Katori Hall (born May 10, 1981) is an American playwright and screenwriter from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Hall's best known works include the hit television series '' P-Valley'', the Tony-nominated '' Tina: The Tina Turner Musical'', and plays such as ''Hurt Village'', ''Our Lady of Kibeho'', ''Children of Killers'', ''

The Mountaintop ''The Mountaintop'' is a play by American playwright Katori Hall. It is a fictional depiction of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last night on earth set entirely in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel on the eve of his assassination in 1968. Historical b ...

'', and '' The Hot Wing King'', for which she won the

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 ...

Early life and education

Hall's parents moved the family from Raleigh, North Carolina, to a predominantly white neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee, when she was five years old. She graduated from Craigmont High School as the first Black valedictorian in the school's history, and received her bachelor's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 2003 with a major in African-American Studies and Creative Writing. As a student, she was a resident of

John Jay Hall John Jay Hall is a 15-story building located on the southeastern extremity of the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in New York City, on the northwestern corner of 114th St. and Amsterdam Avenue. Named for Founding Father, ''The ...

. Hall was initially a student in the theater department, where she took classes with fellow student Kelly McCreary. Eventually she switched majors because she felt the faculty and students were inhospitable to her perspective and writing. She was awarded top departmental honors from the university's Institute for Research in African-American Studies. In 2005, she graduated from the

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

Moscow Art Theater The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; , ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was founded in by the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright ...

Institute for Advanced Theater Training The American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theatre (ART/МХАТ) Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University was founded in 1987 as a training ground for the new American Theater by Robert Brustein. The institute has been reside ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

with a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in Acting . During this time she revised the script for '' Hoodoo Love'', the first full-length play she wrote. In 2006, it was selected by

Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for he ...

for the

Cherry Lane Theatre The Cherry Lane Theatre is the oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater in New York City. The theater is located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, ...

Mentor Project. It premiered off-Broadway at Cherry Lane Theatre and received positive critical reception. Hall graduated from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

's Lila Acheson Wallace playwriting program in 2009. In the program she workshopped the script for ''

''.

Career

2009–2011: Breakthrough with ''The Mountaintop''

Hall gained mainstream prominence after her play ''

'', about

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

's last night before his assassination, premiered in London in 2009 to critical acclaim. Hall took the play to London after she was unable to secure a venue in the United States. The play was staged at Theatre503, where it sold out, and then transferred to the

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged ...

in the West End. The production was directed by

James Dacre James Charles Dacre (born May 1984) is a British theatre, opera and film director and producer. He was artistic director of Royal & Derngate Theatres in Northampton from 2013-2023 and prior to that held Associate Director roles at The New Vic ...

and featured British actors

David Harewood David Michael Harewood (born 8 December 1965) is a British actor, presenter and the current president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He is best known for his roles as CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in ''Homeland'' (2011–2012 ...

and Lorraine Burroughs. Nicola Christie of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' called ''The Mountaintop'' "breathtaking". Theater critic Charles Spencer in the ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' gave the production five stars and hailed it a "triumph". ''The Mountaintop'' won the 2010

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

for Best New Play, making Hall the first Black woman to achieve this accolade. In September 2011, ''The Mountaintop'' opened on Broadway starring Samuel L. Jackson as Martin Luther King Jr. and

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television since the 1980s, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Angela Bassett, various accolades, including a Primetime ...

as a mysterious maid. It attracted both praise and controversy for the language and depiction of King. In January 2011 during the extension of the show, lead producers Jean Doumanian and Sonia Friedman announced that ''The Mountaintop'' had recouped its entire capitalization of $3.1 million. In October 2011, Hall, along with

Annie Baker Annie Baker (born April 1981) is an American playwright and film director. She is known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''The Flick'' (2013). She has written a string of plays which are set in the fictional town of Shirley: '' Body Awareness' ...

Will Eno Will Eno (born 1965) is an American playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. His play, '' Thom Pain (based on nothing)'' was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2005. His play '' The Realistic Joneses'' appeared on Broadway in 2014, whe ...

Kenneth Lonergan Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. He is known for his works which explore complex emotional and interpersonal dynamics. He has received several awards including an Academy Award a ...

and

Regina Taylor Regina Taylor (born August 22, 1960) is an American actress and playwright. She has won several awards throughout her career, including a Golden Globe Award and NAACP Image Award. In July 2017, Taylor was announced as the new Denzel Washington En ...

, was among the playwrights chosen for the Pershing Square Signature Theatre's Residency Five initiative in New York, which guarantees each writer three full world-premiere productions over a five-year residency.

