Winners of the 69th Annual Obie Awards were revealed on NY1 by On Stage host Frank Dilella January 31, with Nazareth Hassan's Bowl EP taking Outstanding New Play, the honors' top prize.
Presented by The American Theatre Wing, the Off- and Off-Off-Broadway honors announce their winners without a ceremony. Instead, that money is used to bestow grants on each of the 35 winners, totaling more than $250,000. A private reception to toast the winners will be held February 23.
The Obies are slightly different than most other New York theatrical honors, mostly focusing on the work of artists across an entire season rather than individual productions. That makes it difficult to name any particular production the most Obie-winning of the season, though Vineyard's Bowl EP, Off-Broadway's Can I Be Frank?, the Public's Pericles, and Under the Radar's Show/Boat: A River emerged as especially celebrated stagings.
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This year's judging panel comprised Stephanie Berry, Modesto "Flako" Jimenez, Jonathan McCrory, Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, Aya Ogawa, Barbara Samuels, and Whitney White, led by co-chairs Wilson Chin and Ryan J. Haddad. More than 300 productions were evaluated.
"We are incredibly heartened by the continued enthusiasm surrounding the Obie Awards and the work being recognized this year," says American Theatre Wing President and CEO Heather Hitchens in a statement. "This year’s honorees represent the extraordinary creativity and risk-taking that define Off-Broadway. Thanks to the continued generosity of an anonymous donor, we are proud to offer direct support to artists whose work is shaping the future of the field. We are also deeply appreciative of our partners at Spectrum News NY1 for their ongoing commitment to amplifying the voices of the New York theatre community."
View the full list of winners below:
Outstanding New Play
Nazareth Hassan, Bowl EP
Playwriting
Morgan Bassichis, Can I Be Frank?
Sarah Gancher, The Wind and the Rain: A story about Sunny's Bar
Directing
Sam Pinkleton, ta-da! and Can I Be Frank?
abigail jean-baptiste, Chiaroscuro
Paul Lazar, The Barbarians
Sustained Achievement in Directing
David Herskovits, Show/Boat: A River
Whitney White, Walden and Liberation
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Performance
Bulbul Chakraborty, Rheology
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Well, I'll Let You Go
Crystal Lucas-Perry, Pericles: A Public Works Concert Experience and The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar)
Stephanie Weeks, Show/Boat: A River
Sustained Achievement in Performance
Paul Sparks, Grangeville
Stephanie Berry, The Gospel At Colonus
Design
Afsoon Pajoufar (Sets), Five Models in Ruins, 1981 and Cold War Choir Practice
Kate McGee (Lighting), Bowl EP, Suppose Beautiful Madeline Harvey, and The Beastiary
Frank J. Oliva (Sets), Well, I'll Let You Go, Danger and Opportunity, and A Knock on the Roof
Sustained Achievement in Design
Cha See (Lighting), Five Models in Ruins, 1981, ta-da!, Liberation, Trophy Boys, Hold Me in the Water, Show/Boat: A River, Babe, and In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot
David Bengali (Video), We Live in Cairo , Joy, and Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole
Special Citations
On The Rocks Theatre Co. for the Concept and Creation, The Beastiary
Ensemble of Bowl EP: Felicia Curry, Oghenero Gbaje, and Essence Lotus
Troy Anthony (Music and Lyrics) Pericles: A Public Works Concert Experience
Ensemble of Prince Faggot: Rachel Crowl, K. Todd Freeman, David Greenspan, Mihir Kumar, John McCrea, and N'yomi Allure Stewart
Mona Pirnot (Playwright), David Greenspan (Performer), and Ken Rus Schmoll (Director), I'm Assuming You Know David Greenspan
Mehr Theatre Group for the Creation, Blind Runner
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Lifetime Achievement
Carmelita Tropicana
Kate Valk
Theatre Grants
Urban Bush Women (UBW)
The Apothetae
New Federal Theatre (NFT)
¡OYE! Group
Waterwell
Ross Wetzsteon Award
Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater
Michael Feingold Awards
John Del Gaudio
Morgan Jenness Award
Nicky Paraiso
For more information or to view the winners' recorded acceptance speeches, visit ObieAwards.com.
