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60th Annual OBIE Awards: And the Winners are...

Tom Millward
Tom Millward



The 60th Annual OBIE Awards took place on 18 May 2015 at Webster Hall in the East Village, hosted by 'Orange is the New Black' actress Lea DeLaria. Other presenters last night included Sting, Jesse Eisenberg, Stockard Channing, Billy Crudup, Tommy Tune, T.R. Knight, Tony Kushner and LaChanze.

The biggest winner of the night was Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, which won 'Best New American Theatre Work.' As previously reported, Signature Theatre's Founding Artistic Director James Houghton was honored with the OBIE Award for 'Sustained Achievement.'

Here is a complete list of the winners:

BEST NEW AMERICAN THEATRE WORK (inc. $1,000 prize)

  • Hamilton: Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, direction by Thomas Kail, arrangements/orchestrations/music direction by Alex Lacamoire (The Public Theater)

SUSTAINED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

  • James Houghton: Signature Theatre

THE ROSS WETZSTEON AWARD (inc. $1,000 prize)

  • Ars Nova

PERFORMANCE AWARDS

  • Usman Ally: The Invisible Hand (New York Theatre Workshop)
  • Firdous Bamji: Indian Ink (Roundabout Theatre Company)
  • Brooke Bloom: You Got Older (Page 73 & HERE Arts Center)
  • Stephen McKinley Henderson: Between Riverside and Crazy (Atlantic Theater Company & Second Stage Theatre)
  • April Matthis: Sustained Excellence of Performance
  • John Douglas Thompson: Tamburlaine (Theatre for a New Audience) & The Iceman Cometh (BAM)

PLAYWRITING AWARDS

  • Ayad Akhtar: The Invisible Hand (New York Theatre Workshop)
  • Clare Barron: You Got Older (Page 73 & HERE Arts Center)
  • Suzan-Lori Parks: Father Comes Home From the Wars Parts I, II, & III (The Public Theater)

DIRECTION AWARDS

  • Trip Cullman: Punk Rock (MCC Theater)
  • Anne Kauffman: Sustained Excellence of Direction
  • Darko Tresnjak: The Killer (Theatre for a New Audience)

DESIGN AWARDS

  • Abigail DeVille: Prophetika: An Oratorio (La MaMa)
  • Christine Jones: Sustained Excellence of Set Design
  • Ben Stanton: Sustained Excellence of Lighting Design
  • Japhy Weideman: Sustained Excellence of Lighting Design

SPECIAL CITATION AWARDS

  • Kate Benson (writer) and Lee Sunday Evans (director): A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes (New Georges)
  • Bootycandy: writer/Director Robert O'Hara, actors Philip James Brannon, Jessica Frances Dukes, Jesse Pennington, Benja Kay Thomas, Lance Coadie Williams (Playwrights Horizons)
  • Catch (performance series): Andrew Dinwiddie, Caleb Hammons, Jeff Larson
  • Bridget Everett: Rock Bottom (Public Theater)
  • Bush Moukarzel and Dead Centre: Lippy (Abrons Arts Center)
  • Andrew Schneider: Youarenowhere (PS 122 / COIL Festival)

OBIE GRANTS ($2,500 prize each)

  • Horse Trade Theater Group / The Fire This Time Festival
  • JACK (Arts Center)

For the past 60 years the OBIE Awards have honored the best of Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway. Structured with informal categories that change annually, The OBIE Awards recognize persons and productions of excellence. Unlike most theatre awards, the OBIE Awards have no nominations.

Sponsors of this year's Awards included Athletics, Casa Nonna, Clear Channel Spectacolor, The Howard Gilman Foundation, The Trine Group, and Barefoot Wine & Bubbly.

- by Tom Millward

Originally published on

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