The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust has announced that Pulitzer Prize-winning Disgraced playwright Ayad Akhtar and Tony-nominated A Doll’s House, Part 2 playwright Lucas Hnath are the recipients of 2017 Steinberg Playwright Awards, which will be presented December 4 at Lincoln Center Theater.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the “Mimi” Awards, which are presented anually to honor the outstanding artistry and accomplishments of some of the most gifted American playwrights. Each recipient will receive a cash award of $50,000.
Akhtar’s Discraced won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; it subsequently ran on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre and was nominated for the 2015 Tony Award for Best Play. His plays The Who & The What and The Invisible Hand were seen Off-Broadway. His recent play Junk premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 2016, winning the Craig Noel Award for Best New Play, and will open on Broadway at the Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont in November.
Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 recently concluded its Tony-nominated Broadway run. His plays also include Hillary and Clinton; Red Speedo; The Christians; A Public Reading Of An Unproduced Screenplay About The Death Of Walt Disney; Isaac’s Eye; and Death Tax. His plays have been produced nationally and internationally, including at Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Soho Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville/Humana Festival of New Plays, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Steppenwolf Theatre, South Coast Repertory, and the Royal Court Theatre.
“I can’t really say anything about this incredible honor without saying a lot about the Steinberg Charitable Trust,” Hnath said in a statement. “Their support has meant a great deal to me over the course of my career. The Trust has created and sponsored programs that have helped me become the playwright I am, and now with this award, they are helping me continue to make theatre — and grow and evolve and take even bigger risks. I’m certainly not alone in my appreciation of the Steinbergs, as so many of my fellow playwrights have benefited and grown because of their support. The Steinberg Trust makes possible much of what I find so vital and exciting about our current theatrical landscape.”
“I am so honored to share the company of the amazing artists who’ve won this award. I am deeply grateful to the Steinberg Trust for this support and very excited about the work this gift will make possible for me,” Akhtar added.
The Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award and Steinberg Playwright Awards are presented in alternate years. Past recipients include:
- Sarah Ruhl, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2016
- Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Dominique Morisseau, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2015
- Stephen Adly Guirgis, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2014
- Annie Baker and Rajiv Joseph, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2013
- David Henry Hwang, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2012
- Lisa D’Amour and Melissa James Gibson, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2011
- Lynn Nottage, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2010
- David Adjmi, Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bruce Norris, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2009
- Tony Kushner, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2008
