ITHACA, N.Y.: The 2016-17 George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism has been awarded to Sara Holdren for her review essay “The Revolution Will Not Be Hashtagged: A Misguided Joan of Arc at the Public Theatre,” which appeared on Culturebot. Holdren, the lead theatre critic for New York magazine and Vulture, will receive a cash prize of $10,000.
The award committee is made up of the heads of the English departments at Cornell, Princeton, and Yale universities. In a joint statement, the committee “applauds Holdren’s vigorous and informed prose—writing that is at once personally engaged and professionally astute. Setting a high bar artistically and politically, she challenges theatre artists and audiences alike to question facile creative choices and to think deeply about the relationship between art and our contemporary cultural moment.”
The award is endowed by theatre critic George Jean Nathan. Previous winners include Jill Dolan, Randy Gener, Alisa Solomon, Charles Isherwood, Elinor Fuchs, Hilton Als, H. Scott McMillin, and Shonni Enelow.
