SOURCE: Brustein, Robert. “Robert Brustein on Theater: A Homeboy Godot.” New Republic 226, no. 18 (13 May 2002): 25-6.

In the following excerpt, Brustein expresses a mixed opinion of Topdog/Underdog. While he applauds the performance of Jeffrey Wright as Lincoln, he regards Mos Def's portrayal of Booth as incoherent.

I was on the committee that gave this year's Pulitzer Prize for Drama to Suzan-Lori Parks for Topdog/Underdog. This play was not my first choice for the award. It is far from Parks's most ambitious writing. But, as an admirer of her previous work, I was content to endorse the decision of the majority. Prizes often go to the lesser achievements of good playwrights whose better stuff had been previously ignored.

Visiting the production a few weeks later, I was glad that I had read the script first. Watching it cold might have made me register a dissent. It's not that...