Berkeley Rep Blog

Previous entry: The hum of the Idiot machine
Next entry: American Idiot cast album now streaming!

Idiot's Tom Kitt nabs a Pulitzer

posted by Chad Jones on Mon, Apr 12, 2010
in News , Our shows

When the Pulitzer Prizes were announced this morning, a name familiar to Berkeley Rep audiences topped the list in the drama category.

Tom Kitt, who provided orchestrations, arrangements, and musical supervision for the world premiere of American Idiot last fall, shared the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Next to Normal with his collaborator, Brian Yorkey, who wrote the book and lyrics. Next to Normal, which is still running on Broadway, is a rock musical about a woman dealing with bipolar disorder. Alice Ripley, who stars as the troubled suburban mom, won a 2009 Tony Award for her performance. Tom and Brian won a Tony for their score, and Tom also won in the orchestrations category.

Among the finalists recognized by the Pulitzer committee for the dramatic prize were Sarah Ruhl for In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), which was commissioned  and premiered by Berkeley Rep before it headed to Broadway; The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz; and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo by Rajiv Joseph.

Next to Normal is only the eighth musical to win the Pulitzer for Drama since the award was established in 1916. Here are the others.

Of Thee I Sing (1931-32)
South Pacific (1949-50)
Fiorello (1959-60)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961-62)
A Chorus Line (1975-76)
Sunday in the Park with George (1986-85)
Rent (1995-96)

Huge congratulations to Tom and the entire Next to Normal team.