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New: Artists Connected With Berkeley Rep Recognized by the Pulitzers

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Monday April 12, 2010 - 07:22:00 PM

The Berkeley Rep said Monday that two artists associated with the theater were recognized for their work when the Pulitzer Prize for Drama was announced today. 

Tom Kitt—the orchestrator and arranger of American Idiot, a one-act stage musical adaptation of punk rock band Green Day’s album of the same name—won this year’s Pulitzer along with his collaborator Brian Yorkey for their work in the critically-acclaimed musical Next to Normal, Berkeley Rep spokesperson Terence Keane said. 

Next to Normal is about a suburban mother’s struggle with mental illness. 

The Pulitzer committee also recognized Sarah Ruhl as a finalist for this year’s prize for In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), a comedy set in the 1880s. The script for In the Next Room was commissioned by Berkeley Rep. It premiered at the theater before going on to Broadway. 

“Our congratulations go out to Tom and Sarah for their fine work,” Keane said. “We’re proud that we have the opportunity to work with America’s top artists.”