Drama Pulitzer goes to 'Next to Normal,' a musical born at Issaquah's Village Theatre

NEW YORK — "Next to Normal," a musical about the complexity and heartbreak of a woman's mental illness and its effect on her family, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

The play was first workshopped at Issaquah's Village Theatre, and boasts a book and lyrics by Seattle native Brian Yorkey. It will appear at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in early 2011.

"The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt," by T.J. Stiles, won the biography prize, and "Tinkers," by Paul Harding, won the fiction award.

A posthumous Special Citation was given to Hank Williams for his "craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life."

Other winners announced by Columbia University on Monday were: "Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World," by Liaquat Ahamed, for history; "Versed," by Rae Armantrout, for poetry; and "The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy," by David E. Hoffman for general nonfiction. Violin Concerto by Jennifer Higdon won the music prize.