The prize represents a highlight of what has been an astonishing run of hard-earned success and recognition for the Memphis-born Hall, 40, a Craigmont High School graduate and former intern at The Commercial Appeal who currently finds herself a Tony Award nominee for co-writing “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” the hit Broadway biographical musical about the rock-and-soul singer from Nutbush, Tennessee.
That play debuted in London, and earned Hall the distinction of being the first woman to win the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play.
Hall also is the creator of “P-Valley,” a Starz network television series set in a Mississippi Delta strip club known as “The Pynk.” A ratings blockbuster for the cable network that debuted in 2020, the series employed women directors for all eight of its episodes and included several Memphians among its cast members and soundtrack contributors.
Many of Hall’s works hark back to her Memphis roots.
“I always tell people I’m a global citizen who knows she’s from the South,” Hall told The Commercial Appeal, during the shooting of her short film, “Arkabutla.” “I’m telling stories about this very specific universe with a very specific lexicon, so my aim is to be tiny and wide at the same time — to use very specific details to tell a story that is universal.