Off-Broadway, 2012 Obie Award winners announced

The winners of the 57th Annual Obie Awards were announced on 21 May 2012 at a ceremony held at Webster Hall in Manhattan.

The Obie's have been honoring the Off-Broadway community since 1956 and are considered Off-Broadway's highest honor.

The awards were presented by Eric McCormack, Grace Gummer, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Justin Bartha, Leslie Odom Jr., Lily Rabe, Michael McKean, Tonya Pinkins, Topher Grace, and Tracee Chimo.

Numbers from this season's top Broadway musicals, including 'Summertime' performed by Joshua Henry and Sumayya Ali from the cast of 'Porgy & Bess' and 'Raglan Road' performed by David Patrick Kelly from the cast of 'Once,' were entertainment for the evening.

The judging panal was chaired by Village Voice Theatre Critic and Obie Chairperson Brian Parks. His fellow judges included Michael Feingold, Alexis Soloski, Annie Baker, Anne Kauffman, José Rivera, Helen Shaw.

The winners of the 2012 Obie Awards are:
There are no nominations or categories for the Obies.

Best New American Play (includes a $1000 prize)

• 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog

Performance:

• Cherise Boothe: Milk Like Sugar (Playwrights Horizons and the Women's Project)
• Steven Boyer: Hand to God (Ensemble Studio Theatre/Youngblood)
• Ensemble: Sweet and Sad (The Public Theater)
• Gabriel Ebert: 4000 Miles (Lincoln Center Theater)
• Mary Louise Wilson: 4000 Miles (Lincoln Center Theater)
• Jim Fletcher: Sustained Excellence
• Santino Fontana: Sons of the Prophet (The Roundabout Theatre)
• Linda Lavin: The Lyons (The Vineyard Theatre)
• Susan Pourfar: Tribes (Barrow Street Theatre)

Playwriting

• Kirsten Greenidge: Milk Like Sugar (Playwrights Horizons and the Women's Project)

Direction

• Richard Maxwell: Early Plays (The Wooster Group and St. Ann's Warehouse)
• Jay Scheib: World of Wires (The Kitchen)

Design

• Mark Barton: Sustained Excellence of Lighting Design
• Mimi Lien: Sustained Excellence of Set Design
• Matt Tierney and Ben Williams: The Select (The Sun Also Rises) - New York Theatre Workshop (sound design)

Special Citations

• Mark Bennett, Denis O'Hare, Lisa Peterson, and Stephen Spinella: An Iliad (New York Theatre Workshop)
• Elevator Repair Service: Sustained Excellence
• Erin Courtney and Ken Rus Schmoll: A Map of Virtue (13P)
• Steven Hoggett, Martin Lowe, and John Tiffany: Once (New York Theatre Workshop)
• Daniel Kitson: It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later (St. Ann's Warehouse)
• Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra: No Place to Go (The Public Theater/Joe's Pub)

OBIE Grants ($2,500 prize)

• The Bushwick Starr
• The Debate Society

The Ross Wetzsteon Award ($1,000 prize)

• Youngblood: (Ensemble Studio Theatre)

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Caridad Svich