The 64th annual Obie Awards ceremony, hosted by Rachel Bloom, was held May 20 at Terminal 5. Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me was named the 2019 Obie Award winner for Best New American Play; the play is currently running on Broadway and is a 2019 Tony Nominee for Best Play.
New York Theatre Workshop, which produced Schreck's Tony-nominated piece last fall, was also recognized with Obie Awards for Playwriting (Marcus Gardley's The House That Will Not Stand and Madeleine George's Hurricane Diane), Performance (Mia Barron, for her role in Hurricane Diane), and Design (Isabella Byrd for her lighting design of Caryl Churchill's Light Shining in Buckinghamshire).
As previously announced, NYTW Artistic Director James C. Nicola (along with Artistic Director and founder of Theatre For A New Audience Jeffrey Horowitz) received a special Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Flip through photos from the ceremony below:
Suzan-Lori Parks was also recognized in the Playwriting category for her White Noise, which premiered at The Public Theater; directors Jo Bonney, Leigh Silverman, and Stevie Walker Webb each took home awards as well.
The Obies, structured with informal categories determined on a year-to-year basis, are presented by the American Theatre Wing and the Village Voice. The judges' panel, chaired by Michael Feingold, included Obie-winning director Arin Arbus, Obie-winning scenic designer Rachel Hauck, Obie-winning scenic designer Riccardo Hernandez, two-time Obie-winning playwright Rajiv Joseph, Obie-winning actor Kecia Lewis, and critic Jesse Oxfeld.
