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| Obie Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Excellence in Off-Broadway theatre |
| Location | New York City, New York |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | The Village Voice (1956–present) American Theatre Wing (2014–present) |
| First awarded | 1956 |
| Website | http://www.obieawards.com/  |
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by The Village Voice newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after the 2014 ceremony, the American Theatre Wing became the joint presenter and administrative manager of the Obie Awards. The Obie Awards are considered off-Broadway's highest honor, similar to the Tony Awards for Broadway productions.[1][2]
Background
The Obie Awards were initiated by critic Jerry Tallmer and Edwin (Ed) Fancher, publisher of The Village Voice, who handled the financing and business side of the project. They were first given in 1956 under the direction of Tallmer. Initially, only off-Broadway productions were eligible; in 1964, off-off-Broadway productions were made eligible. The first Obie Awards ceremony was held at Helen Gee's cafe.[3]
With the exception of the Lifetime Achievement and Best New American Play awards, there are no fixed categories at the Obie Awards, and the winning actors and actresses are all in a single category titled "Performance." There are no announced nominations.[4][5] Awards in the past have included performance, direction, best production, design, special citations, and sustained achievement. Not every category is awarded every year. The Village Voice also awards annual Obie grants to selected companies; in 2011, these grants were $2,000 each to Metropolitan Playhouse and Wakka Wakka Productions.[6] There is also a Ross Wetzsteon Grant, named after its former theater editor, in the amount of $2,000 (in 2009; in 2011 the grant was $1,000), for a theatre that nurtures innovative new plays.[7]
The first awards in 1955-1956 for plays and musicals were given to Absalom (Lionel Abel) as Best New Play, Uncle Vanya, Best All-Around Production and The Threepenny Opera as Best Musical.[8]
Other awards for off-Broadway theatre are the Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Desk Awards, the Drama League Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards.
As of September 2014, the Obie Awards are jointly presented by the American Theatre Wing and the Village Voice, with the Wing having "overall responsibility for running" the Awards.[9]
In 2021, American Theatre Wing took over as sole presenter of the Obie Awards and continue to present the honors for off and off-off Broadway theatre.[10]
Award categories
- Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress
- Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actor
- Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Ensemble
- Sustained Achievement Award
- Best New American Theatre Work Award
- Playwriting Award
- Design Award
- Special Citations
- Obie Grants
- The Ross Wetzsteon Award
Ceremony history
Notable winners
2000s
| Year | Recipients[58] |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Cynthia Hopkins (Performance - Another Telepathic Thing); Byron Jennings (Performance Award - Waste); Maria Irene Fornes (Special Citation - Letters From Cuba); Susan Hilferty (Sustained Excellence in Costume Design) |
| 2001 | Brian d'Arcy James (Performance Award - The Good Thief); Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Special Citation - Lackawanna Blues); Justin Vivian Bond (Special Citation - Kiki and Herb: Jesus Wept); Kirsten Childs (Music and Lyrics Award - The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin); Neil Patel (Design Award - War of the Worlds, Resident Alien, Race, I Will Bear Witness); José Rivera (Playwrighting Award - References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot) |
| 2002 | Kevin Adams (Sustained Excellence in Lighting Design); Tony Kushner (Playwrighting Award - Homebody/Kabul); Caryl Churchill; Charles L. Mee |
| 2003 | Mac Wellman (Lifetime Achievement Award); Mos Def (Performance Award - Fucking A); Fiona Shaw (Performance - Medea); Edward Norton (Performance - Burn This); Denis O'Hare (Performance Award - Take Me Out); Christine Ebersole (Performance Award - Talking Heads); Kenneth Posner (Sustained Excellence in Lighting Design); David Greenspan (Special Citation - She Stoops to Comedy) |
| 2004 | Derek McLane; Moises Kaufman (Directing Award - I am My Own Wife); Viola Davis (Performance Award - Intimate Apparel); Sarah Jones (Performance Award - Bridge & Tunnel); Jefferson Mays (Performance Award - I am My Own Wife); Tony Kushner (Special Citation - Caroline, or Change); Jeanine Tesori (Special Citation - Caroline, or Change); Alex Timbers (Special Citation - A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant) |
| 2005 | LaChanze (Performance Award - Dessa Rose); Cherry Jones (Performance Award - Doubt); Deirdre O'Connell (Sustained Excellence in Performance Award); Rui Rita (Design Award - Engaged); Caryl Churchill (Playwrighting Award - A Number); Lynn Nottage (Playwriting Award - Fabulation); Ivo van Hove (Directing Award - Hedda Gabler) |
| 2006 | Dana Ivey (Performance Award - Mrs. Warren's Profession); Christine Ebersole (Performance Award - Grey Gardens); Allen Moyer (Sustained Excellence of Set Design); Robert O'Hara (Special Citation - In the Continuum); Danai Gurira (Special Citation - In the Continuum); Adam Rapp (Special Citation - Red Light Winter) |
| 2007 | Young Jean Lee (Obie Grant Award); Lin-Manuel Miranda (Music and Lyrics Award - In the Heights); Beowulf Boritt (Sustained Excellence in Set Design); Anne Kauffman |
| 2008 | Adrienne Kennedy (Lifetime Achievement Award); Annie Dorsen (Best New Theatre Piece - Passing Strange); Kate Mulgrew (Performance Award - Iphigenia 2.0); Jane Greenwood (Sustained Excellence of Costume Design Award); David Henry Hwang (Playwrighting Award - Yellow Face |
| 2009 | Lynn Nottage (Best American Play - Ruined); Stephen Sondheim (Music and Lyrics Award - Road Show); Jonathan Groff (Performance Award - Prayer for my Enemy) |
2010s
| Year | Recipients | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Sam Gold (Directing Award - Circle Mirror Transformation, The Alien); Reed Birney (Performance Award - Circle Mirror Transformation) | |
| 2011 | Laurie Metcalf (Performance Award - The Other Place); Leigh Silverman (Directing Award - In the Wake, Go Back to Where You Are) | |
| 2012 | Steven Hoggett, Martin Lowe, John Tiffany (Special Citations - Once); Mimi Lien (Set Design Award); Erin Courtney (Special Citation - A Map of Virtue) | [59] |
| 2013 | Dave Malloy and Rachel Chavkin (Special Citations - Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812); Annie Baker (Playwriting Award - The Flick) | [60] |
| 2014 | Sydney Lucas (Performance Award - Fun Home); Sonya Tayeh (Choreography Award) | [61] |
| 2015 | Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alex Lacamoire, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler (Best New American Theatre Work - Hamilton) | [62] |
| 2016 | Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul (Musical Theatre Award - Dear Evan Hansen); Ben Platt (Performance Award); Lupita Nyong'o (Performance Award) | [63] |
| 2017 | Lynn Nottage (Playwriting Award - Sweat); J.T. Rogers (Playwriting Award - Oslo); Matthew Broderick (Performance Award); Michael Urie (Performance Award) | [64] |
| 2018 | Rajiv Joseph (Best New American Play-Describe the Night); Will Swenson (Performance Award); Jessica Hecht (Performance Award); Billy Crudup (Performance Award); Donald Holder (Lighting Design Award) | [65] |
| 2019 | Heidi Schreck (Best New American Play - What the Constitution Means to Me); Daniel Fish, John Heginbotham, Daniel Kluger, Laura Jellinek, Terese Wadden, Scott Zielinski, Drew Levy, Joshua Thorson (Special Citations-Oklahoma!) | [66] |
2020s
| Year | Recipients | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 |
|
[54] |
| due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the 66th Obie Awards were not held until 2023, collectively honouring productions of the 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 theater seasons | [56] | |
| 2023 | [56] |
Grants
Obie Grants are awarded each year to select theatre companies. Previous recipients include: