Off-Broadway, 2013 Obie Award winners announced
The winners of the 58th Annual Obie Awards were announced on 22 May 2013 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 hosted by Jessica Hecht and Jeremy Shamos, and presented by Bobby Cannavale, Tracee Chimo, Cyndi Lauper, Judith Light, Krysta Rodriguez, Duncan Sheik, Courtney B. Vance and Meryl Streep.
Numbers from this season's acclaimed new Off-Broadway musical 'Here Lies Love' was performed by the cast, with further entertainment provided by the Brazilian jazz-pop group Banda Magda also entertained
The judging panal was chaired by Voice's Chief Theater Critc Michael Feingold as Chairman, Voice critic Alexis Soloski as secretary, and the following guest judges: Obie Award-winning playwright Erin Courtney; director-performer Mia Katigbak, Co-Founder of NAATCO; critic and Theatermagazine editor Tom Sellar; and Obie Award-winning director Leigh Silverman.
The winners of the 2013 Obie Awards are:
There are no nominations or categories for the Obies.
Performance:
- Eisa Davis: Sustained Excellence
- Brandon J. Dirden: The Piano Lesson (Signature Theatre)
- Shuler Hensley: The Whale (Playwrights Horizons)
- Matthew Maher: Sustained Excellence
- Paul Thureen: Blood Play (The Debate Society/Bushwick Starr)
Playwriting
- Ayad Akhtar: Disgraced (LCT3)
- Annie Baker: The Flick (Playwrights Horizons)
Direction
- Lear deBessonet: The Good Person Of Szechuan (Foundry Theatre/La MaMa)
- John Rando: All In The Timing (Primary Stages)
- Ruben Santiago-Hudson: The Piano Lesson (Signature Theatre)
- Eric Ting: We Are Proud To Present A Presentation... (Soho Rep)
Design
- Laura Jellinek: Sustained excellence of Set Design
- Clint Ramos: Sustained excellence of Costume Design
Special Citations
- David Levine and Marsha Ginsberg: Habit (Crossing the Line Festival/FIAF & PS122)
- Dave Malloy and Rachel Chavkin: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Ars Nova)
- Nature Theater of Oklahoma: Life and Times: Episodes 1-4 (Public Theater/SoRep)
Music/Lyrics
- David Byrne & Fatboy Slim
- Here Lies Love (Public Theater)
The Ross Wetzsteon Award ($1,000 prize)
- Clubbed Thumb
OBIE Grants ($1,000 prize)
- Fulcrum Theater
- Half Straddle
Best New American Play (includes a $1000 prize)
This was a tie vote with each playwright receiving a $500 cash prize.
- Detroit by Lisa d'Amour
- Grimly Handsome by Julia Jarcho
- Lois Smith
- Frances Sternhagen
Lifetime Achievement Award
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