Monster Mash: A Pulitzer surprise; Domingo ready to sing at La Scala; is Banksy in L.A.?

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--Plot twist: Times theater critic Charles McNulty, chair of the Pulitzer drama jury, says the Pulitzer board was up to its old tricks when it ignored the jury’s recommendations and awarded this year’s prize to the musical ‘Next to Normal.’ (Los Angeles Times)

--Prize piece: Composer Jennifer Higdon has won the Pulitzer for music for her Violin Concerto, a work the board said ‘combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity.’ (Los Angeles Times)

--Happy return: Placido Domingo is in Milan, preparing to sing the lead in Verdi’s ‘Simon Boccanegra’ on Friday at La Scala. It will be his first stage performance since the Spanish tenor and L.A. Opera general director underwent colon cancer surgery in early March. (Associated Press)

--Word on the street: Is English guerrilla artist Banksy in town (his movie ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ is about to open) and leaving a calling card or two? (Curbed LA)

--Hitting the boards: Kate Walsh, the ‘Private Practice’ star and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ alum, will make her off-Broadway debut in May in Atlantic Theater Co.’s world premiere of Stephen Belber’s ‘Dusk Rings a Bell.’ (Broadway.com)

--Sour notes: Producers of the Broadway hit ‘Jersey Boys’ have filed suit, claiming the touring show ‘The Boys,’ which was created by former cast members of the original production, is a ‘copycat.’ (Reuters)

--Play ball! Kristin Chenoweth will take a break from previews of ‘Promises, Promises’ on Broadway to sing the national anthem at Tuesday’s New York Yankees home opener against the Los Angeles Angels. (Playbill)

--On the block: A trove of Gertrude Stein first editions, letters and papers will be offered for sale in Oxford, England, on April 27. (Yes, her companion Alice B. Toklas’ cookbook with that infamous hashish fudge recipe is among the offerings.) (Art Daily)

--On the move: Joseph Rosa, the chief curator of architecture and design at the Art Institute of Chicago, reportedly will take over the directorship of the University of Michigan Museum of Art, one of the nation’s major collegiate art museums. (Chicago Tribune)

Also in the L.A. Times: Music critic Mark Swed reviews the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s performance of Meredith Monk’s ‘Weave’ at Walt Disney Concert Hall; L.A. artist Mark Bradford’s first retrospective show won’t be seen in L.A.

-- Karen Wada