NEW YORK CITY: The Dramatists Guild of America Council has announced that Paula Vogel is the recipient of the 2016 Hull-Warriner Award for her play Indecent. The guild presents the award annually to an American author whose work deals with social, political, or religious themes of the time. Vogel will receive the award at a celebration in October.
“We are thrilled to present the Hull-Warriner Award to Paula Vogel and her stirring and brilliant work, Indecent,” said Dramatists Guild council member and awards committee chair Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. “The award is a testament to her power and is a celebration of her gifts by some of her biggest supporters—fellow artists, craftsmen, and colleagues.”
Finalists for the award are Itamar Moses and David Yazbek for The Band’s Visit; Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for Dear Evan Hansen; J.T. Rogers for Oslo; George C. Wolfe for Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed; and Lynn Nottage for Sweat.
The award is named for Elizabeth Hull, a playwright and former production associate at the Theatre Guild and the Federal Theatre, and Kate Warriner, an actress and longtime friend and associate of Hull. Hull established the award through her will and it has been given out since 1971.