new york's theatrical myopia

on monday, next to normal – the broadway musical about a mother struggling with bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness has on her family – won the 2010 pulitzer prize for drama.

on tuesday, l.a. times theatre critic and chair of this year's pulitzer jury charles mcnulty wrote this:

In an era in which important new dramatic works rarely get their start in New York, the board's geographical myopia, a vision of the American theater that starts in Times Square and ends just a short taxi ride away is especially disheartening. Does anyone really believe that "Next to Normal" would have been chosen had it been submitted when it was at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.?