The 69th Obie Award Winners

The American Theatre Wing (Heather Hitchens, President & CEO), along with Spectrum News NY1, announced the recipients of the 69th Annual Obie Awards, Off and Off-Off-Broadway’s Highest Honor, today, Saturday, January 31 at 7:30 PM ET exclusively on Spectrum News NY1’s “On Stage,” hosted by Emmy Award winner Frank DiLella alongside special guest host, Obie Award winner Michael Urie (Buyer & Cellar, Once Upon A Mattress, “Shrinking”). 

The episode will re-air Saturday, January 31, at 10:30 PM, and Sunday, February 1, at 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM and is also available on the NY1 YouTube channel. Spectrum News NY1 is available to Spectrum subscribers on channel 1 and via the Spectrum News App for mobile, Xumo Stream Box, Roku, and Apple TV streaming devices.  

In lieu of the annual awards ceremony, the American Theatre Wing will instead dedicate funds to the support and growth of the artists, by bestowing the winners of the 35 awards with grants, totaling over $250,000. The grants were made possible by an anonymous donation, in support of the new Obie Awards structure in which funds go directly to the awarded artists. Grants range $3,000-$15,000 per award and have been increased by at least 25% since last year in all categories. Said anonymous donor has committed to continue funding the Obie Awards grants for the next five years. On February 23, there will be a private reception to toast the winners.   

The 69th Obie Awards recognize the outstanding contributions made throughout the 2024-2025 Off- and Off-Off-Broadway theatre season in New York City. The complete panel of judges for the current Obie Awards season are: stage and television actress Stephanie Berry; Obie Award winner Modesto “Flako” Jimenez; Tony and two-time Obie-Award winning artist Jonathan McCrory; Obie-Award winning scenic designer Santiago Orjuela-Laverde; Obie Award-winning theatre-maker Aya Ogawa; Obie Award-winning lighting designer Barbara Samuels; and Obie Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated director Whitney White.  Returning to the Obie panel are Wilson Chin, scenic designer for theater, opera, film, and television; and Obie-winning playwright Haruna Lee; and Obie-nominated actor and playwright Ryan J. Haddad. Lee and Chin serve as co-chairs of the panel, as well. The judges thoroughly evaluated over 300 productions, engaged in thoughtful discussions, and, through their votes, selected the recipients.  

“We are incredibly heartened by the continued enthusiasm surrounding the Obie Awards and the work being recognized this year,” says Heather Hitchens. “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 theater community

The winners of the 69th Obie Awards are:  

OUTSTANDING NEW PLAY 

  • Nazareth Hassan, Bowl EP (Vineyard Theatre | National Black Theatre | The New Group) 

PLAYWRITING 

  • Morgan Bassichis, Can I Be Frank? (Mike LaVoie | Carlee Briglia) 
  • Sarah Gancher, The Wind and the Rain: A story about Sunny’s Bar (En Garde Arts | Vineyard Theatre) 

DIRECTING 

  • Sam Pinkleton, ta-da! (Mike LaVoie | Carlee Briglia) and Can I Be Frank? (Mike LaVoie | Carlee Briglia)   
  • abigail jean-baptiste, Chiaroscuro (National Black Theatre | The Flea)  
  • Paul Lazar, The Barbarians (Third Ear Theater Co.) 

SUSTAINED ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING 

  • David Herskovits, Show/Boat: A River (Target Margin Theater | NYU Skirball | Under the Radar Festival)  
  • Whitney White, Walden (Second Stage Theater) and Liberation (Roundabout)  

PERFORMANCE  

  • Bulbul Chakraborty, Rheology (The Bushwick Starr | HERE Arts Center | Ma-Yi Theater Company)  
  • Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Well, I’ll Let You Go (Regular People | Patrick Catullo | The Cohn Sisters | Shira Friedman | Danny Kopel)  
  • Crystal Lucas-Perry, Pericles: A Public Works Concert Experience (The Public Theater) and The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar) (SoHo Repertory)  
  • Stephanie Weeks, Show/Boat: A River (Target Margin Theater | NYU Skirball | Under the Radar Festival)  

