama jury recommended to give the award to State of the Union by Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay.88 The Advisory Board did not object and announced this team of authors to be joint-winners of the Pulitzer Prize.89 In 1947 the work of the jurors was characterized by fairly differing opinions concerning a potential prize-winner. Whereas one member of the jury regarded the New York production of Christopher Blake by Moss Hart as well as The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill as outstanding, a second juror also mentioned Christopher Blake, but then introduced All My Sons by Arthur Miller and The Fatal Weakness by George Kelly as ranking next on his list The third member of the jury offered the following ranking: All My Sons, The Fatal Weakness and The Iceman Cometh. He remarked additionally that he did "not really believe the prize should go again to Mr. O'Neill, who has had it on two previous occasions and for better plays."90 Referring to O'Neill one juror made the 80 81 82 83 84

85 86 87 88 89

90

Drama Jury Report, March 25, 1943, p. I. Ibid., p. 7. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., p. 55. Drama Jury Report, March 29, 1944, p. I. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., p. 206. Drama Jury Report, April 3, I 945, pp. 2, 5. John Hohcnberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 208. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes. op. cir., p. 55. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes. op. cit., p. 208. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes.op. cit., p. 55. Drama Jury Report, March 31, 1947, p. I.

12 comment that his "play is too long and is somewhat dated... I do not see how this jury could pass over O'Neill's excellencies in favor of other plays that are swifter in movement, more modem in technique."9 1 Despite this fairly positive evaluation of The Iceman Cometh the Advisory Board decided to give "no award...92 The jurors of 1948 took into consideration several Broadway productions of the preceding season, among them Command Decision by William W. Haines and Mr. Roberts by Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan, but all attention focused on A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. "It is a superb drama - full of originality and power both in conception and in execution," the jury-report underlines. It then continues its eulogy: "The play is expertly composed, beginning in a low key and moving relentlessly to a catastrophe which awakens the mixture of pity and terror that all authentic tragedy should. The production and acting of this play are also of superlative quality ... There is ... no ... doubt... that it is not only incomparably the best American play of the year but also both the best in several years and even, by absolute standards, a remarkable work... To fail to give it the prize would be absurd and, from a perfectly practical standpoint, would seriously damage the prestige of the prize."93 The Advisory Board completely agreed and awarded Tennessee Williams the Pulitzer Prize for his play A Streetcar Named Desire.94 In 1949 the jurors could not reach complete concordance, because one of them voted in favor of Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams, whereas the other two preferred Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.95 "I strongly recommend that the prize be given to Death of a Salesman," one member of the jury wrote in his report, adding: "This tragedy is by all odds the most notable American play of the season. Indeed, I am inclined to regard it as the best modem American tragedy of the last decade ... The Pulitzer award would add to its already great prestige by crowning so distinguished a work by a young American playwright."96 Another juror, also inclined to give the prize to Death of a Salesman, called it "the year's outstanding play'' although he did not think it a "great" one. "It is," he wrote, "an extremely powerful play and I believe it will have consequences in the development of a sphere of drama which has not previously been practiced with conspicuous success in this country."97 The very high esteem for Arthur Miller's drama on the part of the jurors was also shared by the Advisory Board, and so the playwright won the Pulitzer Prize for his work Death of a Salesman.98 The drama jurors in 1950, as Hohenberg puts it, "ran into trouble because they recommended Gian-Carlo Menotti's The Consul, which as it turned out was also the first choice of the Music Jury and the eventual winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Music that year. The Advisory Board, in a thoroughly musical mood, decided on its own that the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for that year should go to South Pacific,"99 and so the honor went to Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan for their musicaJ. IOO It based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning novel Tales of the South Pacific which received the award two years ago. 91 92 93 94 95

96 97

98 99 I00

Ibid., p. 3. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit, p. 55. Drama Jury Report, undated {April 1948), pp. l f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit, p. 55. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 210. Quoted ibid. Quoted ibid. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., p. 21 I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55.

TIIE TRUiS TEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK TO ALL PERSONS TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME GREETING BE IT KNOWN THAT

"SOUTH PACIFIC" BY RICHARD RODGERS, OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, 2ND AND JOSHUA LOGAN HAS DEEN A WARDED

fflE PULITZER PRIZE IN LETIERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE .PROVISIONS OF THE STATUTES OF THE

UNIVERSITY GOVERNING SUCH AWARD IN WITNESS WHEREOF WE HAVE CAUSED THIS CERTIFICATE TO DE SIGNED BY THE PRF.sIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY AND OUR CORPORATE

SEAL TO BE HERETO AFFIXED IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK ON THE .EIGHTH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF OUR WRD ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY

,,{)/":_~~ 13

Pulitzer Prize Certificate for the Drama Winners of 1950

14 The jury of 1951 was made up of only two persons and "recommended a dramatization of Hennan Melville's novel Billy Budd by Louis O'Coxe and Robert Chapman, but the Advisory Board refused to accept it for undetermined reasons"lOl and opted for "no award" instead.102 The same two jurors in 1952, judged 19 Broadway productions before finally coming up with a list of three suggestions consisting of Point of No Return by Paul Osborn, One Bright Day by Sigmund Miller as well as The Shrike by Joseph Kramm. Kramm's play ranked first with the jury for the following reasons: "It is an expertly constructed play on a subject of great importance, extremely well produced and acted. We both feel that it would best serve the interest of the American theatre if this play were awarded the Pulitzer Prize." 103 The Advisory Board endorsed this opinion by awarding Joseph Kramm the Pulitzer Prize for his play The Shrike.104 When the jury of 1953 had to select the best play it judged 18 theatrical productions and wrote in the report: "The most successfully original stage entertainment of the season was without doubt John Brown's Body (by Charles Laughton). It also brought to a triumph a new sort of play which may properly be called 'poetic platform drama' and set the standard for a new form. Since it cannot be regarded as a new play and the poem (by Stephen Vincent Benet) from which Charles Laughton has made the platform drama has already received a Pulitzer Prize,105 we assume that John Brown's Body does not fulfill the conditions which a Prize play must meet... Apart from John Brown's Body we believe that Picnic by William Inge is most deserving of the award... It is an expertly composed piece, beautifully written and American to the core. Joshua Logan has staged a fine performance and the acting is superb. Mr. Inge's first play, Come Back Little Sheba, showed great promise which Picnic has splendidly fulfilled." 106 Although The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Time of the Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents also were mentioned on the list of the jury, the Advisory Board decided in favor of Picnic and honored William Inge with the Pulitzer Prize for drama_ 107 After watching and evaluating 26 plays the jurors of 1954 faced a similar problem as in the previous year, and so they stated in their report: "Undoubtedly the best dramatic entertainment of the season was afforded by The Caine Mutiny Court Martial (by Herman Wouk). However, since the novel, upon which a part of this drama is based, has already received a Pulitzer Prize,108 we feel that we cannot in all conscience recommend an excerpt from that novel for another Pulitzer Award. If this dramatization be excluded from consideration, we believe that the best play of the season is The Teahouse of the August Moon by John Patrick... This is an altogether delightful comedy, a fantasy about the impact of the East and West on each other... Second on our list but substantially lower we place Tea and Sympathy by Robert Anderson ... We feel," the jurors continued, "that in this report we should express our admiration for In the Summer House by Jane Bowles. It had qualities of insight and poetic imagination which might have made it the John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 211. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. Drama Jury Report, April 2, 1952, pp. If. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., p. 55. Cf. Heinz-D. Fischer/Erika J. Fischer (Eds.), The Pulitzer Prize Archive, Vol. 11: PoetryN erse Awards 1918-1995, Munich 1997, pp. 43 ff. 106 Drama Jury Report, March 31, 1953, pp. If. I 07 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. 108 Cf. Heinz-D. Fischer/Erika J. Fischer (Eds.), The Pulitzer Prize Archive, Vol. 10: Novel/Fiction Awards 1917-1994, Munich -New Providence - London -Paris 1997, pp. 135 ff.

1OI l 02 103 I 04 105

15 outstanding play of the year. But we do not believe that the new promising write1 realized many of its dramatic and theatric potentialities."109 Considering the argumen~ brought forward for the author ranking first the Advisory Board had no reservations in giving the award to John Patrick's The Teahouse of the August Moon. llO 1955 turned out to be a remarkable year for the Pulitzer Prize for drama, because the award-winning production was picked in a rather unusual way. The jury shortlisted five out of the 35 plays produced on Broadway that season, namely: The Bad Seed b) Maxwell Anderson, The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets, The Desperate Hours b; Joseph Hayes, Bus Stop by William Inge and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. In an additional process of selection, it says in the jury-report, "the first to be eliminated was Cat on a Hot Tin Roof .. The drama is amateurishly constructed, obscure in the solution of the principal problem, shows little intellectual grasp of the material anc is from the stylistic points of view annoyingly pretentious. We do not believe that the author should be encouraged in this direction by the award of a Pulitzer Prize." 111 Afte1 crossing another two plays off their shortlist the jurors stated: "We believe that both Tht Bad Seed and The Flowering Peach are greatly superior to the other plays of the season.. We believe that The Flowering Peach is the strongest contender for the award."lVi Joseph Pulitzer Jr., chairman of the Board, had seen Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and thought i1 worthy of the drama prize. The Board, after considerable discussion, went along witl: him and voted for Cat on a Hot Tin RooJ, 113 so that Tennessee Williams received hii second Pulitzer Prize for drama.114 The two members that made up the jury of 1956 anticipated a certain problem as the) attempted to convincingly justify the dramatists ranking first on their list. "The play botIof us feel is outstandingly meritorious," they wrote in their report, "is Frances Goodrich'i and Albert Hackett's dramatization of The Diary ofAnne Frank. We are well aware that according to the terms of the award, the prize should go 'for the American play. preferably original in its source and dealing with American life,' etc., etc. The Diary 0 Anne Frank, we realize, does not deal with American life and is a dramatization. But we feel, and strongly feel, that its merits, sensitivity, and importance are such that the) justify ignoring the qualifying clause that begins with 'preferably' ... Should the Advisor) Board feel that The Diary of Anne Frank is barred from consideration because of being ~ dramatization laid in a foreign land, ... (we) recommend Inherit the Wind... by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee... Third in our list of preferences is Time Limit!, ~ melodrama by Henry Denker and Ralph Berkey ... " 115 Due to the fact that the vote fo1 the play ranking first was brought forward with so much conviction there was no disseff from the Board, 116 and so the Pulitzer Prize went to Frances Goodrich and Alber Hackett for The Diary ofAnne Frank.111 The two jurors of 1957 were unanimously agreed that only one play should be considered for the award. "By far the most distinguished drama of the season," it can be reac in the report, "is Eugene O'Neill's posthumous tragedy, Long Day's Journey Into Night l09 110 11 l 112 I 13 I 14 115 l l6 I 17

DramaJuryReport,March31, 1954,pp. If. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. Drama Jury Report, undated (March 1955), pp. I f. Ibid., pp. 2 f. John Hohen berg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 261. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. Drama Jury Report, undated(April 1956), pp. If. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 263. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit.. p. 55.

16 In spite of some of its blemishes - its great length, its tending to repeat and its heavy literary style - it richly deserves the award. In fact, it is the only play by an American author, presented during the current season, that can be regarded as a serious candidate. All competent judges agree that it is one of O'Neill's greatest plays; a few think it is his very greatest. Io any case, it is an emotionally overwhelming tragedy. It is frankly autobiographical, for O'Neill faces with courage and tortured sympathy the mental and spiritual anguish of the life of his family during his young manhood."118 Although Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams and A Visit to a Small Planet by Gore Vidal also made the list of finalists, 11 9 the Advisory Board also voted for Long Day's Journey Into Night, thus granting Eugene O'Neill, several years after the death of the dramatist, his fourth Pulitzer Prize posthumously.120 Toe two jurors of 1958 did not find any opportunity to draw up a joint report, but nevertheless they both arrived at exactly the same suggestions in all points. "Just as Long Day's Journey Into Night towered above last season's new plays," one member of the jury stated, "so, it seems to me, Look Homeward, Angel towers above its competitors this year ... It is with pleasure and deep conviction that I recommend Ketti Frings' dramatization of Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel." 121 The second juror also recommended "Look Homeward, Angel... as the most distinguished play of the season. It is not only a well written and ably organized work," he continued, "but a probing study of characters who carry much reality and conviction. The play, moreover, not only provides a vivid picture of the environment of one of America's leading literary figures but expresses the more or less universal dreams and tensions of youth in relation with its personal problems and aspirations." 122 Both jurors had as second choice on their list The Dark at the Top of the Stairs by William Inge, and both were also of the opinion that Sunrise at Campobello by Dore Schary should rank third. 123 Toe sound reasons given for choosing Look Homeward, Angel dispelled any doubts the Advisory Board might have had, and so the Pulitzer Prize was given to Ketti Frings.124 The drama jury also had a clear favorite in 1959: It picked J. B. by Archibald MacLeish as most prize-worthy. "That MacLeish's J. B. has its deficiencies," one of the jurors declared, "I do not deny. Yet these expected deficiencies appear to me to be insignificant and almost irrelevant when compared to the audacity of MacLeish's reach and the power of his achievement... My admiration and gratitude for the play are genuine. I am overjoyed to have a distinguished poet... bring his fine talents to the stage."125 And his jury colleague added among other things, "that J. B. is the only play I can recommend to the Committee as the logical choice; we honor ourselves and honor the intent of the donor of the Pulitzer Prizes in giving recognition to this work." 126 Among the other plays taken into consideration by the jury were Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams, The Rivalry by Norman Corwin and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.127 But the unanimous verdict of the jurors was as follows: "Certainly no other 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 I 27

Drama Jury Report, April I, 1957, p. 1. Ibid., p. 2. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. Drama Jury Report I, March 24, 1958, pp. 1 f. Drama Jury Report Il, March 21, 1958, p. I. Ibid. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. Drama Jury Report, March 24, 1959, pp. 1 f. Report to John Hohenberg, March 28, 1959, p. 2. Ibid., pp. 1 f.

