Playwright Dan O'Brien's "The Body of an American," which was developed in Minneapolis, is one of the two plays to win the inaugural Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History.

Obrien split the award, which comes with a total purse of $100,000, with Robert Schenkkan's ''All the Way."

"Body of an American" was commissioned by the McKnight Foundation and the Playwrights' Center under artistic director Jeremy Cohen. Actors Steve Epp and Peter Hansen read "Body of an American" in a workshop reading directed by Cohen in 2010. It premiered at Portland's Center Stage last fall under director Bill Rauch.

The play is based on a Paul Watson's Pulitzer Prize-winning but very graphic photos of a dead American serviceman beeing dragged through the streets Mogadishu in 1993. The photographer became haunted by the image of the serviceman's defilement. The play is a two-hander in which a pair of actors play all the parts.

A Twin Cities production has not been announced yet.