2012–2015: ''Hurt Village'', ''Hoodoo Love'', and ''Our Lady of Kibeho''

Hall's play '' Hurt Village'', a drama about life and change in a Memphis housing project, premiered in 2012 off-Broadway at Signature Theatre Company as part of the theatre's inaugural season. The play, which won the 2011 Susan Smith Blackburn Award, was presented with support from the 2011 Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award from TCG. The play starred Tony Award winner

Tonya Pinkins Tonya Pinkins is an American actress and filmmaker. Her award-winning debut feature film ''Red Pill'' was an official selection at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, won the Best Black Lives Matter Feature and Best First Feature at The Mykonos ...

, as well as Marsha Stephanie Blake,

Ron Cephas Jones Ron Cephas Jones (; January 8, 1957 – August 19, 2023) was an American actor, best known for his role as William Hill in the drama series ''This Is Us'' (2016–2022), which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award; along with four consecutive ...

Saycon Sengbloh Saycon Sengbloh (born October 23, 1977) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play and an Obie Award for Outstan ...

, Lloyd Watts, Charlie Hudson III, Nicholas Christopher, Corey Hawkins and Joaquina Kalukango. In 2014 it was announced that Hall will make her feature film directorial debut with an adaptation of ''Hurt Village''. '' Hoodoo Love'' premiered at Cherry Lane Theatre in 2013. In November 2014, ''Our Lady of Kibeho'', the second play of Hall's residency at the Pershing Square Signature Theatre, had its world premiere in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center, directed by

Michael Greif Michael Greif (born ca. 1960 in Brooklyn, New YorkWelsh, Anne Marie, "New York and family call Michael Greif home", ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', October 10, 1999, p.E-1) is an American stage director. He has won three Obie Awards and received ...

. In ''Our Lady of Kibeho'', Hall tells the story of a real-life incident of 1981, when a group of Rwandan schoolgirls claimed to see a vision of the Virgin Mary. Hall's play ''Pussy Valley'' was staged at Mixed Blood Theatre in 2015. The play's first reading, about the goings-on of a strip club in Mississippi, took place in 2009.

2019–present: Continued success with ''Tina'', ''The Hot Wing King'', and ''P-Valley''

Hall wrote the book for the musical '' Tina: The Tina Turner Musical'' alongside Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins. ''Tina'' is a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...

featuring the music of

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

and depicting her life. It opened on Broadway in November 2019. Hall received a nomination for the 2020

Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligib ...

for the show. Other plays by Hall include ''Remembrance'', ''Children of Killers'', ''Whaddabloodclot!!!, Pussy Valley'', and '' The Hot Wing King'', many of which are set in Memphis. Her work has been noted for "an earthiness, a humour, a female vision and a luxuriant language that feels distinctly her own." Hall was awarded the 2021

for '' The Hot Wing King'', which ran Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre in February 2020 until its run was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hall developed her play ''Pussy Valley'' into the television drama series on

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

, renamed '' P-Valley'', which premiered in 2020. It has received critical acclaim, and was renewed for a second season two weeks after its premiere. She serves as the series creator, showrunner, and executive producer. In 2020 she signed an overall deal with

Lionsgate Television Lionsgate Television is the television division of the American production company Lionsgate Studios. History The company was established in July 1997 as Lions Gate Television, Inc. with the establishment of Lionsgate Films. In June 1998, it ...

. Hall's play ''The Blood Quilt'' opened at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

on November 21, 2024 after three weeks of previews.

Personal life

Hall is married to Alan Tumusiime, a video editor and photographer. They have two children.

Awards and nominations

Theatre

Her awards include a Laurence Olivier Award Susan Smith Blackburn Award, Lark Play Development Center Playwrights of New York (PONY) Fellowship, Kate Neal Kinley Fellowship, two Lecompte du Nouy Prizes from

, Fellowship of Southern Writers Bryan Family Award in Drama,

Fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

, and the

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin ...

Playwriting Award. Hall was shortlisted for the London Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright Award and received the Otis Guernsey New Voices Playwriting Award from the William Inge Theatre Festival. She is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Hall was awarded the 2021

for her play '' The Hot Wing King''.Littleton, Cynthia
"Katori Hall Wins Pulitzer Prize for Drama, George Floyd Videographer Darnella Frazier Receives Special Citation"
''Variety'', June 11, 2021. In 2023, she received the University Medal for Excellence from Columbia University. Hall has been a book reviewer, journalist, and essayist for publications such as ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', ''

Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. She has been a

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

Playwriting Fellow at the O’Neill.

Film and television

References

External links

Official website
* * Alexis Okeowo

''The New York Times'', 13 January 2012. * Hermione Hoby
"Mom's brush with history"
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', 7 June 2009 (Katori Hall interview). {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Katori 1981 births 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American women writers African-American dramatists and playwrights American women dramatists and playwrights Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni Juilliard School alumni Living people Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Writers from Memphis, Tennessee 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American women