Stephen Adly Guirgis wins Pulitzer for ‘Between Riverside and Crazy’

Stephen Adly Guirgis has won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for drama for his play “Between Riverside and Crazy,” the story of a retired policeman who faces the possibility of losing his home.

A New York playwright with a taste for marginal characters and profane language, Guirgis has distinguished himself for years with his often edgy, sometimes funny dramas. He has been closely associated with the LAByrinth Theater Company throughout his career.

“Between Riverside and Crazy” has been seen at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York and more recently at the off-Broadway Second Stage Theatre. The recent New York productions starred Stephen McKinley Henderson as the protagonist, who is clinging to his Riverside Drive apartment while also dealing with family and legal matters.

Guirgis has seen many of his plays performed at regional theaters. His works include “The Mother ... With the Hat,” which was produced on Broadway and South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa; “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot”; and “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train.”

Last year, the playwright put in a cameo appearance in the movie “Birdman,” which won the Academy Award for best picture.

The Pulitzer runners up were Suzan-Lori Parks for her epic “Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2, 3),” which was seen at the Public Theater in New York, and Jordan Harrison for “Marjorie Prime,” seen at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles last year.

This year’s drama jury was headed by Dominic P. Papatola, theater critic, St. Paul Pioneer Press, and included playwright Lynn Nottage; critics Misha Berson of the Seattle Times and Elysa Gardner of USA Today; and Marc Robinson, a professor of English and theater studies at Yale University.

Last year’s winner was Annie Baker for her three-hour drama “The Flick,” a divisive play set in a movie theater.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT