Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is acknowledged as one of the great dramatists whose plays, work with the Berliner Ensemble and writing have had a considerable influence on the theatre. His landmark plays include The Threepenny Opera and, while exiled from Germany and living in the USA, such masterpieces as The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Tony Kushner is best known for his two-part epic, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. His other plays include: A Bright Room Called Day, Slavs!, Hydrotaphia, Homebody/Kabul and the musical Caroline or Change for which he wrote book and lyrics, with music by composer Jeanine Tesori. In addition to Mother Courage, Kushner has translated The Good Person of Sezuan, Pierre Corneille's The Illusion, S.Y. Ansky's The Dybbuk and the English-language libretto for the children's opera Brundibar by Hans Krasa. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols' film of Angels In America, and Steven Spielberg's Munich. Tony Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, an Emmy Award, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, an Oscar nomination, an Arts Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among many others. Most recently, Caroline or Change received the Evening Standard Award, the London Drama Critics' Circle Award and the Olivier Award for Best Musical.