SUSTAINED ACHIEVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE  

  • Paul Sparks, Grangeville (Signature Theatre Company)  
  • Stephanie Berry, The Gospel At Colonus (Little Island)  

DESIGN  

  • Afsoon Pajoufar (Sets), Five Models in Ruins, 1981 (Lincoln Center Theater) and Cold War Choir Practice (Clubbed Thumb | Page 73)  
  • Kate McGee (Lighting), Bowl EP (Vineyard Theatre | National Black Theatre | The New Group), Suppose Beautiful Madeline Harvey (La MaMa) and The Beastiary (On The Rocks | Ars Nova)  
  • Frank J. Oliva (Sets), Well, I’ll Let You Go (Regular People | Patrick Catullo | The Cohn Sisters | Shira Friedman | Danny Kopel), Danger and Opportunity (Jacob Stuckelman | Andrew Patino | Matt Krauss | Kyle Rogers), and A Knock on the Roof (New York Theatre Workshop | piece by piece productions | Under the Radar) 

SUSTAINED ACHIEVEMENT IN DESIGN 

  • Cha See (Lighting), Five Models in Ruins, 1981 (Lincoln Center Theater), ta-da! (Mike LaVoie | Carlee Briglia), Liberation (Roundabout); Trophy Boys (MCC Theater), Hold Me in the Water (Playwrights Horizon), Show/Boat: A River (Target Margin Theater | NYU Skirball | Under the Radar Festival), Babe (The New Group), and In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot (Playwrights Horizons)  
  • David Bengali (Video), We Live in Cairo (New York Theatre Workshop), Joy (Ken Davenport | Sandi Moran), and Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole (New York Theatre Workshop)  

SPECIAL CITATIONS  

  • On The Rocks Theatre Co. for the Concept and Creation, The Beastiary (On The Rocks Theatre Co. | Ars Nova)  
  • Ensemble of Bowl EP (National Black Theatre | The New Group | Vineyard Theatre) Felicia Curry, Oghenero Gbaje, and Essence Lotus  
  • Troy Anthony (Music and Lyrics) Pericles: A Public Works Concert Experience (The Public Theater)  
  • Ensemble of Prince Faggot (Playwrights Horizons | SoHo Repertory) 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 (Atlantic Theater Company) 
  • Mehr Theatre Group for the Creation, Blind Runner (St Ann’s Warehouse | Mehr Theatre Group | Waterwell)  

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 AWARD 

  • John Del Gaudio  

MORGAN JENNESS AWARD  

  • Nicky Paraiso 

OBIE AWARDS JURY  

Stephanie Berry, Wilson Chin (co-chair), Ryan J. Haddad, Modesto “Flako” Jimenez, Haruna Lee (co-chair), Jonathan McCrory, Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, Aya Ogawa, Barbara Samuels, and Whitney White. 

The official 69th Obie Awards season includes shows that opened between September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025. Work that was presented at an Off or Off-Off-Broadway theater and/or company was eligible for consideration. The full list of winners, as well as their recorded acceptance speeches, is now available on ObieAwards.com.  

The Village Voice created The Obie Awards, at the suggestion of then editor Jerry Tallmer, soon after the publication’s own inception in 1955, to encourage the newly burgeoning Off-Broadway theater movement and to acknowledge its achievements. The Obies are structured with informal categories to recognize artists and productions worthy of distinction in each theatrical year. Over the decades, The Obie Awards played a major role in championing work of innovative and exceptional quality Off- and Off-Off Broadway. The Obies have become a theatrical tradition, a meaningful way to acknowledge the best artistic achievements of downtown theater. The list of actors, writers, directors, and designers who have received Obies at pivotal moments in their careers is a virtual who’s who of contemporary theater. While the categories of the awards have continued to change almost annually, the creative spirit remains the same. The Obie Awards, now presented by The American Theatre Wing, salute a theatrical movement that’s as important and as vibrant today as it was in 1955.