17 play of this or many seasons has attempted to come to grips with so large and universal a theme and succeeded in stating it in tenns more eloquent, moving, and provocative" than J. B.1 28 The Advisory Board shared this point of view, and that is why Archibald MacLeish, having already won two Pulitzer Prizes for poetry, 129 now also received the prestigious award in the drama category. 130 The quest for the best play of 1960 once again made evident that the opinions of the jury and those of the Advisory Board diverged to a certain degree. "This has been a disappointing season," it says in the jury-report. "Many new American plays, such as The Andersonville Trial (by Saul Levitt), The Miracle Worker (by William Gibson), and The Tenth Man (by Paddy Chayefsky) have had arresting themes and compelling scenes, and have been brilliantly acted, directed, and set. But as playwriting, they have been more in the nature of scenarios than maturely and expertly developed scripts. The one, the glowing, the notable exception... is Lillian Hellman's Toys in the Attic... She shows that same driving muscularity of mind and unflinching attitude towards life which have distinguished her work... It may not be Miss Hellman's best work, but certainly it is by all odds the best play of the season," and therefore, the Board should not decide on "no award."131 But the Advisory Board, Hohenberg writes, "didn't particularly care for Toys in the Attic ... There was some discussion about passing the award, but the Board was reluctant to do so. However, it was also unimpressed with the alternatives in the... report... until someone mentioned a new musical, Fiorello!,"132 which had not even been referred to in the jury-report. Thus the musical obtained the award, and consequently the honorees were book writers Jerome Weidman and George Abbott as well as composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Hamick.133 Despite the fact that their recommendation had been rejected in the previous year the two jurors returned in 1961 to once more select a potential prize-winner. After shortlisting Mary, Mary by Jean Kerr, The Devil's Advocate by Dore Schary as well as All the Way Home by Tad Mosel the two members of the drama jury underlined that they definitely favored the latter, adding as a precaution: "Mr. Mosel's play... is a dramatization of the late James Agee's A Death in the Family, which, as a novel, won the Pulitzer Prize ... 134 The novel was one thing; the play is quite another." 135 This argument also convinced the Advisory Board, which bestowed the award upon Tad Mosel for All the Way Home. 136 In 1962 the same two jurors put The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams, Gideon by Paddy Chayefsky and Purlie Victorious by Ossie Davis on their list of finalists; they had, however, one particular recommendation: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying by Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows. "Of this year's offerings," as can be read in the report, "How to Succeed... is one of America's triumphant musicals, a jubilant, sardonic, and hilarious travesty of the ways of Big Business and the means to get ahead in it... Our favorable opinion is based... on the total theatrical effect rather than 128 Drama Jury Repon I , op. cit., p. !. l29 Cf. Heinz-D. Fischer/Erika J. Fischer (Eds.), The Pulitzer Prize Archive, Vol. JI: PoetryNerse Awards 1918- 1995, op. cit., pp. 59 ff., pp. 135 ff. 130 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. 131 Drama Jury Report, March 14, 1960, pp. 3 f. 132 John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 264. 133 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. 134 Cf. Heinz-D. Fischer/Erika J. Fischer (Eds.), The Pulitzer Prize Archive, Vol. 10: NoveVFiction Awards !9l7-l994, op. cit., pp. 155 ff. 135 Drama Jury Report, March I, 1961, pp. 1 f. 136 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit, p. 55.

18 exclusively on the text," but this circumstance would not result in preventing the musical from winning the Pulitzer Prize. 137 The members of the Advisory Board agreed and gave the award to Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.138 It is quite remarkable how the Pulitzer Prize for drama was decided on in 1963. That year's jury remarked in its report by way of introduction: "The season... has on the whole been drably undistinguished, on Broadway and off. During it the English have come to the aid of the American theatre as if they were Harvard professors rushing to Washington to buttress the New Frontier. Most of the new American plays have wallowed in every form of despair, drug addiction, and deviation. They have been as lost dramatically and in spirit as William Inge's shocking and shockingly disappointing Natural Affection... Or they have represented a sad falling-off of talent as in the case of Tennessee Williams' poorly written but excellently acted The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Any More ... One play has emerged, however... This is Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which seems to (be) ... the outstanding American play of the year and the only new one of any stature or importance."139 Although the two jurors unanimously voted in favor of Albee's drama, problems arose. "When the Advisory Board met," Hohenberg explains, "there was a predicable split... In the end, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? lost by a narrow margin and the Board decided against any other award," 140 so that the result was "no award" in this category.141 Three new jurors went to work in 1964. They "came to the conclusion unanimously that no play has been presented this season either on the Broadway stage or off-Broadway which merits the Pulitzer Prize, and that, in consequence, no award should be made in the drama (category) for the current year." 142 The Advisory Board followed this advice, announcing publicly that for the second year in a row "no award" was given. 143 In 1965 however, the jurors were able to point out an outstanding theatrical achievement, because "the jury unanimously agreed that the only play worthy of recommendation for the Pulitzer Prize was The Subject Was Roses by Frank D. Gilroy. In our judgment," it says furthermore in the jury-report, "this is a play of depth and distinction, honest, sensitive, and in the best tradition of American drama... But although this play received superb reviews ... it can in no sense be considered a box-office success ... It is our hope that in recognizing the merits of this fine play... , the Pulitzer Board will in some measure encourage the production and maintenance of plays of lasting value which in the current atmosphere of Broadway are not considered hopeful from a commercial standpoint."1 44 After there had been no prize-winner in the drama category for two consecutive years, "the Board readily agreed to a Pulitzer Prize for The Subject Was Roses," 145 thus honoring Frank D. Gilroy.146 In the following year the jurors stated "with deep regret," when evaluating the theatrical production of 1966, "that after the most earnest discussion the jury came to the 137 Drama Jury Report, February 23, 1962, pp. I ff. 138 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. 139 Drama Jury Report, February 27, 1963, p. I. 140 John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 267. 141 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. 142 Drama Jury Report, March 16, I 964, p. l. 143 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. 144 Drama Jury Report, April 7, 1965, p. I. 145 John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 270. 146 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55.

19 conclusion that no play worthy of the Pulitzer Prize had been presented this season either on the Broadway stage or off-Broadway." 147.0nce again the vote of the Advisory Board was "no award." 148 The jury of 1967 offered a more optimistic report, even though the jurors stressed at the beginning: "It was considered that this had not been a particularly fruitful year for the drama, and that some of the more interesting productions of the year were outside the scope of the drama award for reasons of nationality." Yet two members of the committee, it can be read further on, "were emphatically of the opinion that Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance was the only play of American origin this season that was worthy of recommendation to the Advisory Board... While the third member of the jury found himself unable to share wholeheartedly in his colleagues' admiration for Mr. Albee's play, his lack of enthusiasm was not serious as to preclude a unanimous decision in accordance with the judgment of the majority, particularly in view of the absence of any other worthy contender for the award ... (So) it is our recommendation that A Delicate Balance be awarded the Pulitzer Prize."1 49 The Advisory Board accepted the verdict of the jury and awarded the prize to Edward Albee.150 The three members of the drama jury of 1968 were brief and concise in expressing their opinon that "the theatrical season has been slightly better on the whole; but the American plays that have gone into it tend to be middling affairs." Therefore, the report continues, "the drama committee has decided to recommend that no award be made this year."151 The Advisory Board made no objections, so that its final vote was: "no award."152 In 1969 the juror~ wrote that they had "decided to recommend The Great White Hope (by Howard Saclcler) for this year's drama award. The vote is unanimous," they pointed out, but "it was not easily arrived at, however. There was considerable discussion of 1776 (book by Peter Stone, music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards), of Ceremonies in Dark Old Men (by Lonne Elder), of The Boys in the Band (by Mart Crowley), and, to a lesser extent, Promises, Promises (music by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David, and book by Neil Simon) and Adaptation (by Elaine May)." 153 Although Ceremonies and 1776 temporarily were characterized as theatrical production of outstanding quality, the drama jury finally focused entirely on The Great White Hope. This drama, according to the report, "is not only American and topical in its subject matter, it is an ambitious play of considerable actual size. In the end it seemed more substantial and more secure than any of the other candidates." 154 The Advisory Board did not object, declaring Howard Sackler winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Great White Hope. 155 1970 was to become a special year in the history of the Pulitzer Prize for drama. After the jurors had had three plays on their shortlist, they agreed to rank Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon and Child's Play by Robert Marasco second and third, because quickly ail attention concentrated entirely on No Place To Be Somebody by Charles Gordone. In the end they recommended that this play should receive the award. "Our 147 148 149 150 151

Drama Jury Report, April 4, 1966, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. Drama Jury Report, New York, April l, 1967, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 55. Drama Jury Report, March 29, 1968, p. l. 152 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes. op. cit., p. 56. 153 Drama Jury Repon, April 5, 1969, p. I. 154 Ibid. 155 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56.

20 recommendation is unanimous, and enthusiastic," as can be read in the report. "This is in no sense a compromise choice. We discussed various other plays, though none of them very seriously ... When the discussion turned to No Place To Be Somebody, we were all happy, and had no difficulty in coming to a conclusion. The play is a genuinely remarkable one, a first play by a black playwright produced in out-of-the-way circumstances but almost immediately making its way against odds. Its strength is in the totality of its vision... and in the poetic distinction of its language. It has enormous energy and dimension. Naturally, we did not vote for the play (a) because it was by a black playwright, or (b) because it was done off-Broadway. We voted for the play." 156 With the approval of the Board and later the University Trustees, No Place To Be Somebody won, so that the prize went to Charles Gordone.157 The jurors of 1971 voted unanimously in favor of Paul Zindel's The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds. "Several other plays were considered," the juryreport imparted, "though the pickings have been sparse this year," and therefore, in fact only three plays were taken into serious consideration: Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry, The House ofBlue Leaves by John Guare, and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds. "Ifwe chose the Zindel play, more conventional in style," the jury-report goes on, "it was because it is a more perfectly formed work, always under control. Blue Leaves is still a bit ragged in certain ways, whereas Marigolds is firmly shaped, clearly accomplished."158 This play, Hohenberg writes, "was easier for the Board to take, being somewhat less than tough and based on a more sympathetic view of human nature," 159 so that Paul Zindel became winner of the Pulitzer Prize.1 60 In 1972 the members of the drama jury bad a hard time before they came to a decision. "The season has been a skimpy one," they informed the Board in their report, "even so, we considered various possibilities: Moonchildren (by Michael Weller), Twigs (by George Furth), Sticks and Bones {by David Rabe), even Follies (by James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim). No one of these, however, could muster more than one reasonably firm vote," and so the jury "decided to recommend that no award be given this year." 161 As Hohenberg explains, "the Advisory Board accepted the jury's recommendation and passed the award for the fifth time in a decade and the eleventh time in the history of the Pulitzer Prizes."162 After carefully sifting through the theatrical production of 1973, the jurors were "in immediate enthusiastic agreement on the play that should be given the Pulitzer - That Championship Season by Jason Miller. It then turned out," the report continues, "that we were not in agreement about any second choice, though The River Niger (by Joseph A. Walker) would have gained two of the three votes. No play seemed to us to come within voting reach of those two; but That Championship Season was clearly much the favorite over The River Niger." 163 The Advisory Board had no problems with this suggestion, so that with That Championship Season by Jason Miller it was once again a play that was chosen, 164 that had started off-Broadway_ 165 156 157 158 159

160 I 61 162 163 164

Drama Jury Report, April 1, 1970, pp. 1 f. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 328. Drama Jury Report, March 28, 1971, p. 1. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 329. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, April 5, 1972, p. l. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 329. Drama Jury Report, April 2, 1973, p. l. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56.

21 The drama jury of 1974 had to face a different situation. It considered the following productions: Short Eyes by Miguel Pinero, What the Wine Sellers Buy by Ron Milner, The Great MacDaddy by Paul C. Harrison, The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin by Robert Wilson, Bad Habits by Terrence McNally and Baba Goya by Steve Tesich. But after watching, evaluating and discussing these plays, the members of the jury stated that they were "unable to find a play that we could wholeheartedly recommend as worthy in every respect of receiving a PQlitzer Prize, although there were a number of plays worthy of some serious consideration."166 Because of this argumentation the Advisory Board joined in with the vote of the jury and decided to give "no award."167 "Contrary to most expectations," the jury of 1975 said in its report, "the theatre on Broadway has enjoyed an exceptionally full and prosperous year. There have been more openings and more money taken in at the box-office than for many seasons past... The jury is unanimous in choosing Edward Albee's Seascape as the most distinguished American play of the year. Indeed, it seemed to all three of us so far in advance of any other play that we would care to recommend that we proposed no second or third choices to each other in the course of discussing our decision... Seascape is written with an elegance that... only Albee among his living contemporaries could have achieved. It is a strong work and was given a fine production - one in which we learned, among other things, that Albee is at least as good a director as he is a playwright..." 168 Although the jury-report also mentioned such plays as Bad Habits and The Ritz by Terrence McNally, Same Time, Next Year by Bernard Slade or A Letter for Queen Victoria by Robert Wilson as worth seeing, I69 the Advisory Board supported the recommendation of the jury and bestowed the award on Seascape by Edward Albee, 170 who thus was honored with his second Pulitzer Prize. The drama jury of 1976 made it perfectly clear: "A unanimous vote," they wrote in their report, "goes to the musical A Chorus Line, devised by Michael Bennett, with book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, lyrics by Edward Kleban and music by Marvin Hamlisch. We also gave particular consideration to David Rabe's play Streamers .. . Another play we seriously considered was Leslie Lee's The First Breeze of Summer.. . Both plays represent trends in the American theatre... Both would, in our opinion, be worthy in some years, of the prize. However, our choice fell on A Chorus Line for very good reasons. Firstly, the musical has an essential place in the American theatre ... And this particular musical, the best of what has come to be known as the 'concept musicals,' does seem to us to represent a resurgence of the musical as an artistic force. It is Broadway theatre at its very best and most collaborative, and does, we submit, deserve to be recognized."171 The Advisory Board signalled its approval of this proposition, and therefore the Pulitzer Prize in the drama category went to A Chorus Line and to all of the five people who conceived it: Michael Bennett, James Kirkwood, Nicholas Dante, Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban.172 It was for the fourth time that the award in this category went to a musical. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 329. Drama Jury Report, April 2, 1974, pp. l f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, March 31, 1975, pp. 1 f. Ibid., pp. 2 f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. ciJ., p. 56. 171 Drama Jury Report, April l , 1976, p. L 172 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. 165 166 167 168 169 170

22 In the following year, 1977, the jury also did not have the slightest difficulties in agreeing on a recommendation for best theatrical production of the previous year. "The play that, by good fortune, we all felt equally in favor of," the jurors enthused in their report, "is The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer.. . It is a play of the utmost seriousness, on a subject that few people would feel inclined to examine - how people respond when they know they are dying... Mr. Cristofer is a superb writer, a born playwright, and (as it happens) a very good actor. The Shadow Box talces a strongly affirmative view of life ... We are told, not for the first time, that we must have the wisdom to seize 'this moment,' and we are told it with passion. No other play came close to this one in our judgment." 173 Other productions that had temporarily been discussed in the jury as potential favorites included A Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones and The Runner Stumbles by Milan Stitt.1 74 The Advisory Board did not hesitate in announcing The Shadow Box as winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama, honoring Michael Cristofer with the award.175 After judging all eligible theatrical plays, the jurors of 1978 told the Advisory Board that "there was considerable discussion of the new young writers emerging Off Broadway and of the plays A Life in the Theater (by David Mamet), The Water Engine (by David Mamet), The Curse of the Starving Class (by Sam Shepard), Landscape of the Body (by John Guare), Uncommon Women and Others (by Wendy Wasserstein), A Prayer For My Daughter (by Thomas Babe), Feedlot (by Patrick Meyers) and others... There was also some general feeling that Neil Simon is sooner or later due for recognition..., but the members (of the jury) did not feel that Chapter Two was the proper play for it... The new musicals, I Love My Wife (by Michael Stewart and Cy Coleman), Annie (by Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin), On the Twentieth Century (by Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Cy Coleman) were not thought to be of Pulitzer stature."1 7 6 After also eliminating William Gibson's Golda and Vieux Carre by Tennessee Williams from its group of finalists, the jury came to the following verdict: "The one new play ... of sufficient originality, invention and staying power was... The Gin Game (by Donald L. Coburn)... All three members were satisfied that it represented the best work of the season to come from an American hand." 177 The Pulitzer Prize Board readily agreed, and thus Donald L. Coburn won the award for his play The Gin Game .178 In 1979 the members of the jury also had a clear favorite: Buried Child by Sam Shepard. "Over the past several years," they wrote in their report, "Mr. Shepard has produced a remarkable body of work... As a playwright, he has devoted himself to American themes ... He is preoccupied with the question of our relationship to the past; he explores with a lyrical exuberance the moral and spiritual values to which as Americans we continue to subscribe... In recommending Mr. Shepard for the Pulitzer Prize, we of the jury have felt entitled to consider that, beyond the high quality of the play itself, Mr. Shepard's substantial body of work and its inspiring determination to come to grips with American life are worthy of honoring." 179 The Board did not contradict, awarding the prize to Sam Shepard's Buried Child_ 180 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180

Drama Jury Report, March 29, 1977, p. I.

