Next To Normal Wins Pulitzer Prize

The acclaimed Broadway musical Next To Normal, which last year nabbed the Tony Award for Best Musical, has now won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Written by Tony-winning songwriting team Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (book and lyrics), the new musical is about the unlikely subject of mental illness and stars Alice Ripley in a role that won her the Tony. The show, which has been under development for a few years (and was previously titled Feeling Electric) had its Off-Broadway debut at the Second Stage Theatre, and it appears that Next To Normal's next major production will be in Toronto. The other finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama this year were The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz; Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo by Rajiv Joseph; and In the Next Room or the vibrator play by Sarah Ruhl, which was seen on Broadway earlier this season.