Seattle-born musical wins the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and returns as part of The 5th Avenue’s 2010-2011 Season
SEATTLE – The new musical drama Next to Normal has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This Tony Award-winning new musical got its start in Issaquah in Village Theatre’s new works program Village Originals under the title Feeling Electric back in 2005. Written by Brian Yorkey—Village Theatre’s former associate artistic director—the show went on to further development and found a home at Broadway’s Booth Theatre in April 2009. Next year its national tour includes a return to Seattle as it comes to The 5th Avenue Theatre as part of their 2010-2011 Season.
“Winning the Pulitzer was a bit of a shock—well, more than a bit,” admits Yorkey, who was Village Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director from 2000 to 2007. “But I think both Tom and I see it as a huge testament to all the people who believed in a show that, on the face of it, was pretty unlikely. And personally I'm really thrilled we'll be able to bring the show back to my hometown."
Established in 1917 in honor of American journalist and publisher Joseph Pulitzer, the Prize is awarded to outstanding works of literature and journalism in 21 categories. The award in drama, which includes a $10,000 prize, is “for a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life.” The last musical to win the Pulitzer was Rent in 1995.
“I am always thrilled when a musical wins the Pulitzer for Drama because it reinforces that the American Musical is our great indigenous art form,” says The 5th’s Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong. “Next to Normal demonstrates what musicals do better than any other form of entertainment—give us characters that we care about, wrap them in powerful, emotional music, and make their trials and triumphs both deeply moving and wildly entertaining. That is why it has so deservedly won this prize.”
Next to Normal, which was nominated for 11 Tony awards and won three (Best Actress in a Musical, Alice Ripley; Best Orchestration, Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt; Best Original Score, Yorkey and Kitt), tells the story of a mother with bi-polar disorder, and how her family fights to maintain normality despite her mental illness. Originally produced under the title Feeling Electric at Issaquah’s Village Theatre as a reading and a workshop, Next to Normal has been hailed as a show that “pushes Broadway in new directions” (Rolling Stone) and “something much more than a feel-good musical: it is a feel-everything musical” (New York Times).
The National tour of Next to Normal comes to The 5th February 22 – March 13, 2011, which will give Seattle a chance to see the show in all of its fully-realized glory.
Season subscriptions to The 5th Avenue’s 2010-2011 Season, which also includes In the Heights, A Christmas Story: The Musical, Vanities: A New Musical, 9 to 5: The Musical, Guys & Dolls and Oklahoma are available by calling 206-625-1900/toll-free 888-5TH-4TIX (584-4849), at our website 5thavenue.org, and in person at the box office at 1308 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.
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