The Dramatists Guild of America Announces Michael R. Jackson as Recipient of 2019 Hull-Warriner Award for A STRANGE LOOP

The Dramatists Guild of America Council has selected Michael R. Jackson as the recipient of the 2019 Hull-Warriner Award, for his musical A Strange Loop. The other finalists for the award were Madeleine George for Hurricane Diane; Stephen Adly Guirgis for Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven; Samuel D. Hunter for Greater Clements; Donja R. Love for one in two; and Jackie Sibblies Drury for Marys Seacole.

The Hull-Warriner Award is the only award given by playwrights to playwrights and is presented annually to an American author or authors selected by the Dramatists Guild of America Council honoring a work or works dealing with social, political or religious mores of the time. The award will be presented to Michael R. Jackson at the Guild's annual awards celebration later this summer.

Michael R. Jackson holds a BFA and MFA in playwriting and musical theatre writing from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. As a songwriter, he has seen his work performed everywhere from Joe's Pub to NAMT. He wrote book, music, and lyrics for the musical A Strange Loop, winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. He also wrote book, music and lyrics for the upcoming White Girl in Danger; and lyrics and book for the musical adaptation of the 2007 horror film Teeth with composer and co-bookwriter Anna K. Jacobs. Awards and associations include: a New Professional Theatre Festival Award, a Jonathan Larson Grant, a Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, an ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Award, a Whiting Award, the Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting, a Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship and he is an alum of Page 73's Interstate Writers Group. He has commissions from Grove Entertainment & Barbara Whitman Productions and LCT3 and is a newly-elected member of the Dramatists Guild Council.

Elizabeth Hull, a playwright and former production associate of The Theatre Guild and the Federal Theatre, established the award through her will. Kate Warriner, an actress, was a long-time friend and associate of Ms. Hull. The award has been given since 1971.

Past Hull-Warriner winners include Edward Albee, David Auburn, Annie Baker, Jocelyn Bioh, Philip Hayes Dean, Christopher Durang, Margaret Edson, Harvey Fierstein, John Guare, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Adam Guettel & Craig Lucas, David Ives, John Kander & David Thompson, Stephen Karam, Larry Kramer, Tony Kushner, Shirley Lauro, John Leguizamo, Tracy Letts, David Mamet, Emily Mann, Donald Margulies, Terrence McNally, Scott McPherson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Marsha Norman, Bruce Norris, Lynn Nottage, Dael Orlandersmith, Miguel Pinero, David Rabe, Ronald Ribman, Steven Sater & Duncan Sheik, Heidi Schreck, John Patrick Shanley, Martin Sherman, Stephen Sondheim & Hugh Wheeler, Paula Vogel, Joseph A. Walker, Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson, George C. Wolfe, and Doug Wright.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos