Baltimore Living
Best Playwright
Ty DeMartino
Ty DeMartino's The Blessed Mothers of War set off a few warning signals in our heads. Maybe it's the title--it sounds like a transcultural, politically correct, code pink anti-war manifesto. And frankly, we could have used many more of those four years ago. But The Blessed Mothers of War is a searing engagement of our country's weird relationship with the concept of responsibility--it goes way beyond Baghdad--and the play will hopefully outlast the current war. DeMartino's characters are delicately balanced in a sour and somewhat bitter universe, where love, war, and country are all prophylactics against a deeper sense of doom. This may not be DeMartino's breakthrough play, but at the very least, he appears to be engaging us in territory that we ourselves are a little afraid of. We could use more playwrights like him.
Other Awards for Best Playwright:
Ira Gamerman, 9/20/2006
Joe Dennison, 9/22/2004