Ibid.

Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, March 29, 1978, p. I. Ibid., pp. I f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Priz.es, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, April 3, 1979, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Priz.es, op. cit., p. 56.

23 In 1980 the jurors proceeded just as their colleagues in the previous year had done by acknowledging merely their favorite production, which was Talley's -Folly by Lanford Wilson. "A prolific writer," the jury emphasized in its explanation, "Mr. Wilson has produced a large body of work, virtually all of it dealing with the American experience. Talley's Folly is a love story, but it touches on a number of subjects characteristic of American life ... The Cominittee felt that it was important, too, to recognize that Talley's Folly is part of a group of related plays... Mr. Wilson contemplates four plays which when completed will constitute a tetralogy - an impressive undertaking in today's theater." 181 The Board agreed and that is how Talley's Folly by Lanford Wilson received the Pulitzer Prize for drama.182 The jurors of 1981 also had only one recommendation for the drama award: Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley. This play for them represented "an outstanding family play... It deals, sometimes comically, with tragedies in everyday life. Enormously theatrical, it begins wit a specific provincial American situation and becomes a play with universal human values ... The Committee also wishes to note the fact," as is said at the end of the report, "that the recommendation of Crimes of the Heart comes at a time when women playwrights, led by Miss He nley, are at their most creative and productive."183 The members of the Pulitzer Prize Board shared this opinion and gave the prize to Beth Henley for Crimes of the Heart.184 For the award of 1982 the jury was completely reconstituted, yet the three new members could not agree on one potential prize-winner. Whereas two jurors were convinced, "that Charles Fuller's A Soldier's Play... richly merits this year's Pulitzer Prize for Drama," adding that they "could find no substantial second or third choices," the third juror stated firmly, "that nothing he has seen during the season is worthy of the prize." 185 But because there was a majority vote for one drama, the Board accepted the proposal and publicly announced the production of Charles Fuller's A Soldier's Play as winner of the coveted prize.186 In the following year, 1983, the jurors also differed in their evaluations, as they could not reach unanimity about which theatrical play was to be regarded as best production. Once again two members of the jury favored one play, while the third juror recommended another. "A majority of the jury wishes," as can be read in the report, "to nominate a single play for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama: 'Night, Mother by Marsha Noonan. With deep compassion and without a trace of condescension, Marsha Norman dramatizes the bottomless alienation of two contemporary American women ... 'Night, Mother is not a message play about suicide. It is a clear-eyed, unsentimental portrayal of two mainstream Americans who are struggling to find meaning in lives defined by the normal but, in our time, increasingly shaky coordinates of work, family, community, commerce and mass culture ... 'Night, Mother exerts the inexorable force of classic tragedy." 187 The minority report also suggested only one play, namely True West by Sam Shepard: "True West is Sam Shepard's funny and astonishing drama... , it is a play of inventive language, haunting imagery and sardonic humor... True West is ... one of Shepard's most social plays, as 18 1 182 183 184 185 186 187

DramaJuryReport,March31, 1980,p. l. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, March 29. 1981, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. ciJ., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, March 31, 1982, p. I. Columbia University. The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, March 14, I 983, p. I.

24 well as one of his most volatile. A comedy-drama of considerable resonance, it is noteworthy ... "188 The Board once more opted for the vote of the majority. Therefore, the Pulitzer Prize went to Marsha Nonnan's 'Night, Mother.189 Unanimity predominated once more within the jury of 1984, which recommended in its report "that the Pulitzer Prize in Drama be awarded to David Mamet for Glengarry Glen Ross ... This latest play by a steadily developing dramatist captures with jackhammer intensity and gutter-perfect dialogue the absurd competitive pressures that percolate one sleazy real estate selling operation... The jury also has a high regard for two other eligible plays," it informed the Advisory Board, adding: "One, Fool for Love, a no-holds-barred exploration of a possessive sexual relationship, is written by that very prolific and highly original playwright., Sam Shepard.... The other, Painting Churches, an elegiac celebration of a daughter's coming to terms with her aging ruggedly individualistic Boston parents, is by Tina Howe, and is in our opinion a better play than its current New York production makes it seem." 190 Obviously, convincing the Board to choose the drama mentioned first as winner of the Pulitzer Prize proved unproblematic, and therefore Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet was honored with the award.191 When selecting the potential prize-winner of 1985, the jurors for the first time were bound to draw up a list of three finalists and to rank the plays alphabetically by title. Thus the jury-report contained the following nominations: "The Dining Room by A. R. Gurney, Jr. A dining room, rich in memories, is the locale and central metaphor for A. R. Gurney's rueful comedy, which both celebrates an American way of life and laments its passing... The Gospel at Colonus, conceived, adapted and directed by Lee Breuer, music composed, arranged and directed by Bob Telson. This joyously reverent work of musical theater recreates Oedipus at Colonus, the last tragedy of Sophocles, in terms of the Gospel music and inspired preaching of black American churches ... Sunday in the Park With George, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine. This subtle and innovative musical play concerns itself with the costs and agonies of artistic creation... The craftsmanship, with song, spectacle, and dialogue inextricably and purposefully woven together, is worthy of the theme. It is heartening that so serious and fonnally inventive a work should have achieved such a high degree of popular acceptance. Sunday in the Park With George is the jury's unequivocal first choice."192 This perfectly clear vote was adopted by the Pulitzer Prize Board, so that the award was bestowed upon Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine for Sunday in the Park With George.193 Although in 1986 the members of the jury unanimously pleaded for awarding the drama prize to Robert Wilson's The Civil Wars - A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down, they also recorded in their report however: "This epic play has still not been performed in its twelve hour entirety, but long excerpts from it have been presented... It should be made clear that this is not a play in any traditional sense of the word ... The enthusiastic choice of Robert Wilson for a Pulitzer Prize is also intended as an implied commentary on the current state of the American theater." And later on in their report the jurors added: "There was, in fact, only one scripted, narrative work about which we had a I 88 Ibid., p. 2. 189 190 191 192 193

Columbia Univers ity, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. ciz., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, March 15, 1984, p. l. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, April 6, 1985, p. 2. Columbia University. The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56.

25 unanimity of favorable opinion - and that was Woody Allen's screenplay for his movie Hannah and Her Sisters. Films have not of course previously been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, but we would like to raise the question of their eligibility."194 The Board could not warm to any of the jury's suggestions and therefore decided on "no award." 195 The jurors of 1987 without giving any reasons as regards content, submitted the following list of propositions, which just stated briefly: "First choice: Neil Simon's Broadway Bound. Second choice: August Wilson's Fences. Third choice: Lee Blessing's A Walk in the Woods." 196 But the Board did not accept the playwright placed first on the jury's list, but instead chose the dramatist placed second as winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and so the award went to Fences by August Wilson.197 In 1988 the members of the jury also reached an unanimous verdict when strongly recommending Driving Miss Daisy. "On its most immediate level," as can be inferred from the report, "Alfred Uhry's play chronicles the evolving friendship between a Jewish dowager in Atlanta and her black chauffeur over a span of 25 years. While making us care deeply about his characters, Uhry also touches upon the broader social and economic conflicts in American life during this period. In the apparently small context of a three-character play, he has created a resonant work - notable for its delicacy, its humor and its insight into human nature. The jurors feel that 1987-88 was a lean year for American playwriting and that their other two choices, while meritorious, do not reflect the same level of achievement as Driving Miss Daisy. Boy's Life by Howard Korder, however, signals the emergence of a talented new playwright, who has an acute ear for the way young urban Americans speak... With Talk Radio, the nominating jury's third selection, Eric Bogosian has graduated from a gifted monologuist to a playwright of originality and power." 198 As the merits of the play ranking first also impressed the Board, the Pulitzer Prize for drama was given to Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Ubry_ 199 The list of recommendations drawn up by the jury of 1989 consisted of the following three productions: "M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang... A truly distinguished work, and certainly one of the most original ever to be done here. The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein... The lines are invariably witty, never masquerading the depth of emotion underneath. The Piano Lesson by August Wilson. This is yet another of August Wilson's plays, which depict, decade by decade, black life in the North in the Twentieth Century,"200 but at the time the nominations were discussed, this particular play had not yet been performed in New York. The Board voted in favor of The Heidi Chronicles and therefore awarded the Pulitzer Prize to Wendy Wasserstein.201 Among the three finalists, presented by the jury of 1990, there were: And What of the Night by Maria Irene Fornes; The Piano Lesson by August Wilson and Love Letters by A. R. Gurney. "The Fornes works," the report reads, "were the clear first choice of two of the three jurors, who described them as the most ambitious undertaking this year... The Gurney play was accepted by all of the jurors as being his best work. The Wilson play... is accepted as another major work by an extremely important (and previ194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201

Drama Jury Report, March 29, 1986, pp. I f. Columbia University, The PulitzerPrizes,op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, March 17, 1987, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, March 20, 1988, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report, March 13, 1989, pp. 1 f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56.

26 ously honored) playwright. 11202 The subtle hint of the jury, at the fact that the author mentioned last had already received a Pulitzer Prize in the drama category three years earlier, did not prevent the Pulitzer Prize Board from honoring August Wilson with a second award for The Piano Lesson.203 In 1991 when for the first time the drama jury was made up of five members, there were the following three finalists: "Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon. The only work in all five lists, it has been judged a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright. Prelude to a Kiss (by Craig Lucas), which... reached three of the lists, was adjudged an interesting but jarringly bifurcated play with a charming and very well written first half. Six Degrees ofSeparation by John Guare. Selected by three of the five, it is considered a dazzling but, in the end, not entirely succ;essful theater work. "204 Most of the jurors had voted for Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers, so that the Board gave its consent and granted him the prize.205 In 1992 the members of the jury even presented five finalists: The Kentucky Cycle by Robert Schenkkan, Miss Evers' Boys by David Feldshuh, Conversations With My Father by Herb Gardner, Two Trains Running by August Wilson and Sight Unseen by Donald Margulies. "Every juror agreed," it says in the report, "that Schenkkan's work represented aspiration more profound than any other entry. Three of us made it the first choice, and it was the only play short-listed by all five. David Feldshuh's play ... was the first choice of the other two jurors and a solid second overall." Concerning the three other plays, the opinions of the jurors differed considerably, and so no unanimous evaluations were possible.206 In view of the majority vote that The Kentucky Cycle managed to collect, the Board declared this play, and thus Robert Schenkkan, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.207 The jurors of 1993 had not the slightest difficulties in corning up with the following list of three finalists, ranked alphabetically by title: Angels in America - Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner, The Destiny of Me by Larry Kramer and Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith. "The Committee feels," the jury-report imparts, "that Angels in America is the strongest American play in many years. Although its immediate theme is the AIDS pandemic, Kushner's play ranges far beyond that: it is the first dramatic work to move the gay culture from the margins of discourse to the center, placing it strongly as an important element of American sensibility. And it's a powerfully theatrical work... The Destiny of Me," the report continues, "is also a play about AIDS, but Kramer's work is more intimate and personal ... Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror is an extraordinary one-person work, a portrait of the people and events thal made up the Crown Heights riots in New York."208 Near the end of the jury-report the following addition can be found: "Although the Committee is submitting three plays a~ called for by the... rules, it is our unanimous feeling that Angels in America is of a different order of magnitude than the others... There wasn't the slightest dissent in om feeling that Tony Kushner's play, in ambition, scope and achievement, far surpassed an)' other work... during this past year."209 Because of this overwhelming praise the Board 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209

Drama Jury Report, March 1, 1990, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Re port. March 6, 1991, p. I. Colwnbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 56. Drama Jury Report. March 3, 1992, pp. l f. Columbia University, The 76th annual Pulitzer Prizes..., New York, April 7, 1992, p. 6. Drama Jury Report, March 30, 1993, p. 1. Ibid.• pp. I f.

27 was convinced that the Pulitzer Prize belonged to Angels in America and honored Tony Kushner with the award.210 In 1994 the jurors conducted the selection process in several stages. They described this process at the beginning of their report: "Although the jury all felt this was not the strongest year in terms of quality, the panelists were able to find eighteen plays that one or more jurors deemed worthy of discussion and six that had sufficiently ardent support to make it to a semifinal round. The three finalist plays led the way at every stage of the discussion and each of them has the respect (if not always wild enthusiasm) of all the jurors. In order of preference ... , the plays are: Three Tall Women by Edward Albee, A Pe,fect Ganesh by Terrence McNally, Keely and Du by Jane Martin ... Albee's play was the first choice of two jurors, the second choice of two more and the third choice of the remaining panel member... The jurors are aware that Albee has been honored twice already ... But this is in no sense a recommendation for a comeback award... McNally, in contrast to Albee, is one of the handful of most distinguished playwrights in America who have never won the Pulitzer... It was the first choice of one jwor and the second choice of three others. The juror who ranked it third... felt it sometimes bordered on the cute ... Two jurors rated Keely and Du first ... The other three rated it third."211 Because Three Tall Women ranked highest with the m ajority of the jurors, the Board announced this play and its author as winner in the drama category, which meant that Edward Albee received his third Pulitzer Prize.212 Judging the plays of 1995 the five members of the jury shortlisted the following three productions: 1. The Cryptogram by David Mamet, which was called a "short, trenchant, eloquent drama... Mr. Mamet's play is a move beyond his earlier, notable works ... 2. Seven Guitars by August Wilson... displays the playwright's unique gift of language ... Humble in its words, Mr. Wilson's language is woven into beautiful, rich speeches... 3. The Young Man from Atlanta by Horton Foote... is another of his meticulously crafted, subtly detailed and deeply felt studies of the family ties that bind - and are shattered ... Mr. Foote's sure, almost invisible ability to deeply touch the viewer with the seemingly everyday conversations and actions of his ordinary people is amazing."213 The Board members did not vote for Mamet or for Wilson who had earned Pulitzer Prizes before, but they opted for Horton Foote who thus obtained the award for The Young Man from Atlanta.214 In 1996 the jurors, after sifting through all the plays produced that season, once again presented three recommendations. First play mentioned on the list was A Fair Country by Jon Robin Baitz. "Written with sharp, pointed dialogue, peopled by vivid characters and played against an international setting of Africa, Europe and Central America," the jury stated, "Baitz's play covers a decade in the hapless family's life, making their dilemma not only a personal tragedy but a case study of American malaise in the l 98O's." Old Wicked Songs by Jon Marans came next on the list. "The combination of music and drama in this delicate, two-man chamber work is quite remarkable," the jurors said. Jonathan Larson's Rent was the third finalist. "Taking his inspiration from the opera La Boheme," the jury report remarks, "the late Mr. Larson created a strong, surging work of contemporary American musical theater which transplants the story of 19th Century 210 211 212 213 214

Columbia University, The 77th a nnual Pulitzer Prizes..., New York, April 13, 1993, p. 6. Drama Jury Report, March 8, 1994, pp. 1 f. Columbia University, The 78th annual Pulitzer Prizes..., New York, April 12, 1994, p. 6. Drama Jury Report, February 21, 1995, pp. If. Columbia University, The 79th annual Pulitzer Prizes..., New York, April 18, 1995, p. 7.

28 bohemian Paris to the East Village of the '90s."21 5 The Board decided in favor of Jonathan Larson who received a posthumous award for Rent.216 The 1997 jury's majority named three finalists, and a minority vote mentioned a fourth play as outstanding, too. Pride's Crossing by Tina Howe was characterized by the jurors as "a play that moves around the Twentieth Century with an elegance that is the hallmark of this... work." Collected Stories by Donald Margulies was another finalist. The playwright had "a gift for creating characters who appear set in their ways while retaining a disturbing capacity for surprise," the jury report states. The third play on the majority's list was The Last Night of Ballyhoo by Alfred Uhry. This piece was praised as "a terrifically wellmade play, inhabited by provocative, richly drawn characters," the jurors said. In addition, the minority report mentioned Stonewall Jackson's House by Jonathan Reynolds. "Our consensus is," the jury members expressed, "that The Last Night of Ballyhoo is the best American (play) of the season."21? This time the Board did not accept any of the four suggestions and decided for "no award" in this category.218 In 1998 the members of the jury presented three finalists in alphabetical order by playwright and a minority report on Ragtime by Stephen Flaherty. The three finalists were: Freedom/and by Amy Freed, "a rich prodigiously messy family-reunion play about overeducated, underloved, memorably dislocated children and the '60s parents who unintentionally made them the lost adults of today," the jury remarked. Three Days of Rain by Richard Greenberg was listed next. "With precision, wit and grace," the jury said, "Greenberg makes audiences confront the difficulty - no, the impossibility - of understanding the true legacy of any family." How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel was the third nomination by the jurors. "Seemingly simple, deceptively easy-going, this devasting play crawls under the skin of a taboo love and, though never condoning it, is wise and merciful about both its seductions and destructions... A majority favorite of the jurists, the work is also so entertaining," 219 the jury report concludes. The members of the Pulitzer Prize Board were as well impressed by this play, and so they decided that the award went to Paula Vogel for How I Learned to Drive.220 The three finalists on the jury list of 1999 were: Running Man by Cornelius Eady, Wit by Margaret Edson and Side Man by Warren Leight.The Pulitzer Prize was bestowed on Margaret Edson for Wit. 221 In 2000 the jurors put together this list of finalists: Dinner With Friends by Donald Margulies, In The Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks, and King Hedley JI by August Wilson. The Board selected Donald Margulies' play Dinner With Friends as the Pulitzer Prize winner in the drama award category.222 When taking stock by looking over the eight decades since the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes, one cannot fail to notice that the award in the drama category was withheld thirteen times, proving once more that the award system, in cases of doubt, preferred to give "no award'' instead of honoring minor productions with the coveted prize. "The drama prizes, like those in fiction, have always attracted controversy," J. Douglas Bates summarizes the course of events, adding: "Overall ... the Pulitzer drama judging has undoubtedly achieved greater success than the fiction judging in reflecting 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222

Drama Jury Report, March 5, 1996, pp. I f. Columbia University, The 80th annual Pulitzer Prizes.. ,, New York, April 9, 1996, p. 7. Drama Jury Report, March 7, 1997, pp. I ff. Columbia University, The 8 1st annual Pulitzer Prizes...• New York, April 7, 1997. p. 6. Drama Jury Report, March 8, 1998, pp. I f. Columbia University, The 82nd annual Pulitzer Prizes... , New York, April 14, 1998, p. 6. Columbia University, The 83rd annual Pulitzer Prizes.... New York, April 12, 1999, p. 6. Columbia University, The 84th annual Pulitzer Prizes ... , New York. April 10, 2000, p . 6.

29 the best writing for the American stage." 223 As Hohenberg states, "it had long been contended, mainly by critics and editors outside New York, that what was produced on Broadway and off Broadway could no longer be considered a true measurement of the American theater... However, no new American play that opened elsewhere had failed ... to reach Broadway and win consideration for a Pulitzer Prize. 11224

Music Awards "Music was one of Joseph Pulitzer's passions. He particularly loved the compositions of Beethoven, Wagner and Liszt. The publisher's will bequeathed $ 500.000 to the New York Philharmonic Society - an amount equal to his bequest for the Pulitzer Prizes. But the man's will did not ask for a prize in music. It called only for a scholarship for a music student. "225 This is how an author described the situation when the Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in 1917 for the first time. At the beginning of the 1940s, after 22 Music Scholarships226 had been granted in total, the Music Department of Columbia University asked for a change.227 The idea was taken up in I 943 by the Advisory Board on the Pulitzer Prizes.228 By converting the scholarship to a prize,229 the Board paved the way for "the American composer to find himself beside his colleagues in journalism, fiction, history, poetry and drama" 230 in future. The official definition of the newly established Pulitzer Prize was, at that point in time, as follows: "For distinguished musical composition by an American in any of the larger forms, including chamber, orchestral, choral, opera, song, dance, or other fonns of musical theatre, which has had its first performance in the United States during the year. 11 231 Equiped with these guidelines, the first jurors in the music category started their work in April 1943 and proposed, "that the award for 1942-43 be made to William Schuman for his Secular Cantata No. 2, A Free Song. The decision," the jury report continues, "was unanimous and was arrived at after a careful consideration of compositions ... performed or published during the period from April 1st, 1942, to April 1st, 1943. Mr. Schuman's cantata ... complies with the requirements both of performance and publication, as established by the rules governing the award. "232 The Advisory Board accepted the proposal of the three jurors and made William H. Schuman the first winner of the Pulitzer Prize in the music category for his Secular Cantata No. 2 -A Free Song .233 The jurors in 1944 suggested "that the award for 1943-44 be made to Howard H. Hanson for his Symphony No. 4, Opus 34." 234 Once again the Board had no objections and gave the award to Hanson. 235 223 J. Douglas Bates, The Pulitzer Prize. The Inside Story of America's Most Prestigious Award, New York 1991, pp. 126 f.

224 John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. ciL, p. 330. 225 226 227 228

J. Douglas Bates, The Pulitzer Prize, op. ciL, p. I31. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes. op. cit., p. 378. Letterto Columbia President Nicholas Murray Buttler, December 17, 1941, p. I. Chalmers Clifton, Music Awards, in : Columbia Library Columns (New York), Vol. VI/No. 3, May 1957, p.

42.

229 J. Douglas Bates, The Pulitzer Prize, op. ciL , p. 131. 230 Chalmers Clifton, Music Awards, op. cit., p. 42. 231 Quoted from: J. Douglas Bates, The Pulitzer Prize, op. cit.• p. 131 . 232 Music Jury Report, April 12, 1943, p. 1. 233 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 67. 234 MusicJury Report, April 11, 1944, p. L 235 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 67.

30 In 1945 the jury had to evaluate almost 150 compositions. In the end four of these were placed on the shortlist according to rank: First place went to Aaron Copland for Appalachian Spring. This music from a ballet was honored as "the best stage music of the year. It is... using fragments of Springfield Mountain and other American folk tunes," interwoven and developed with great elegance and deftness, showing great experience with the orchestra and with musical materials, "236 the jury wrote in its report. Bernard Rogers was the jury's second place choice for The Passion. In the words of the jury it was "an extensive work for Chorus, Soloists and Orchestra, based on material from the Gospel according to St. Matthew." The Symphony on a Hymn Tune by Virgil G. Thomson, "a rare combination of simplicity and originality to the hymn-singing tunes ... in the 19th century middle west," was put on the third place. Finally, David Diamond's Symphony No. 2 rounded out the jury's favorites ranked in fourth place. This piece was classified as "clear in form, and generally original in conception."237 The Advisory Board accepted the jury's choice once again and gave the award to the composer ranked first in the jurors' list, and so the prize went to Aaron Copland for his piece Appalachian Spring. 238 Since the jury report of 1946 is unavailable it cannot be said how many compositions the jurors had to evaluate in the first year of the postwar period. However, the Advisory Board bestowed the award on Leo Sowerby for his work The Canticle of the Sun.239 It was a cantata for chorus and mixed voices with accompaniment for piano or orchestra, based on the text by Saint Francis of Assisi. The report of the jury of 1947 also is not available. In that year Charles E. Ives won the Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony No. 3240 which was subtitled The Camp Meeting. In 1948 there were three jury members. No fewer than six composers and their works made it on the jury's shortlist, led by Walter H. Piston's Jr. Symphony No. 3. "This work, probably the finest of the distinguished American composer," the jury wrote, "combines mastery of form and beauty of orchestration with expressiveness and spontaneity. In the opinion of the music jury it far smpasses the other works seriously considered."241 Roger H. Sessions' Second Symphony was ranked second, followed by Robert Palmer's Quartet for Piano and Strings and Ernst Krenek's Symphony No. 4 as well as Walter Piston's second piece in the competition, Symphonic Suite, and finally by David Diamond's Symphony No. 4. "The other compositions," the jury wrote in its report to the Advisory Board, "have distinction to a greater or lesser degree, but the impression created by the Piston Symphony leaves no doubt as to the choice for the first place."242 The Advisory Board was of the same opinion and so the prize went to Walter H. Piston Jr. for his Symphony No. J.243 The jury of 1949 arrived at a judgment which was not unanimous: Whereas two jurors preferred Virgil G. Thomson's music for the film Louisiana Story, the third favored Aaron Copland's soundtrack for John Steinbeck's The Red Pony. Louisiana Story was called "a simple, direct account of the drilling of an oil well in the Louisiana bayous and

236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243

Music Jucy Report, April 6, 1945, p. 2. Ibid., pp. 2 f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 67.

Ibid., Ibid. Music Jury Report, March 14, 1948, p. 1.

Ibid. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 67.

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32 was of the opinion that the jury's favorite should receive the prestigeous award. So Gail T. Kubik received the Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony Concertante.253 In 1953 the jurors again had to rate more than eighty compositions, out of which they recommended three. First place candidate and the jury's favorite was Symphony No. 2 by Joseph Wood. The composition was characterized as "fresh and pleasant in its harmonic dress, contemporaneous, without self-consciousness. It has excellent craftsmanship and is a work that the unsophisticated listener would enjoy."254 Bohuslav Martinu's opera The marriage was second on the list of recommendations. The work was especially composed for TV, but "the purely musical elements did not seem important enough for a prize in music." The third composer listed by the jury was Vittorio Giannini with his opera The Taming of the Shrew. 255 Although full of praise for Joseph Wood's as well, the Advisory Board could not make up its mind in favor of one of the three candidates and decided to rule "no award" in the music category for the first time.256 In the following year, 1954, there were no problems of any serious nature, when the jury submitted its report to the Advisory Board. The Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Quincy W. Porter for his Concerto For Two Pianos and Orchestra.251 One year later, 1955, the jury members selected six compositions for the final round. The first place on the list of recommendations went to the opera The Saint of Bleecker Street by Gian-Carlo Menotti. According to the jury, "as in other stage works, Mr. Menotti has shown his unusual and indisputable talent in the medium of the lyric theater" with this work.258 The candidate in second place was Concerto for Violin by Richard Mohaupt. "This skilful work," the jury report stated, "is written in contemporary idiom, with no experimental or controversial techniques. The composer is sure of his ground, mature in expression and writes well for the instrument." The third favorite of the jury was Prayers of Kierkegaard by Samuel Barber. According to the jury, this piece of work was "a composition of real mysticism, without sentimentality, well sounding, modem in idiom, but less dissonant than Mr. Barber's recent style." The fourth place was given to Fantasies Symphoniques by Bohuslav Martinu; and the fifth rank was Symphony No. 3 by Nikolai Lopatnikoff. In general, the jurors were full of praise for all competitors of that year. They were "of good quality, and some of them distinguished."259 The Advisory Board dediced in favor of Gian-Carlo Menotti for The Saint of Bleecker Street, making this Menotti's second Pulitzer Prize.260 The jury of 1956 had to review almost sixty works and finally stated that "the season was a fruitful one for distinguished creative work in musical composition." The jurors' favorite for the prize was Symphony No. 3 by Ernst Toch, of which the jury report stated "one of his finest works, of sure craftsmanship, contemporary in feeling, without selfconscious striving for the new and the original, beautiful and brilliant in orchestral sound."261 The second place on the list of recommendations went to Roger H. Sessiom with his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. This music, the jury explained, "is finely

253 254 255 256 251 258 259 260 261

Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit, p. 67. Music Jury Report, April 2, 1953, p. 2. Ibid. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit, p. 68. Ibid. Music Jury Report, April I, 1955, p. 1. Ibid., pp. 1 f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. Music Jury Report.April 2, 1956,pp. 1, 3.

