Nilo Cruz is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cubans, Cuban desc ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

. With his award of the 2003

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

for his play ''

Anna in the Tropics ''Anna in the Tropics'' is a play by Nilo Cruz. It won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Plot The play is set in Ybor City, a section of Tampa and the center of the cigar industry. When Cuban immigrants brought the cigar-making industry to Flori ...

'', he became the second Latino so honored, after

Nicholas Dante Nicholas Dante (November 22, 1941 – May 21, 1991
from '' ...

Biography

Early years

Cruz was born in 1960 to Tina and Nilo Cruz, Sr. in

Matanzas, Cuba Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

. The family immigrated to

Little Havana Little Havana ( es, Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the Capital (political), capita ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, in 1970 on a Freedom Flight, and eventually naturalised to the United States. His interest in theater began with acting and directing in the early 1980s. He studied theater first at Miami-Dade Community College, later moving to New York City, where Cruz studied under fellow Cuban

María Irene Fornés María Irene Fornés (May 14, 1930 – October 30, 2018) was a Cuban-American playwright, theater director, and teacher who worked in off-Broadway and experimental theater venues in the last four decades of the twentieth century. Her plays range ...

. Fornes recommended Cruz to

Paula Vogel Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright who received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''How I Learned to Drive.'' A longtime teacher, Vogel spent the bulk of her academic career – from 1984 to 2008 – at Bro ...

who was teaching at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

where he would later receive his M.F.A. in 1994. Cruz is openly gay.

Career

In 2001, Cruz served as the playwright-in-residence for the New Theatre in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

, where he wrote ''

''. Rafael de Acha, produced and directed the world premier performance of ''Anna in the Tropics,'' winner of the 2003 Pulitzer and the Steinberg Award for Best New Play. A year later it received its Broadway premiere with

Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama ''L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama '' NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...

in the lead role. Some of the theatres that have developed and performed his works include New York's

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 4th Street (Manhattan), East 4th Street between Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village, ...

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

McCarter Theatre McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The institution is currently led by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg. ...

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...

, The Alliance, New Theatre, Florida Stage and the

Coconut Grove Playhouse The Coconut Grove Playhouse was a theatre in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. The building was originally constructed as a movie theater called the Player's State Theater. It opened on January 3, 1927, as a part of ...

. Cruz wrote the book of the

Frank Wildhorn Frank Wildhorn (born November 29, 1958) is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical ''Jekyll & Hyde'' ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the #1 International hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for Whitne ...

-Jack Murphy musical ''Havana''. Its scheduled world premiere at the

has been delayed by the theatre's declaration of bankruptcy in 2010. Cruz has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including two NEA/TCG National Theatre Artist Residency grants, a

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

grant,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's W. Alton Jones award, a

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Fund for New American Plays award and a USA Artist Fellowship. Cruz is a frequent collaborator with Peruvian-American composer

Gabriela Lena Frank Gabriela Lena Frank (born Berkeley, California, United States, September 1972) is an American pianist and composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Gabriela Lena Frank's father is an American of Lithuanian Jewish heritage and her mothe ...

. To date, they have completed a set of orchestral songs, ''La centinela y la paloma'' (''The Keeper and the Dove''), for soprano

Dawn Upshaw Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American soprano. She is the recipient of several Grammy Awards and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both opera and art song, and her repertoire spans Baroque to contempor ...

and the

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is a full-time professional chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In collaboration with five Artistic Partners, the orchestra's musicians present more than 130 concerts and educational programs ea ...

(premiered under the baton of

Joana Carneiro Joana Carneiro (born Joana Maria Amaro da Costa da Luz Carneiro, Lisbon, 30 September 1976), is a Portuguese conductor. Family Joana Carneiro is the third of the nine children of the former Portuguese Minister of Education Roberto Carneiro. S ...

in February 2011); ''The Saint Maker'' for soprano

Jessica Rivera Jessica Rivera (born 1974) is an American soprano of Peruvian-American ancestry. Life and career Rivera is a 1996 graduate of Pepperdine University, and earned her Master of Music degree in 1998 from the University of Southern California's USC Th ...

, mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway, the

San Francisco Girls Chorus The San Francisco Girls Chorus, established in 1978 by Elizabeth Appling and celebrating its 40th anniversary during the 2018-2019 Season, is a leading regional center for music education and performance for young women, ages 4–18, based in San Fr ...

