The 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded this afternoon to Lynn Nottage's Sweat. The play, which is currently playing at Broadway's Studio 54 Theatre, tells the story of friendships and livelihoods threatened by factory layoffs. Nottage, already a Pulitzer Prize-winner for her play Ruined, is one of only eight other playwrights to achieve this honor more than once. Moreover, Nottage is the first woman to win more than one Pulitzer Prize for drama.
The requirements for a Pulitzer Prize-winner are described as "a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life." Sweat matches these requirements perfectly, and the Pulitzer committee was also certainly impressed with the journalistic research and integrity of Nottage's play. Nottage spent a significant amount of time living in Reading, Pennsylvania and doing research on the community and residents. The stories that she discovered about the town's factory workers formed the backbone for Sweat.
A timely and topical new play, tickets for Sweat are available by visiting the show page below.
