Joseph Otto Kesselring (June 21, 1902 [1] – November 5, 1967) was an American playwright who was best known for writing Arsenic and Old Lace, a hit on Broadway from 1939 to 1944 and in other countries as well.
In 1922, he began teaching vocal music and directed stage productions at Bethel College, a Mennonite school in North Newton, Kansas.
[3] He began working as a freelance playwright in 1933, completing 12 original plays, of which four were produced on Broadway: There's Wisdom in Women (1935), "Cross-Town" (1937), Arsenic and Old Lace (1939), and Four Twelves are 48 (1951).
[4] Kesselring lived in a college house that would later be the basis of the set of Arsenic and Old Lace, and locals have tried to identify who were some of the character models he used.
Among the playwrights who have won the prize are Tony Kushner, David Adjmi, Doug Wright, Anna Deavere Smith, David Auburn, Rajiv Joseph, Melissa James Gibson, Jo Carson, Nicky Silver, David Lindsay-Abaire, José Rivera, Naomi Wallace, Philip Kan Gotanda, Tracey Scott Wilson, and Marion McClinton.