Imagine writing a play so powerful a Pulitzer jury selects it for the win, only for a scandalized advisory committee to overrule them, cancel the drama award entirely, and trigger juror resignations in protest. Who writes something that literally breaks the biggest literary prize in the country?

This deep dive explores the life of Edward Albee, the playwright who took post-war American theater by storm with three Pulitzers and multiple Tonys. We trace how a man born into staggering vaudeville-empire wealth violently rejected the American dream he was handed, then spent his life tearing it apart on stage. It matters because Albee's story asks what comfortable illusions you might need to dismantle to find your own authentic voice.

• Adopted into a wealthy theater dynasty, expelled from school after school for skipping compulsory chap ...