All tagged Pulitzer Prize
It’s been a big year for the composing team of Bock and Harnick, with Broadway revivals of their two beloved pieces Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me. The success of both of these revivals speaks to the durability of their work and to their place in the pantheon of musical theatre greats. At one point in time, there was a third Bock and Harnick musical that was as revered as the aforementioned titles, but that has faded somewhat into obscurity today. Fiorello!, which opened on Broadway in 1959, was a big hit, financially and critically. The story of the former NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia played to an audience who had memories of the reform politician who took on Tammany Hall in the early part of the 20th Century.
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is given every year to a theatrical piece that stands out, above and beyond the rest of the pack in a given calendar year. Many amazing plays have been awarded the prize while just as many game changers have been overlooked honoring what are arguably less-deserving candidates. On a rare occasion, such as what happened this week with Hamilton, a musical is awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Nine musicals have been crowned with this honor that may be the only accolade that supersedes the Best Musical Tony Award. Today's blog is a celebration of those nine musicals, ranking them in order of their significance, power and shelf-life.
Who hasn't listened to "Finishing the Hat" from Sunday in the Park with George and not felt like they were getting a glimpse into Stephen Sondheim's soul? The composer has graced us with a plethora of intricately insightful musical experiences, songs that reach down into that confusing and frustrating place we call "humanity" and that extract the unbearable truths of our innermost conflicts . Somehow, though, it is this song that seems to underscore who Sondheim is as a whole.