33 was of the opinion that the jury's favorite should receive the prestigeous award. So Gail T. Kubik received the Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony Concertante.253 In 1953 the jurors again had to rate more than eighty compositions, out of which they recommended three. First place candidate and the jury's favorite was Symphony No. 2 by Joseph Wood. The composition was characterized as "fresh and pleasant in its harmonic dress, contemporaneous, without self-consciousness. It has excellent craftsmanship and is a work that the unsophisticated listener would enjoy."254 Bohuslav Martinu's opera The marriage was second on the list of recommendations. The work was especially composed for TV, but "the purely musical elements did not seem important enough for a prize in music." The third composer listed by the jury was Vittorio Giannini with his opera The Taming of the Shrew. 255 Although full of praise for Joseph Wood's as well, the Advisory Board could not make up its mind in favor of one of the three candidates and decided to rule "no award" in the music category for the first time.256 In the following year, 1954, there were no problems of any serious nature, when the jury submitted its report to the Advisory Board. The Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Quincy W. Porter for his Concerto For Two Pianos and Orchestra.251 One year later, 1955, the jury members selected six compositions for the final round. The first place on the list of recommendations went to the opera The Saint of Bleecker Street by Gian-Carlo Menotti. According to the jury, "as in other stage works, Mr. Menotti has shown his unusual and indisputable talent in the medium of the lyric theater" with this work.258 The candidate in second place was Concerto for Violin by Richard Mohaupt. "This skilful work," the jury report stated, "is written in contemporary idiom, with no experimental or controversial techniques. The composer is sure of his ground, mature in expression and writes well for the instrument." The third favorite of the jury was Prayers of Kierkegaard by Samuel Barber. According to the jury, this piece of work was "a composition of real mysticism, without sentimentality, well sounding, modem in idiom, but less dissonant than Mr. Barber's recent style." The fourth place was given to Fantasies Symphoniques by Bohuslav Martinu; and the fifth rank was Symphony No. 3 by Nikolai Lopatnikoff. In general, the jurors were full of praise for all competitors of that year. They were "of good quality, and some of them distinguished."259 The Advisory Board dediced in favor of Gian-Carlo Menotti for The Saint of Bleecker Street, making this Menotti's second Pulitzer Prize.260 The jury of 1956 had to review almost sixty works and finally stated that "the season was a fruitful one for distinguished creative work in musical composition." The jurors' favorite for the prize was Symphony No. 3 by Ernst Toch, of which the jury report stated "one of his finest works, of sure craftsmanship, contemporary in feeling, without selfconscious striving for the new and the original, beautiful and brilliant in orchestral sound."261 The second place on the list of recommendations went to Roger H. Sessiom with his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. This music, the jury explained, "is finely

253 254 255 256 251 258 259 260 261

Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit, p. 67. Music Jury Report, April 2, 1953, p. 2. Ibid. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit, p. 68. Ibid. Music Jury Report, April I, 1955, p. 1. Ibid., pp. 1 f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. Music Jury Report.April 2, 1956,pp. 1, 3.

34 constructed, careful in detail and impressively thoughtfuI."262 Nevertheless the award was given to Ernst Toch for Symphony No. 3_263 In 1957, when the jury had the choice between ahnost one hundred compositions, the jury again took two candidates into closer consideration. Toe favorite was Norman Dello Joio for his Meditations on Ecclesiastes. "The w9rk," the jury report said, "is contemporary in character, euphonious and ingratiating in sound, and representative of the composer."264 The second place went to Paul Creston and his Symphony No. 5. As the jury would explain, Creston "uses the full resources of a large orchestra with the skill that has made him also a composer who has arrived in every sense of the word. "265 The Advisory Board did not hesitate in declaring Norman Delio Joio the Pulitzer Prize winner for his Meditations on Ecclesiastes.266 The jurors in 1958 again had to judge ahnost eighty compositions before they recommended two of them. One was the opera Vanessa by Samuel Barber. The composer, the jury report said, "demonstrates that he has a great talent for the lyric theater and a amazing understanding of operatic techniques."267 Robert Palmer's cantata Of Night and the Sea followed at a certain distance. "This fine sounding, adroitly constructed composition seems almost perfect within its somewhat limited scope," the jury stated in rating this composition. 268 The Advisory Board declared Samuel Barber to be the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his opera Vanessa.269 The jury of 1959 recommended Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by John La Montaine for first place. According to the jurors the finalist was "a youngish composer and seems... to write with vitality and great promise for the future, and we feel that this award will be of a very constructive nature... The Committee feels, also, that the work has audience appeal."270 Bohuslav Martinu reached the second place with his composition The Parables. "This work," the jury said full of praise, "is the mature expression of a composer who is a master of his craft. However, it was felt that the more constructive award would be to... La Montaine.''271 The Advisory Board shared this point of view and the prize went to John La Montaine for his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra.272 The recommendations of the jury of 1960 would lead to certain irritations within the Advisory Board, because the jurors presented two reports. The first declared Hugo Weisgall's composition Six Characters in Search of an Author the jury's favorite and Roger Goeb with Iowa Concerto the second choice.273 An additional name was mentioned for first place in the following report, namely Elliott C. Carter Jr. for his Second String Quartet. Consequently the works of Hugo Weisgall and Roger Goeb dropped to places two and three. The composition of Elliott C. Carter Jr. was first performed after the jury had finished the first report. Due to the late premiere of this piece the whole constellation had changed and the jury had decided to revise the 262 ibid., p. 3. 263 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. 264 Music Jury Report, April 3, 1957. p. I. 265 Ibid., pp. I f. 266 .Colwnbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. 267 Music Jury Report, March 27, 1958, p. I. 268 Ibid. 269 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Priz.es, op. cit.• p. 68. 270 Music Jury Report, March 23, 1959. p. 1. 271 Ibid. 272 Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. 273 Music Jury Report, March 21 (I}, 1960, p. I.

35 report. 274 The Advisory Board accepted the jury's revised decision and Elliott C. Carter Jr. received the Pulitzer Prize for his Second String Quartet.275 In 1961 the jurors had to rate more than fifty scores, three of which made the jury's shortlist. The favourite was Walter H. Piston Jr. for Symphony No. 7, "a substantial, mature and successful composition." The following place went to William Bergsma's Chameleon Variations, which was described as "skilful and vigorous in spirit as well as colorful in orchestration." Lukas Foss's Time Cycle received third place. His composition was characterized as "remarkably fresh in its instrumental sound."276 The Advisory Board accepted the jury's favorite and so the award went to Walter H. Piston Jr. for his Symphony No. 7.277 Thus Piston received his second Pulitzer Prize about thirteen years after winning the first one. The jury of 1962 recommended two compositions after reviewing all works participating in the contest. The first place went to Robert E. Ward's opera The Crucible. According to the jurors this composition was "a distinct contribution to our native literature for the lyric stage. While it is perhaps somewhat traditional in style, it represents the finest qualities of drama and music. Its technical quality is also very high. Mr. Ward shows a very fine sense for dramatic expression in music." The second place on the jury's list of recommendations went to Ben Weber's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, "a most commendable example of a more modem idiom," which "compares very favorably with the current output of twelve-tone music by the leaders in that style."278 The Pulitzer Prize went to the first place candidate, Robert E. Ward, for the opera The Crucible.279 In 1963 the jury again named two finalists. The juror's favorite was Samuel Barber's Piano Concerto No. 1: "Seldom has a new American work won such spontaneous acclaim in the concert hall as the Barber, an indication of how well the public responded to it... The only other work seriously discussed," the jury report went on to state, "was (Carlisle) Floyd's opera The Passion of Jonathan Wade, but this lacked the distinction that is quite evident in the Barber" work.280 The Advisory Board was convinced by this line of reasoning of the jury and gave the award to Samuel Barber for Piano Concerto No. 1 .2 81 Barber thus won the Pulitzer Prize for the second time, five years after his first triumph. The jury members of 1964 were not able to arrive at a joint decision. "In my opinion," one of the two wrote, "there has been no work of the quality suitable for an award by a composer who comes under the tenns of eligibility. I am aware that my co-jury member is of another opinion. He agrees with me that all works but one fail to qualify as to quality: I do not agree with him that the one he has chosen meets that standard."282 "With due respect" for the opinion of his colleague,. the other juror wrote, "I submit Menotti's opera The Last Savage as a 'minority' choice rather than have no award in the music division. Comic operas are scare. While The Last Savage is no masterpiece, it is exceHent entertainment and I think a substantial work in its genre. To be sure Menotti has already won two Pulitzer Prizes: for The Consul and for The Saint of Bleecker Street, 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282

Music Jury Report, March 27 (II), 1960, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. MusicJury Report, February 28, 1961, pp. I f. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., p. 68. MusicJury Report, February 23, 1962, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. Music Jury Report, March 14, 1963, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., p. 68. Letter (I) to the Advisory Board, March 25, I 964, p. I.

36 but I consider The Last Savage as fine in its way as the latter which of course was a tragedy. On a comparable basis, furthermore, The Last Savage reflects as much accomplished writing as several other recent awards... I recommend The Last Savage for the award this year."283 However, Giano-Carlo Menotti did not receive his third Pulitzer Prize because the Board's decision was "no award."284 1965 would again be a remarkable year in the history of the Pulitzer Prize for music. The jurors came to the unanimous decision, "that no major musical composition by an American composer... was worthy of a Pulitzer Prize award, within our understanding of the qualifications for that award... In lieu of a seasonal award, therefore, we ... suggest that an appropriate citation of some sort be given to the American composer, pianist and conductor Edward K. ('Duke') Ellington who has made many notable contributions to American music over a period of thirty years or more with compositions of high artistic quality couched mainly in the idiom of jazz... Though its language is jazz, Ellington's work should not be confused with that of commercial popular or show composers. It has true artistic quality, with roots in the traditional music of his race, and it has had a strong influence on the music of a whole generation, both in this country and elsewhere. "285 According to Hohenberg, the Advisory Board "did not take the Ellington nomination seriously because it did not conform to the terms of the music award at the time... The motion to skip the music prize for the second year in succession was approved unanimously in short order."286 After the Board in 1965 had decided to give "no award" 287 and the suggestion of the jury for a separate accolade for Ellington was not taken into consideration, two of the three jurors declared that they were not willing to work in this capacity in the future.288 So in 1966 a newly formed jury went to work on the selection process and set Leslie R. Bassett at the top of their list of recommendations for his Variations for Orchestra. "The runner up," the jury wrote in its report, "was Hugo Weisgall's Soldiers' Song, but the choice was made from a group of seven works selected from a field of over thirty." Referring to the situation of the two preceding years, the jury members added: "We are happy that at no time was there a question of not giving an award!"289 The Advisory Board had no objections and the award was given to Leslie R. Bassett for his Variations for Orchestra.290 The jurors of 1967 emphasized in reference to the criteria of the prize "that a work must be heard to receive an award" and that the presentation of scores is not enough to meet these criteria. The first place of the jury's ranking was Leon Kirchner's Quartet No. 3, whereas the runner up was Michael C. Colgrass, whose piece As Quiet As had been submitted for the Pulitzer Prize.291 The Advisory Board accepted the jury's proposal and the award went to Leon Kirchner for his Quartet No. 3.292 In their report to the Advisory Board the jurors of 1968 made clear that "the general level of the submissions this year was very good and reflects a reasonable good season." 283 Letter (m to the Advisory Board, March 25, 1964, pp. 1 f.

284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292

Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. Music Jury Report, April 7, 1965, pp. l f. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Diaries. Inside America's Greatest Prize. Syracuse, N. Y., 1997, p. 147. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. Letter to the Advisory Board, May 11, 1965, p. I. Music Jury Report, March 29, 1966, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68. Music Jury Repon, April 2, 1967, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 68.

37 Their favorite was George H. Crumb for his composition Echoes of Time and the River, followed by Benjamin Lees' Piano Concerto No. 2 and finally Alvin Etler's Concerto for Brass Quintet. Crumb's composition was esteemed as "a highly evocative piece utilizing many of the recently developed techniques in a sensitive and original way ... It speaks in a musical language which has emerged only in the past decade and yet reflects a great sense of the classical traditions. "293 The Advisory Board shared the jury's opinion and the Pulitzer Prize went to George H. Crumb for his orchestral suite Echoes of Time and the River.294 In 1969 the jury favored the composer Karel Husa for his String Quartet No. 3. The jurors praised the composition as ''a potent work notable for its dramatic impact and the imaginative expertise of its string writing." Placed in second was Luciano Berio with Sinfonia, "a boldly experimental work which attempts to break new paths with a large degree of success."295 The Advisory Board did not hesitate in giving the award to Karel Husa for his String Quartet No. J.296 At the beginning of the following decade the Pulitzer Prize for Music would receive a new stimulus because the jury of 1970 put Charles P. Wuorinen with his electronic composition Time's Encomium in first place on its list of recommendations. The jurors described the work as "a major statement in the purely electronic field in that it combines a perfect technical mastery of the medium with the imagination, inventiveness and musicality always associated with the highest standards of musical expression." Although there was an alternative candidate, Andrew W. Imbrie with his Fourth String Quartet,297 the Advisory Board gave the award to Charles P. Wuorinen, who received the prize for Time's Encomium.298 In 1971 the jury again recommended to give the award to an innovative composer. The favorite was Mario Davidovsky with Synchronisms No. 6 for Piano and Electronic Sound. "It shows," the jury report stressed, "mastery of a new medium and its imaginative use in combination with the solo pianoforte." Second place went to Earl Kim for the composition Exercises en Route. According to the jurors the work "is a dramatic performance involving singing, ballet, film and speech. It shows ingenious and sensitive solutions to both vocal and instrumental problems. "299 However, the award went to Mario Davidovsky for Synchronisms No. 6 for Piano and Electronic Sound. 300 "What the interest in the electronic field did indicate," Hohenberg explains, "was that American composers were turning away from traditional methods and most of the Pulitzer Prize juries were encouraging them.'1301 The jurors of 1972 again chose a younger composer, Jacob R. Druckman, for his work Windows, as their favorite. "This is a freshly conceived work of a daring nature," the jury report stated, "uniquely combining the various materials and techniques of our time." The second place went to Roger H. Sessions for his composition When Lilacs last in the Dooryard Bloomed, "a major work by a major American composer."302 Furthermore, the 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302

Music Jury Report, March 29, 1968, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit, p. 68. Music Jury Report, April 5, 1969, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69. Music Jury Report, March 31, 1970, p. !. Columbia University, Toe Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69. Music Jury Report, April 2, 1971, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69. John Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 342. Music Jury Report. March 30, 1972, p . l.

