"Rabbit Hole" delves into a mother's loss of her young son and how she and her family cope with the sudden, unexpected death. Lindsay-Abaire wanted to write a naturalistic play for a change. Taking advice from one of his former teachers at Julliard, he wrote about his worst fear, the loss of his son Nicholas, and used this as the foundation for his play.
Although news of the Pulitzer may seem dull and pedantic, it's actually quite controversial in the theatrical community. The low-key but well-respected plays nominated for the award were "Orpheus X" by Rinde Eckert, "Bulrusher" by Eisa Davis and "Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue" by Quiara Alegria Hudes. Note that "Rabbit Hole" was not included in that list. Also note that such popular Broadway shows as "Spring Awakening," "Grey Gardens," "Radio Golf" and "The Little Dog Laughed" were snubbed. Perhaps this latter point should not be so surprising because, according to www.pulitzer.org, the award is given to "a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life." "Spring Awakening" is the musicalized version of Frank Wedekind's 1891 play just as "Grey Gardens" is the musical of the documentary of the same name. "Rabbit Hole," however, nicely fits the description. Of the four plays nominated for the Best Play Tony Award, only "Rabbit Hole" was penned by an American author (The other nominees were "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" by Martin McDonagh, "Shining City" by Conor McPherson and the winner, "The History Boys" by Alan Bennett). And yet, the jury ignored it.
But how did a play that wasn't even nominated for the Pulitzer win the Prize? Apparently, none of the nominees had earned a majority of the 19-person Pulitzer Board's vote. In a rare move, the Board members subsequently considered plays that had not been nominated by a three-fourths vote, namely Lindsay-Abaire's "Rabbit Hole," which had received much positive support. The jury comprised theater powerhouses Ben Brantley (chief drama critic of The New York Times) and Paula Vogel (Pulitzer-winning playwright for "How I Learned to Drive" and now Professor of English at Brown University).
The drama surrounding the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was further intensified considering what happened the year before. Last year, the Board decided that no new plays were good enough to deserve the Pulitzer and, accordingly, awarded none. (The last time this occurred was during the 1996-1997 season.) This slight raised questions as to whether or not the jury would award a play this year. Recent winners include John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt," Doug Wright's "I Am My Own Wife" and Nilo Cruz's "Anna in the Tropics."
The Manhattan Theatre Club, dedicated to producing new works, staged "Rabbit Hole" last season and now regional theaters are following its lead in producing the award-winning play. Also, the Club was originally behind "Doubt" and "Anna in the Tropics," so now they have another Pulitzer for their collection.
What's next for Pulitzer Prize winner? In addition to working on "Shrek," Lindsay-Abaire is writing the screenplay for the film version of "Rabbit Hole." Nicole Kidman is set to play Becca, the mother of the deceased son. Cynthia Nixon of "Sex in the City" fame originally played the role on Broadway and won a Tony Award for her performance. Lindsay-Abaire now joins a list of legendary Pulitzer-winning playwrights that includes Edward Albee, August Wilson and Tennessee Williams.
Named for Joseph Pulitzer, the award was created in 1917 and the first Pulitzer Prize for Drama was given in 1918 to "Why Marry?" by Jesse Lynch Williams. With all of these recent shake-ups of tradition, let's see under what circumstances the 2008 winner will take home the award.