(© Tristan Fuge)
Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner will accept an honorary doctor of letters from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York (CUNY), according to a report in The New York Times. The school’s graduation is scheduled for June 3.
The university’s board had previously removed Kushner’s name from a list of 40 candidates for honorary degrees, because of his publicly expressed views on Israel and Palestine. CUNY was widely criticized for this action, and Kushner disputed the characterization of his views on the subject.
Kushner’s announcement that he will accept the award follows a meeting held on Monday evening when the CUNY executive committee met and overturned the earlier decision, voting to grant the honorary degree to the playwright.
Kushner’s newest play, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, is currently playing at the Public Theater. He won Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Angels in America. Among his other plays are homebody/Kabul, A Bright Room Called Day, and Slavs. He also has written the librettos for Brundibar and Caroline, or Change.