, and the

Berkeley Symphony Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer t ...

in May 2013; ''Journey of the Shadow'' for narrator and ensemble of eleven players (San Francisco Chamber Orchestra premiering in April 2013; the ''Conquest Requiem'' for soprano, baritone, orchestra, and chorus for the

Houston Symphony The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

under the baton of

Andrés Orozco-Estrada Andrés Orozco-Estrada (born 14 December 1977) is a Colombian violinist and conductor, with dual nationality in Colombia and Austria. Early life Born in Medellín, Orozco-Estrada studied music at the Instituto Musical Diego Echavarría and lea ...

in May 2017 which will be recorded by the Nashville Symphony in November of 2022 for the Naxos label; and ''Cinco Lunas de Lorca'' (''The Five Moons of Lorca'') as a digital short for countertenor, choir, and piano for the

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...

. Their newest project is ''El último sueño de Frida y Diego'' (''The Last Dream of Frida and Diego)'', a two-act opera commissioned b
San Diego Opera
an
San Francisco Opera
with a premiere in October of 2022. Cruz penned the libretto to composer

Jimmy López Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

's opera ''

Bel Canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

'' which had its world premiere at the

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

on December 7, 2015. Cruz's most recent work is ''Bathing in Moonlight'', a world premiere featuring Raul Mendez,

Priscilla Lopez Priscilla Lopez (born February 26, 1948) is an American singer, dancer, and actress. She is perhaps best known for creating the role of Diana Morales in ''A Chorus Line''. She has had the distinction of appearing in two Broadway landmarks: one o ...

Hannia Guillen Hannia Guillen (born 1982 in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba) is a Cuban-American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald on the NBC daytime television soap opera ''Passions'' from October 16, 2007, to 2008. She also had a ...

, Frankie J. Alvarez, Michael Rudko, and Katty Velasquez. Directed by Emily Mann (it has incorrectly been stated that Emily Mann directed the world premiere of ''Anna in the Tropics'', the world premiere was directed by Rafael de Acha, artistic director of New Theatre, in Coral Gables, Florida. The following year, after being awarded the Pulitzer and Steinberg Awards, Emily Mann directed a production at the McCarter Theatre, which then was presented on Broadway.) ''Bathing in Moonlight'' ran September 9 - October 9, 2016, at

in Princeton, New Jersey. ''Bathing in Moonlight'' is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award and a 2016 Greenfield Prize. Cruz is an alumnus of

New Dramatists New Dramatists is an organization of playwrights founded in 1949 and located at 424 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen (Clinton) neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The members of New Dramatists parti ...

and has taught playwriting at

, the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

and at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. He presently lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and Miami.

Awards and honors

In 2003, Cruz received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Anna in the Tropics''. In 2009, Cruz received the

PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award The PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award, commonly referred to as the PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award, is awarded by the PEN America (formerly PEN American Center). It annually recognizes two American playwrights. A medal is given ...

for a distinguished American playwright in mid-career. In 2010, Cruz was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from

Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...

Work

Plays

* ''Dancing on Her Knees'' (1994) * ''Night Train to Bolina'' (1995) * ''A Park in Our House'' (1995) * ''Two Sisters and a Piano'' (1998) * ''A Bicycle Country'' (1999) * ''Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams'' (2001) * ''

'' (2002) * ''Lorca in a Green Dress'' (2003) * ''Capricho'' (2003) * ''Beauty of the Father'' (2006) * ''The Color of Desire'' (2010) * ''Hurricane'' (2010) * ''Soto Voce'' (2014) * ''Bathing in Moonlight'' (2016) * ''Exquisita Agonía'' (''Exquisite Agony'') (2018)

Musicals

* ''Havana'' – music by

, lyrics by Jack Murphy, book by Cruz

Translations

* ''A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings'' – a children's play that is an adaptation of a short story by

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

* ''

Doña Rosita the Spinster ''Doña Rosita the Spinster'' ( es, Doña Rosita la soltera) is a period play by the 20th-century Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It is subtitled "or The Language of the Flowers" and described as "a poem of 1900 Granada, divided into v ...

'' – by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

* ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not include ...

'' – by

* '' Life is a Dream'' – by

Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (, ; ; 17 January 160025 May 1681) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, writer and knight of the Order of Santiago. He is known as one of the most distinguished Baroque w ...

References

External links

* * *
Nilo Cruz Interview by Beth Stevens on Broadway.com

New Plays And Playwrights
– ''Working in the Theatre Seminar'' video at

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

.org, January 2004
Bomb magazine interview

Articles about Nilo Cruz and ''Life is a Dream''
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Nilo 1960 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Brown University alumni American writers of Cuban descent Cuban emigrants to the United States American male dramatists and playwrights American gay writers Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Hispanic and Latino American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights People from Matanzas American opera librettists Exiles of the Cuban Revolution in the United States 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers LGBT dramatists and playwrights