Solomon Wins Nathan Award

The Voice's Alisa Solomon has been awarded the 1997­98 George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism for her book Re-Dressing the Canon: Essays on Theater and Gender, published by Routledge. She'll be honored at a reception on Monday, March 8, at P.S. 122.

The award, accompanied by $10,000, is issued annually for "the best piece of dramatic criticism, whether article, essay, treatise or book" published during the theatrical year.

The award committee's citation reads: "Re-Dressing the Canonis a bold and lucid study of the performance of gender in a wide range of plays, from Aristophanes to the present. It displays a thorough understanding of how meaning is communicated through theatrical performance, a solid grounding in theatrical history and dramatic criticism, and a sophisticated engagement with theoretical issues in a lively and accessible style."

Cornell University English department chair Jonathan Culler, who heads the Nathan panel, notes: "Alisa Solomon's splendid book resolves the dilemma frequently encountered by the Nathan Prize Committee. There is no need to choose between the brilliant reviewer and the brilliant scholar when they are both the same person."