38 music jury recommended "that a citation be given... to Leonard Bernstein's theater piece called Mass. While we realize that this is an unusual procedure, we do think this action is justified due to the unique character and the high distinction of the piece, which shows clear mastery of all the perfomring arts."303 The Advisory Board accepted the jury's suggestion as far as the choice of Jacob R. Druckman was concerned. He rec.e ived the Pulitzer Prize for Windows. 304 But there was no special award for Bernstein's work, which had been among the sixty compositions305 rated by the jury. In 1973, the jury selected String Quartet No. 3 by Elliott C. Carter Jr., which was regarded as the best composition of that year. ''This is an impressive and - to some extent enigmatic - work by a major American composer... In this work," the jurors explained, "Carter is proceeding logically and powerfully along the path he had pursued for more than twenty years." In second place the jury set Concertino for Chamber Orchestra by Roger H. Sessions, "a composer of major stature over the past four decades of American music."306 The award went to Elliott C. Carter Jr. for String Quartet No. 3,30? who already received his second Pulitzer Prize. The jury of 1974 recommended Donald J. Martino's Notturno to the Board. This composition, as thejury report reads verbatim, "exhibits great musical imagination, sensitivity and extraordinary control of the musical material in terms of rhythm, texture and timbre. It is also notable for its clarity of form and musical consistency. "308 There was no second finalist, because according to the jury ''no other work submitted appeared to be up to the extremely high level" of Martino's work.309 Thus the Advisory Board did not hesitate in giving the award to Donald J. Martino for his chamber music piece Nottumo.310 In 1975 the jury made extraordinarily detailed explanations in reference to the favorites on their list, as the following passage shows. "Dominick Argento's From the Diary of Virginia Woolf for medium voice and piano... impressed the music jury as a work in the tradition of the great songcycles which speaks in a contemporary, individualistic musical language of great eloquence and immediate appeal. At best, Virginia Woolf is a difficult writer - Ar~nto succeeds remarkably in capturing the immediate and implied meanings of her work, and clothes her prose with a poetic aura of exquisite loveliness .... George Rochberg's Imago Mundi ... impressed the music jury because of the extraordinary skill with which the composer succeeded in erecting a logical, moving sonic structure out of such seemingly disparate elements as Japanese Gagaku music, an essentially melodic idiom, and the hannonic-rhythmic tendencies of many musics of the West: marching tunes, fanfares, chromatic and atonal harmony, and simultaneous musics. It is, as Rochberg himself has said, an example of 'the reconciliation of opposites' and a convincing demonstration of the viability of his approach to the musical problem of today."3 11 As the above composer mentioned first was also the jury's top favorite, the Advisory Board accepted this suggestion and gave the prize to Dominick Argento for From the Diary of Virginia Wooif.312 303 304 305 306

Ibid.

'

307 308

Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69. MusicJury Report, March 30, 1972, p. 1. Music Jury Report, March 30, 1973, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69. Music JUI)' Report, March 28, 1974, p. 1.

309 310 311 312

Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69. Music Jury Report, April l, 1975. p. 1. Columbia Universitv. The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69.

Ibid.

39 For the jury members of 1976 there was no doubt "that this year's Pulitzer Prize in Music be awarded to Jacob R. Druckman for the work Lamia," as the jury report states: "It is an orchestral work of major proportions containing streams of brilliant harmonic colors, fanciful contrapuntal webbing and fresh formal concepts. Lamia reveals a composer with an extraordinary ear and sensitivity for the modern orchestra. It is in no way doctrinaire nor does it adhere to any particular musical ideology. The present version of Lamia embodies a major addition and revision of the original work, premiered last year by the Albany Symphony Orchestra and results in a substantially new statement. Our second choice," the jury report went on, "is Air Music by Ned Rorem, ... which, in our opinion, ranks considerably below the Druckman work but, nevertheless, shows a new facet of Rorem's talent and, in our judgment, is his finest orchestral work to date. It also makes brilliant use of the orchestral medium and is cast in a series of effective virtuoso 'etudes' for that medium."313 This time the Advisory Board was not convinced by the quality of composition on a part of the jury's favorite and gave the award to the runner up, Ned Rorem, who received the Pulitzer Prize for his Air Music.314 In 1977 the jurors ranked Richard F. Wernick's composition Visions of Terror and Wonder as the first place of their list, adding only a few words: "The score combines the greatest economy of musical means with the highest degree of expressivity. The jury considered the work to have merits and distinction for beyond all of he other works considered. The second choice of the jury is Dialogue for Cello and Orchestra by George Walker... It is an eloquent and forceful exchange between the solo cello and orchestra for which the writing is dramatic and vivid." 315 The Advisory Board had no objections and the award went to Richard F. Wernick for Visions of Terror and Wonder.3 16 The decision of the jury of 1978 was again unanimous: Deja Vu for Percussion Quartet and Orchestra by Michael C. Colgrass was prizeworthy and the jury's favorite. "This work," the jury explained in its report, "adds a new dimension to the concerto repertory. The virtuoso percussion parts are pitted against richly colored orchestral textures ... It is fresh in its musical substance and highly imaginative in its treatment of the orchestra. The second choice... is Concerto-Variations by Claus Adam ... This work is ... a display piece for the entire orchestra with virtuoso passages and rapid-fire antiphonal interplay between the various choirs of the ensemble."3 17 The Advisory Board accepted the jury's favorite and the award was given to Michael C. Colgrass for Deja Vu for Percussion Quartet and Orchestra.318 The unanimous choice of the jury for music of 1979 was Aftertones of Infinity by Joseph Schwantner. "This distinguished and original orchestral work," the jurors explained, "is highly expressive, beautifully constructed, evocative, and maintains the highest standards of musical craft. It is fascinating in its varied use of musical textures and color, and, while possessing a rich orchestral palette it exhibits masterful control of formal and motivic materials. In the opinion of the jury the work merits repeated hearings. The jury's second choice is Henry Lazarofs Concerto for Orchestra ... This work of powerful intensity did not quite measure up to the level of craftsmanship of the jury's fust choice. It is obviously a work of a gifted composer who uses the orchestra in a 313 314 3 15 316 317 318

Music Jury Report, March 25, 1976, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cir., p. 69. MusicJury Report, April I , 1977, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69. Music Jury Report, March 29, 1978, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69.

40 highly virtuosic manner."31 9 Due to the fact that the jury had extraordinarily praised the composer mentioned first, the Pulitzer Prize Board had no reason to make a decision differing from the suggestion. Thus Joseph Schwantner received the award for his work Aftertones of Jnfinity.320 Starting in 1980, the jurors were asked by the Board to name at least three finalists and their works. The first place on the list of recommendations went to In Memory of a Summer Day by David Del Tredici. The jurors "found this work outstanding among this year's music entries for its grand, heroic sweep, expressive power and masterly handling of vocal and orchestral resources. As the second choice among the entries the jury designated Quintets for Orchestra by Lukas Foss, which is particularly striking for its evocation of mystical and poetical qualities... Finally, the jury wishes to cite After the Butterfly, for trumpet and seven instruments, by Morton Subotnick, as a composition of exceptional boldness and technical ingenuity."321 The Pulitzer Prize went to David Del Tredici for In Memory of a Summer Day.322 Two of the three jurors of 1981 took "the viewpoint that there is no one piece that they will recommend for this major award. A positive vote from the Chairman is therefore outbalanced by these two negative votes. It is with distress noted that an unusually small number of Pulitzer-stature works were premiered in this year's prize period."323 Due to this constellation, the Board did not see any work worthy of a prize and the decision was for ''no award. "324 The jurors of 1982 formulated their report by clearly favoring Concerto for Orchestra by Roger H. Sessions. "Of the one hundred works submitted for this year's judging," they wrote, "Sessions' Concerto was clearly the most deserving. It is an orchestral work of great force and energy; of consummate craft and formal design; a work of passionate sweep and emotional depth. It is a work at once severe and moving, containing the uncompromising linear complexity and contrapuntal richness that is typical of his style. It is a work whose 'inner life,' articulated by Sessions' expert and personal orchestral stamp will continue to reveal its subtlety and artistic strength through repeated hearings ... In the field of musical composition, being listed as second or third in the judging would mean very little to the composers in question. Our second choice," the report continued, "would have been a composer of established reputation for whom the 'runner-up' status would probably be more of an embarrassment than a satisfaction, and our next choice would have been yet another composer of national rank whose entry this year placed a rather distant third, and who has already been, within the previous decade, a recipient of the (Pulitzer) Prize."325 Taking this explanation into account, the Board had no real choice. The award went to Roger H. Sessions for Concerto for Orchestra.326 Out of about eighty entries the jury of 1983 considered only two to be worthy of the prize. Three Moments for Orchestra by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich was regarded as the favorite: "The work is characterized by its energy, its ability to realize fully the potential of the musical ideas and its clear and brilliant orchestral expression. At the same time the work is strongly felt and communicates this to the listener. The jury's second choice," the 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326

Music Jury Report, March 27, 1979, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69. Music Jury Report, March 19, 1980, p. I. Columbia University, Toe Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 69. Music Jury Report, March 26, 1981, p. l. Columbia University, Toe Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., pp. 69 f. Music Jury Report, March 19, !9S2, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 70.

41 report continues, "is Drama for Orchestra by Vivian Fine... This work impressed the jury by the depth of its emotional content and its unique skill in portraying the moods suggested by he paintings of Edvard Munch which served as the program for the work."327 The award went to Ellen Taaffe Zwilich for Symphony No. J (Three Moments for Orchestra). 328 She was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in this category! In 1984 the jury recommended the composition Canti del Sole by Bernard Rands for the award. "The jury particularly admired the grand scope and range of this remarkable composition, its masterful te.chnical realization, its extraordinarily sensitive word setting and ultimate dramatic impact," the report explained and continued: "The second choice was Peter Lieberson's emphatically promising Piano Concerto... It received recognition for its grandeur, ambition, originally and idiomatic juxtaposition of the solo instrument with the symphony orchestra."329 In the end, Bernard Rands was the winner for Canti del Sole.330 In 1985 the jurors took two of the one hundred reviewed compositions into closer consideration: They unanimously recommended that the Pulitzer Prize "be awarded to Symphony, RiverRun by Stephen J. Albert," the jurors evaluatingly continued: " Symphony, RiverRun is a powerful and compelling work, bold in gesture, and superb in its handling of an exceptionally rich orchestral palette. A striking aspect of this piece is its masterful synthesis of diverse musics, drawing upon the pluralism of the American musical tradition. The jury's runner-up choice," describing the second re.commendation, "is Songs of Innocence and of Experience, A Musical lllumination of the Poems of William Blake, for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by William Balcom. This is a work of vast, imaginative scope and design."33l The prize was awarded to Stephen J. Albert for Symphony, RiverRun.332 The jurors of 1986 made a very short statement favoring Wind Quintet IV by George Perle: "The work is characterized by an elegant individuality of craft." The runner-up 3 was George Rochberg's Symphony No. 5, "a work of highest professional calibre."33 The Bo ard did not hesitate in awarding the Pulitzer Prize to George Perle for Wind Quintet IV. 334 The jury of 1987 again characterized their favorite relatively briefly. First choice was John Harbison with the composition The Flight Into Egypt. The work. in the eyes of the jurors, was "a powerful and direct expressive statement with economical musical and instrumental resources. The music is clear in design, apt in its treatment of the vocal and choral forces, and eminently appropriate to the text." The next place went to Flower of the Mountain by Stephen J. Albert. This composition "impressed the Jury by its 35 remarkable poetic and lyrical qualities and its sensuously evocative orchestration."3 3 John Harbison was the winner for The Flight Into Egypt. 36 In 1988 the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in music was "in enthusiastic agreement in nominating 12 New Etudesfor Piano by William Balcom... This is an important new set 327 32& 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336

Music Jury Report, March 25, 1983, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 70. Music Jury Report. March 29, 1984, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit. , p. 70. MusicJury Report. March 25, 1985, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 70. Music Jury Repon, April 8, 1986, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes. op. cit , p. 70. Music Jury Report, April 6, 1987, p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 70.

42 of works in which the composer has successfully expressed his probing views of today's changing world of music. With roots firmly grounded in the great traditions of the past, Mr. Bolcom has added significant dimensions to today's music world. The committee was also unanimous," the jury report stated, "in naming Gunther A. Schuller's Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra as its second choice."337 William E. Bolcom was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for 12 New Etudesfor Piano.338 The jury of 1989 set Whispers Out of Time by Roger L. Reynolds on top of its list of recommendations by saying: "The work is scored for string soloist and string or-chestra. It is conceived on a broad scale. It is visionary, deeply felt, contemplative and singularly personal in nature. Clearly the jury felt this work to be their first choice. As second and third choices," the report finally concluded, "the committee recommends Concerto for Orchestra by Steven Stucky and H'un (Lacerations): In Memoriam 1966-76 by Bright Sheng."339 The Board had no objections in awarding the prize for music to Roger L. Reynolds for Whispers Out of Time.340 The composer Mel Powell with Duplicates: A Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra was the favorite among the jury members of 1990. "A major addition to the literature for piano and orchestra," the report read, "Duplicates is vividly imagined in every music dimension, continually arresting to the ear and mind through its lavish and sustained invention, lucid even in its often-intricate textures. The jury's second choice is Ralph Shapey's Concerto for Cello, Piano and String Orchestra ... The concerto is a passionate, forthright, dramatic statement, hewn from a uniquely granitic conception of sound, unfailingly insistent on the independence of its elements."34 1 The Board awarded the Pulitzer Prize to Mel Powell for Duplicates.342 In 1991 the jurors compiled a list with three finalists. First choice was Symphony by Shulamit Ran. According to the jury, the work "embraces extremes of intense introspection and sweeping dramatic eloquence. It is virtuosic in its use of the orchestra and in is command of an advance contemporary language. The second choice of the jury is Four Moments for Piano Trio by Bright Sheng... The work demonstrates an extraordinarily inventive integration of traditional Chinese idioms and contemporary Western techniques. Remarkably concise in structure, the work is characterized by vivid instrumental color, rhythmic vitality and bold expressive detail. As its third choice, the jury recommends Wilde, a Symphony in Three Moments by Charles Fussell... The tragedy of Oscar Wilde's life is the inspiration of Charles Fussell's dramatic symphony for baritone and orchestra... The piece is a sensitive and expressive treatment of the text by William Graham. 343 Again the Board shared the jury's opinion and Shularnit Ran was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Symphony. 344 In the following year, 1992, the jurors recommended only one composition, arriving al the unanimous decision in favor of Concerto Fantastique by Ralph Shapey. "Long the creator of original and visionary works in a wide range of musical media," the jury wrote in its report, "Mr. Shapey bas in this work achieved a striking summation that integrates the craggy and uncompromising materials of a very personal language on a grand scale. 0

337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344

Music Jury Report, March 27, 1988, p. 1. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 70. Music Jury Report, undated (April 1989), p. I. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 70. Music Jury Report, March31, 1990,p. l. Columbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p. 70. Music Jury Report, March 28, 1991, p. I. Colwnbia University, The Pulitzer Prizes, op. cit., p, 70.

43 After an extended, searching discussion," the report continued, "the nominating committee determined that Mr. Shapey's work was unique in its distinction, that ranking the other musicians in contention was an intractable problem. If the Pulitzer Prize Board requires alternates, our chairman would be happy to provide this information."345 Tiris time the Board was not convinced by the jurors' suggestion and obviously accepted their offer to name further composers. This is the only possible explanation for the fact that the Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Wayne T. Peterson for his work The Face of the Night, The Heart of the Dark, whereas Ralph Shapey's composition was only mentioned as "a finalist in this category" in the official communique of the Board_346 The jurors of 1993 arrived at a suggestion of three equal finalists listed in alphabetical order. Leon Kirchner's Music for Cello and Orchestra was first on this list: "This is an intensely Romantic single-movement rhapsody in the Austro-German Expressionist manner by one of our senior composers and a previous Pulitzer Prize winner," the jurors wrote. Christopher Rouse's Trombone Concerto followed second on the list. It was praised as "a remarkable conception for an unusual medium and uses the full technical resources of the solo instrument. A large composition in three movements (slow-fastslow), it is music of intense expressive power. The composer chose to make this concerto a memorial for Leonard Bernstein, and in the view of the jury it is a moving and appropriate tribute to the memory of one of America's greatest musicians." According to the jury's judgment Joan Tower's Violin Concerto was "impressive for its clarity, its structural strength, and its felicitously idiomatic writing for soloist and orchestra. In traditional three-movement form (fast-slow-fast), it is an effectively realized virtuoso vehicle. 347 Due to the fact that the jury had made clear in several passages of its report that the composer mentioned second was favored, the Board followed the vote and awarded the prize to Christopher C. Rouse III for his Trombone Concerto.348 In 1994 the jury selected three finalists and their works. The jury report mentioned Aaron J. Kemis in first place for the composition Still Movement with Hymn: "It is skillful in instrumental technique, and exhibits control of musical materials over a long period of time." Gunther A. Schuller followed with Of Reminiscences and Reflections, called ''a rich web of orchestral ideas and timbres realized in a manner that contains intense rhythmic vitality, drive, and color. This work, by one of America's senior composers," the jury report continued, "is executed at the highest level of musical art. It is a composition of great passion and originality by an artist who, through his work in concert music, jazz, and as a conductor, composer and educator has endowed us all with an enormous musical legacy." Finally Charles P. Wuorinen's Microsymphony was mentioned, a "colorful and bright orchestral piece... It is a strong, yet compact, work by a middle career composer who was the first composer to win a Pulitzer Prize for a work that was totally electronic. The Microsymphony is a purely instrumental piece."349 As the jury left no doubt that the composer mentioned second was clearly its favorite, the Board had no objections and gave the award to Gunther A. Schuller for his work Of Reminiscences and Ref[ections.350 11

345 346 347 348 349 ,.'iO

Music Jury Report, March 20, 1992, p. 1. Columbia University, The 76th annual Pulitzer Prizes ..., op. cit.• p. 7. Music Jury Report, March 27, 1993, p. I. Columbia University, The 77th annual Pulitzer Prizes..., op. cit., p. 7. Music Jury Report, March 29, 1994, p. I. Columbia University, The 78th annual Pulitzer Prizes.... op. cit., p. 7.

44 The jury of 1995 listed the following composers and their works in alphabetical order on the short list: Donald Erb with Evensong, "a powerful and.colorful score that amply sustains its composer's reputation as a master of orchestration and musical development." It was followed by the composition Stringmusic by Morton Gould: "The jury was unanimous in recommending to the board's attention this elegantly crafted, inventive and expressive work for string orchestra. The latest in a long line of distinguished scores from the pen of this composer, who still knows how to surprise his listeners. The five movements,'' the jury report continued, "including a piquant tango, an elegant dirge, and a bracing moto perpetuo, span a range of diverse moods at no sacrifice of stylistic continuity." Andrew W. Imbrie was the third composer on the jury's list. His composition Adam, in the words of the jurors, embodied "an impressing multi-movement cantata to texts from early English and American poetry, by a composer who has long been a distinguished figure in American music."351 The Pulitzer Prize Board found the laudation for the composer mentioned second on the jury's list the most convincing and so the prize was given to Morton Gould for Stringmusic.35 2 In 1996 the jurors arrived at three finalists who where listed in alphabetical order. The first was Elliott C. Carter Jr. with the composition Adagio Tenebroso, which was, according to the jury, "a strong, self assured and potent work for full symphony orchestra. This piece represents an imaginative handling of musical texture by an 87 year old composer. Despite the fact that Carter has already been the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is still searching for new and fresh ways of expressing his musical idea." Peter Lieberson's Variations for Violin and Piano followed second on the list. "This piece,'' the jury stated, "possesses an elegance and clarity of texture. While being musically lyrical it displays the violin in the 'heroic' mode of the early twentieth century tradition. Mr. Lieberson has a very sensitive ear and a highly developed musical imagination."Lilacs, for voice and orchestra by George T. Walker Jr. was "the unanimous choice of the Music Jury, this passionate, and very American, musical composition... It has a beautiful and evocative lyrical quality, using words of Walt Whitman that many other composers have set not nearly so well. The text is set in a superbly masterful fashion, and the voice part is exquisitely conceived. The balance and interweaving of the vocal part with the orchestra are done with conswnmate skill."353 The Board accepted the jury's suggestion due to this laudation and the Pulitzer Prize went to George T. Walker Jr. for his composition Lilacs.354 The jury of 1997 also listed three compositions in alphabetical order. The first on the list was the composition Blood on the Fields by Wynton Marsalis. According to the jury the work "opens a new chapter in the field of jazz, embracing the improvisational element that is the hallmark of the history of jazz. At the same time, it is conceived on a large scale. It is important because of the brilliance of its jazz orchestral writing, the fervency of its musical spirit and the power with which it expresses the pain and promise of the black experience in America. Its score is one that will be a great addition to the repertory of jazz ensembles." Dove Sta Amore by John Musto followed the piece mentioned fust and was described as "a very moving song cycle with orchestral accompainiment... In its various songs there are clear elements of jazz and folk song all integrated 351 352 353 354

Music Jury Report, March 25, 1995, p. I. Columbia University, The 79th annual Pulitzer Prizes..., op. cit., p. 9. Music Jury Report, March 27, 1996, p. I. Columbia University, The 80th annual Pulitzer Prizes.... op. cit., p. 9.

45 into a highly eloquent 20th Century musical language. Both the vocal and orchestral writing are elegant and highly expressive." The composition Passacaglia Immaginaria by Stanislaw Skorwaczewski was the third work praised in the jury report and was described as "a major work by an eminent composer/conductor whose roots are European but whose career has been mostly in the United States. As a result, his musical language is international. "355 Wynton Marsalis was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Blood on the Fields.356 The list of recommendations from the jurors of 1998 once again contained three finalists. The jury "strongly supports John Adams' Century Rolls, " the reports says, "a grand virtuose piano concerto. This is a brilliant tour-de-force both in its solo writing and in orchestral color." Second on the jury's list was the String Quartet No. 2 by Aaron J. Kernis. He worked "on a large scale with classical forms whic he inhabits with imagination and vigor," the jurors stated. Yehudi Wyner's Homtrio was mentioned third. This work succeeded "in characterizing its true dissimilar instrumental protagonists in a work of breathtaking virtuosity."357 The award was given to Aaron J. Kernis for his String Quartet No. 2.358 In 1999 the jurors filtered the following three works out of all entries: David Rakowski with Persistent Memory, Stanislaw Skorwaczewski with Concerto for Orchestra as well as Melinda Wagner with Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion. Melinda Wagner won the Pulitzer Prize359 and thus became the second woman in the history of the award to win in the music category. The jurors' selection for the music award in 2000 contained the following names in alphabetical order: Donald Martino for his Serenata Concertante; Lewis Spratlan for Life is a Dream; John Zorn for contes de fees. The Pulitzer Prize Board choose the composer second mentioned on the jury's list. So the prize was "awarded to Life is a Dream, Opera in Three Acts: Act II, Concert Version by Lewis Spratlan ... Libretto by James Maraniss. 11360 After many years, again, an opera did win the music award. Surveying the history and development of the Pulitzer Prize for music since its establishment in the early forties of the twentieth century, it is marked by a significant level of correspondence between the recommendations of the jury and the decisions of the Board. After all the Board voted down the nominations of the jury much more seldomly than in other categories of the prize. However, there was a certain basic problem confronting everyone participating in the process of the awarding procedure: the interpretation of the guidelines of the prize. In reference to that one of the board members said "that a real struggle developed about the Pulitzer Prizes because the definition specified that the award must apply to 'music in its larger fonns' as composed by an American.11361 What was meant by 'larger forms,' an author asked and added: "The Prize Board could hardly have chosen more offensive words to communicate its message."362 Recently the phrase "in larger forms" was eliminated and replaced by another formulation, and so the Plan of Award defined the Pulitzer Prize in Music as follows: "For dis355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362

Music Jury Report, March 24, 1997, p. I. Columbia University, The 81st annual Pulitzer Prizes..., op. cit., p. 8. Music Jury Report, March 25, 1998, p. 1. Columbia University, The 82nd annual Pulitzer Prizes..., op. cit., p. 7. Columbia University, The 83rd annual Pulitzer Prizes ..., op. cit., p. 7. Columbia University, The 84th annual Pulitzer Prizes.. ,, op. cit., p. 7. J ohn Hohenberg, The Pulitzer Diaries, op. cit., p. 145. J. Douglas Bates. The Pulitzer Prire, op. cir., p. 131.

46 tinguished musical composition of significant dimension by an American...11363 Anyway, "the works of the composers who are represented" in the list of award winners "constitute a distinguished cross section of American composition. The Pulitzer Prize... has been of great significance in the career of most of those who... received the awards" in the music category.364

363 The Pulitzer Prizes - Plan of Award, New York, February 2001, p. 4. 364 Chalmers Clifton, Music Awards, op. cit., p. 43.

47

Drama Winners Biographies and Premiere Programs 1918 - 2000

48

1918

AWARD

WHY MARRY? BY

JESSE

L. Wn.,LIAMS

Jesse Lynch Williams (born on August 17, 1871, in Sterling, IL) prepared for college at the Beloit Academy in Wisconsin, and received the degree of B.A. at Princeton in 1892. As an undergraduate he was one of the editors of the Nassau Literary Magazine. He was even then keenly interested in the drama, and with Booth Tarkington and several others founded the Triangle Club, which has ever since been the center of amateur acting at Princeton. In the summer of 1893 he became a reporter on the New York Sun under Charles Anderson Dana. He did a great deal of newspaper and fiction writing during his years on the Sun, and in 1895 published his first volume, Princeton Stories, the forerunner of many volumes of college fiction. For a time (18971900) he was connected with Scribner's Magazine, but he returned to Princeton as first editor of the Princeton Alumni Weekly (1900-1903). After 1903 he devoted himself to writing. In addition to a number of college stories the author also published books of fiction. Among these were, New York Sketches and The Married Life of the Frederic Carro/ls. His first play, The Stolen Story, produced in 1906, was followed by Why Marry? in 1917, which ran for a year. The play, based on his book called And So They Were Married, made Jesse L. Williams the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in drama the following year.

49

ASTO~

THEATRE

Broadway ·a nd 45 th Street

New York City

FIRE NOTICE Look arouncl NOW and choooe the neare3t Extt tQ your aeal 1n caae of fire walk. (not run) to THAT Exit. Do not try to beat your neighbor to the street ROBERT AD~SON, Fire Commissioner. BEGINNING TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 25, 1917. Matinees Wednesday and Saturday.

SELWYN & COMPANY PRESENT (By arrangement with Roi Cooper Megrue)

WHY MARRY ? A Comedy in Three Acts By JESSE LYNCH WILLIAMS The scene is a week-end at a country house not !ar away; the time, Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning and Sunday night. The People at the House (As You Meet Them) JEAN, the host's younger sister, who has been brought up to be married and nothing else ........ . ...•.••.•...• LOTUS ROBB REX, an unmarried neighbor, who h:u; not been brought up to be anything but rich ....•.........••..• , ••..• • HAROLD WEST LUCY, the hostess, who is trying her best to be "just an oldfashioned wife" in a new-fashioned home .• BEATRICE BECKLEY COUSIN. THEODORE, a clergyman and yet a human belng, who befieves in everything-ucept divorce ..... ERNEST LA WFORO JOHN, who owns the house and almost everyone ·in it-and does not believe in divorce ..............•... . .. EDMUND BREESE UNCLE EVERETT, a Judge, who belongs to the older generation and yet understands the new-and believes in divorce, NAT C. GOODWIN HELEN, the host's other sister, whom everyone wants to marry, but who doesn't want to marry anyone .... ESTELLE WINWOOD ERNEST, a scientist, who believes in neither divor·c e nor marriage but makes a great discovery .. : ............•• SHELLEY HULL THE BUTLER . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . • . . . RICHARD ,PITMAN THE FOOTMAN .......••.. . ....•.......... WALTER GOODSON

The play produced under the direction of Roi Cooper Megrue Gowns by Luelle. Beene by ;Joe. Phyaloe Studio.

50

1920

AWARD

BEYOND THE HORIZON BY EUGENE G. O'NEil..L

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (born on October 16, 1888, in New York City) was educated first in Catholic schools and later at Betts Academy, a nonsectarian preparatory school in Stamford, Connecticut. In 1906-1907 he attended Princeton University but left it very soon again to work at a few jobs. He also lived for some time in Honduras but was forced to return to New York when he contracted malaria. The following years O'Neill shared his time between living at a waterfront dive in New York and sailing as a seaman. After attempting suicide by taking an overdose of Verona! he was reunited with his family and toured with his father, James O'Neill Sr., who was an actor. At the end of 1912, after a short career as a journalist with the New London Telegraph, O'Neill entered Gaylord Farm Sanatorium to be treated for tuberculosis, which he left resolved to become a writer. He wrote his first play, A Wife for a Life, in the spring of 1913. After this first attempt O'Neill began to write steadily, completing some twenty-four plays in the next four years. In 1914 the author took George Pierce Baker's English 47 course on playwriting at Harvard. Shortly afterwards he m0ved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he became involved with the Provincetown Players, who produced his Bound East for Cardiff, written in 1914. During his time in Provincetown the author wrote a number of plays, one of which he titled Beyond the Horizon. The play, finished in winter 1918, won Eugene G. O'Neill the Pulitzer Drama award two years later.

51

Morosco Theatre MESSRS. LEE AND J. J. SHUBERT, OWNERS

Forty-fl.tth Street. West of Broadway

OLIVER MOROSCO Lessee and Manager Tel ephone Bryant 230 'l'lill! 'l'llEA'l'Rl!l, UNDER .NORMAL UO.NDITIQ.Ni!j, W1'1'H

EVl!lRY

SEAT OCCUPIED, CAN BE EMPTIED IN LESS TIIAN THREE MINUTES. LOOK AROUND NOW, CHOOSE THE NEAREST EXIT TO YOUR SEAT. AND IN CASE . OF DIS'l'URBANCE OF ANY KIND, TO A VOID THE DANGERS OF PANIC, WALK (DO NOT RUN) TO THAT EXIT. ~ O M A S J, DRENNAN, Fire CommlHloD.er

SPECIAL MATINEE

FEBRUARY

3, 1920

JOHN D. WILLIAMS Presents A New American Tragedy in Three Acts

BEYOND THE HORIZON By EUGENE G. O'NEILL Cast of Characters (In the order of their appearance) ROBERT MA YO. l sons of Ja.mes Mavo j ••.••• RICHARD BENNETT ANDREW MAYO I 1 ........ EDWARD ARNOLD RUTH ATKINS ............ . ........•.... HELEN MacKELLAR MAX MITZEL CAPT. DICK SCOTT, Mrs. Mayo's brother, of the ba.rk, 8-unda, MRS. KATE MAYO, 1oife of James Mayo ..•... . .. . MARY JEFFERY JAMES MA YO, a farmer . . . ....•... • .•.... ERVILLE ALDERSON MRS. ATKINS, Ruth's widotr.ed mother ... • LOUISE CLOSSER HALE MARY .......•....... . ............... , ....... . ELFIN FINN BEN, a farm. hand . •.• • ..••................• GEORGE HADDEN DR. FAWCETT . . . . . ........ .. .. . .......•. GEORGE RIDDELL (MISS HELEN Mac KELLAR AND MESSRS. ARNOLD AND MITZEL, OF "THE STORM" COMPANY, APPEAR THROUGH THE COURTESY OF MR. GEORGE BROADHURST.)

