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Nilo Cruz is born
Cruz is born on 1960 to Tina (his mother) and Nilo (his father) Cruz Sr, in Matanzas, Cuba. -
Cuban Missile Crisis almost staring a nuclear war.
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First man on the Moon
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Immigration
In 1970, Cruz's family immigrates to Little Havana in Miami, Florida and eventually naturalized. -
Theatre Interest
By the early 1980's, Cruz became largely interested with theatre where he studied at the Miami-Dade community college before moving to New York to pursue his interest. -
Cruz's First Direction
In 1988, Cruz directed "Mud" by Maria Irene Fornés which at the time he was studying under her. -
Soviet Union disbanded ending Cold War conflict.
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Cruz Recieves his M.F.A Degree
Cruz later moved to Brown University after multiple directions where also received an M.F.A degree in 1994. -
Early Writings of Cruz
By early 2001, Cruz was hired as a playwright for the New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida. From here he wrote "Anna in the Tropics". -
The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center
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An award for "Anna in the Tropics"
Artist and director, Rafael de Archa, produced and directed the world premiere performance of "Anna in the Tropics" which won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Steinberg award for Best New Play. -
Cruz Continues Playwrighting
In 2003, he also wrote "Lorca in a Green Dress" which didn't receive very much attention but did obtain a Alton Jones award. -
Broadway Appearence
Cruz's play "Anna in the Tropics" made its way to Broadway where in 2004 it was performed and Tony nominated for Best Play. -
Premier of Another Work
Cruz wrote "Beauty of the Father", as it was meant to pay homage to Federico Garcia Lorca, who was a spanish poet. It was performed in the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City in 2006. -
The 2008 Global Stock Market Crash
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Abrupt Dead End
Another writing that came from Cruz was the musical of Frank Wildhorn & Jack Murphy, which was set to be premiered at the Pasadana Playhouse but the theatre announced bankruptcy shortly after. -
Translation of Hamlet
Cruz translated the script of Hamlet to Spanish where it would be used in the 2012 production at the Asolo Repertory Theatre. -
Orchestral Collaboration
Frequently between 2013 to 2017, Cruz worked with Peruvian-American composer Gabriela Lena Frank. Where they did "Saint Maker", "Journey of the Shadow", "Conquest Requiem" and "Cinco Lunas de Lorca". -
Working in the Moonlight
Cruz's most recent (as of today) work is the world premiere of "Bathing in Moonlight" in 2016, where it won the Edgerton Foundation New Play award, and the Greenfield Prize. -
Working with All Four
By 2019 to 2020, Cruz had taught drama for Yale, Brown and University of Iowa. Eventually moving onto UCLA School of Theatre where he became a Playwright-in-Residence. -