52

1921

AWARD

MISS LULU BEIT BY ZONA GALE

Zona Gale (born on August 26, 1874, in Portage, Wi.) began writing at the age of seven. She attended the public schools of Portage, from which she went on to the University of Wisconsin. Her first publication was in The Aegis, the literary magazine of the University of Wisconsin. In her senior year she wrote her first novel, a romantic work which was never published, and sold her first story to the Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin. She was graduated with the B.L. degree in 1895, having majored in journalism, and took an M.L. in 1899. Soon after her graduation she went to work as a reporter for the Evening Wisconsin, and after a year and a half moved to the Milwaukee Journal. In 1901 she joined the staff of the New York Evening World as a general reporter and feature writer, but since this work kept her too busy for creative writing, she resigned after eighteen months to free-lance. Her first magazine story was sold in 1903 to Success, and her first novel, Roma.nee Island, followed three years later. By 1905 she was contributing romantic stories to the leading magazines of her time. Many of these stories were subsequently collected under the title of The Loves of Pelleas ·and Etarre. Soon afterwards she began to write a series of stories of small-town life. The first collection of these, Friendship Village, which appeared in 1908, was followed by Friendship Village Love Stories; Neighborhood Stories, and Peace in Friendship Village. In 1911 the author won the first prize for her story The Ancient Dawn in a Delineator short story contest. li1 1918 she published the novel Birth. It was followed by her short novel Miss Lulu Bett, of which her dramatic version opened late in 1920. The following year the work gained Zona Gale the Pulitzer Prize in drama.

53

Belmont Theatre Forty-Jilighth Street. Near :ero.wtwa7 Direction o! RICHARD G. HERNDON

FIRE NOTICE Look around NOW and choose the nearest Exit to your seat. In case of fire walk (not run) to THAT Exit. Do not try to beat your neighbor to the street. THOMAS J. DRENNAN, Fire Commissioner. WEEK BEGINNING l\lONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 3, 1921 Matinees Thursday and Saturday BROCK PEMBERTON Presents ZONA GALE'S

MISS LULU BETT 4 Comedy o! Manners !rom Her Own Novel o! The.t Title Staged by Mr. Pemberton The Cast MONONA DEACON •••.••••.•....••.......••..•.. LOIS SHORE DWIGHT HERBERT DEACON ..••...•.••.. • WILLIAM HOLDEN INA DEACON •......••.•••.••• CATHERINE CALHOUN DOUCET

LULU BETT....•...........•...•••...... CARROLL McCOMAS BOBBY LARKIN .•..•...•.........••..• , ....•... JACK BOHN MRS. BETT •••.•..............•••••. LOUISE CLOSSER HALE DIANA DEACON ......•..•......•..•........• BETH VARDEN NEIL CORNISH ...................••.. WILLARD ROBERTS◊~ NINIAN DEACON ..... ... .................. BRIGHAM ROYCE

TIME-The PPesent.

PLACE-The Mlddle-Ciass.

ACT I.-Scene 1-The Deacon's dining room. Scene 2-Tbe same; ten days later.

54

1922

AWARD

ANNA CHRISTIE BY EUGENE

G. O'NEilL

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (born on October 16, 1888, in New York City) was educated first in Catholic schools and later at Betts Academy, a nonsectarian preparatory school in Stamford, Connecticut. In 1906-1907 he attended Princeton University but left it very soon again to work at a few jobs. He also spent some time in Honduras but was forced to return to New Yerk when he contracted malaria. O'Neill shared the following years between living at a waterfront dive in New York and sailing as a seaman. After attempting suicide by taldng an overdose of Veronal he was reunited with his family and toured with his father, James O'Neill Sr., who was an actor. At the end of 1912, after a short career as a journalist with the New London Telegraph, O'Neill entered Gaylord Farm Sanatorium to be treated for tuberculosis, which he left resolved to become a writer. He wrote his first play, A Wife for a Life, in the spring of 1913. After this first attempt O'Neill began to write steadily, completing some twenty-four plays in the next four years. In 1914 the author took George Pierce Baker's English 47 course on playwriting at Harvard. Shortly afterwards he moved_ to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he became involved with the Provincetown Players, who produced his Bound East for Cardiff, written in 1914. During his time in Provincetown O'Neill wrote a number of plays, one of which he titled Beyond the Horizon. The play, finished in winter 1918, won the author the Pulitzer Drama award two years later. Another Pulitzer Prize in drama was granted to Eugene G. O'Neill in 1922 for the play Anna Christie, which had been produced the year before.

55

48th STREET, EAST OF BROADWIA Y VANDERBILT AMUSEMENT CO •..••..•••... OWNERS LYLE D. ANDREWS •.•.•••• • ..•..••..••.• MANAGER

FIRE NOTICE Look around NOW and chooae the nearest Exit to your aea.t. In cue of fire walk (not run) to THAT Do not try to beat your neighbor to the street.

Exit.

THOMAS J. DRENNAN, Fire Commissioner. RF. > Because

of governmental restrictions, The Playbill, in common with all publications, will have to curtail its consumption of paper. During this e mergency it will not be possible to furnish a copy of The Playbill to every person. With your cooperation this regulation can be met without hardship if you will share your copy of The Playbill with your companion.

98

1945

AWARD

HARVEY BY

MARY C. CHASE

Mary Coyle Chase (born on February 25, 1907, in Denver, Co.) became interested in the theater at the age of eleven. At that period she would play truant from school in order to attend a matinee at a Denver theater. In 1922 she graduated from the West Denver High School and entered the University of Denver, where she remained two and a half years before she went to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado. During summer vacation she served her apprenticeship as a reporter on the Rocky Mountain News, without getting payed. At the end of a year at Colorado the playwright, who had completed a major in the classics in two years, gave up her formal schooling to accept a reporter's job on the News, this time with salary. On her job she met Robert L. Chase, also a reporter on the News staff. After the couple's marriage, Mary Chase departed from the paper, which provided her with the time for a number of various activities. She aided in forming a chapter of the American Newspaper Guild, handled publicity for a Government project of the depression period, and fought for the rights of the Spanish-Americans in Denver. In addition she spent a lot of time on her special interest - writing plays. Her first play, Me Third, was a comedy concerned with a Western politician. Among the plays that Chase wrote after that political satire were The Banshee and Harvey. The latter made Mary C. Chase the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1945.

99

FORTY -EIGHT H STREE T THEATRE FIRE NOTICE: Tho exit ind icated by a red light e nd sign n0:orest to the seat you occ upy is the shortest route to the street. I n tho eve nt of lire pl. .u do not run-WALK TO THAT EXIT. Pa trick Walsh, f ire Commissioner end Chief of Deporfmeot It is ur9od for t he comfort end sefely o f all, that thed re patrons refrain from lighting matches in this theatre.

EMERGENCY NOTICE: In the event of on alert, romain in your seats. A competent staff has been troined for this emerg ency. Keep calm. You will receive informat ion a nd instructions f ro m F. H. La GUARDIA. Ma yor the si e ge.

TRE

•

P L A YBILL • A

·

P U BLICAT ION

W E E KLY

•

OF

·

•

INCORPORATED

Matinoos W e d ne sd ay e nd Saturday

•

W oek beginning Sundoy, Februory 4, 1945

PLAYBIL L

BROCK PEMBERTON presents

FRANK

FAY

in

HARVEY di

new comctdy by

MARY CHASE with

JOSEPHINE HULL 0irectod by ANTO INETTE PERRY Se ttings by JOH N ROOT

CAST ( In the orde r in which t hey fi t 1pook I

MYRTLE MAE SIMMONS . . . .. ...... . . . JANE VAN DUSER VETA LOUISE SIMMONS ..... . .. . ..... JOSEPHINE HULL ELWOOD P. DOWD . ..... . ............ .. . . . FRANK FAY MISS JOHNSON ... . . ................ ELOISE SHELDON MRS. ETHEL CHAUVENET ..... . .. . .. FREDERICA GOING RUTH KELLY, R.N . .. . ................. . . . . JANET TYLER

Tho Moncgement is no! responsible for personal epporel or properly o f patrons unless properly checked with the the• lre otlondanf. Pa trons ore advisod to +alee f heir c oats a nd wrops with i he m whenever they leave

their seots.

> > Because

of governmental restrictions, The Playbill, in common wit h all publications, will have t o curtail its consumption of paper. During this emergency it will not be possible to furnish a copy of The Playbill to every person. With your cooperation this regulation can be met without hardship if you will share your copy of The Playbill with your companion.

100

1946 AWARD

STATE OF THE UNION BY RUSSEL CROUSE/ How ARD LINDSAy

Russel Crouse (born on February 20, 1893, in Findlay, Oh.) was educated in public schools. In 1910 he started to work as a reporter for the Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune, but switched to the Kansas City Star the following

year, where he worked as a reporter and sports columnist during the next five years. In 1917 he accepted a post as a political reporter on the Cincinnati Post. Another newspaper Crouse worked for as a reporter was the New York Evening Post, where he was also columnist between 1925 and 1931. In addition to his work for the press Crouse showed also interest in writing for the theatre. Many of the plays Crouse has worked on in the course of his career were written in collaboration with Howard Lindsay. Among others the playwrights worked together on State of the Union. - Howard Lindsay (born on March 29, 1889, in Waterford, N.Y.) graduated from Boston Latin School in 1907. Thereafter he attended Harvard University for one year. He began his career with the theatre as an actor in the play Polly of the Circus in 1909. Later on he became stage director and playwright. Among the numerous plays he wrote in the course of his career were Tommy; Your Uncle Dudley, and Oh Promise Me. All these plays were written in collaboration with Bertrand Robinson. Lindsay also collaborated with other authors. Several plays resulted from the collaboration with Russel Crouse. The two playwrights first worked on Anything Goes. It was followed, among others, by Red, Hot and Blue, and State of the Union, for which Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay earned the Pulitzer Drama award in 1946.

101

1-HUDSON -----

THEATRE

UNDER THE DIRECTION OF HOWARD LINDSAY & RUSSEL C R O U S E - - - - - • FIRE NOTICE: The exit indk.ted by a red light and Thoughtless persons annoy pbtrons c1nd distr.oct 6Cton o9nd sign neorest to the seat you occupy is the short-Mt endanger the safely of others by lighting matche, during route to the street. In the event of fire please fhe.performanc~ and inte rmissions~ Th;s violates a dfy ordo not run-WALK TO THAT EXIT. dinance c1nd renders the offender Hable to a summons from Patrick Walsh, Ere Commissioner the fireman on duty. It is urged that all patron, refrain from and Chief of Department light,ng matches in the aYditorium of this theatre. THE

·

PLAYBILL

·

A

·

WEEKLY

• PUBLICATION

Week beginning Sunday, December 23, 1945

•

OF

•

•

PLAYEILL

·

INCORPORATED

Matinees Wednesday and Saturday

LELAND HAYWARD presents

RALPH BELLAMY and RUTH HUSSEY in

STATE

OF THE UNION A New Comedy by

HOWARD LINDSAY and RUSSEL CROUSE with

Myron McCormick

Minor Watson

Kay Johnson

Staged by BRETAIGNE WINDUST Settings by RAYMOND SOVEY Gowns by HATTIE CARNEGIE

CAST (In the order in which they speak)

JAMES CONOVER . ....... ............ MINOR WATSON SPIKE McMANUS ... . ............. MYRON McCORMICK KAY THORNDYKE ..................... KAY JOHNSON GRANT MATTHEWS ........ . . ........ RALPH BELLAMY NORAH ..... ........ . . . . .......•..... ... . HELEN RAY MARY MATTHEWS ............. ..... .... RUTH HUSSEY STEVENS ......... . . .... ................. JOHN ROWE BELLBOY ...... .......... .......... HOWARD GRAHAM WAITER ............ ...... ............ . ROBERT TOMS SAM PARRISH ........................ HERBERT HEYES The Management i, not responsible for personal apparel or properly of patrons unless properly cheded with the theatre attendant. Patrons ••• advised to take their coats and wr.,pi with t1iem whe never thev leave their seafr.~

102

1948

AWARD

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

Tennessee Williams (born as Thomas Lanier Williams on March 26, 1911, in Columbus, Ms.) attended Eugene Field public school in St. Louis, where his family had moved when he was about twelve years old. He discovered his interest in writing early on. His first published short story, "The Vengeance of Nitocris", appeared in the August 1928 issue of Weird Tales. In 1931 he entered the University of Missouri, where he spent most of his time writing. In 1933, he withdrew from college, and during the next two years he worked all day at routine employment and stayed awake in the small hours of the night, with the help of black coffee, writing short stories. To recover from a nervous breakdown, he quit his job, traveled about but continued to write. In 1936-37 he attended the University of Washington, and then studied for a year at the University oflowa, which awarded him the B.A. degree in 1938. A few of his plays were produced by little theatres and community dramatic groups. His work was also recognized by a Rockefeller fellowship, which subsidized him for a while. In 1942 MGM signed him to a six-month contract in Hollywood as a scriptwriter. There, he outlined the plot of a screenplay entitled The Gentleman Caller, but the studio rejected his script and decided against renewing his contract. So he was left free to transform his script into The Glass Menagerie in 1945. The New York Drama Critics' Circle awarded the piece the prize for the best play of the year. It also won the Donaldson Award and the Sidney Howard Memorial Award. Two years later his play A Streetcar Named Desire gained Tennessee Williams the Pulitzer Drama award in 1948.

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FIRE COMMISSIONER

THE

PLAYBILL

A

WEEKLY

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Thoughtless per>ons annoy patrons end distract edoN end e ndanger the safety of others by lighting matches during tho performance. Lighting of matches in theatres d uring the c erformance or at intermissions violates a city ordinance and renders the offender liable to a summons.

FIR!: NOTICE: The ••it indicated by• red light and sign nearest lo the ,eat you occupy i, the whorted route to the street. In the event of fir• do not run-WALK TO THAT EXIT. Frank J. Qv•yle,

PUBI..ICATION

OF

PLAYB ILL

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Week beginning Monday, January 26, I948

INCO RPORATED

Matinees Wed nesday and Saturday

IRENE M. SELZNICK present