The 1980s saw the beginnings of new playwrights like Christopher Durang, Harvey Fierstein, and David Henry Hwang, all receiving Obie Awards.
Meryl Streep and Morgan Freeman joined the Obies family winnings Obies in performance.
Winners
Design
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Ruth Maleczech and Julie Archer
Vanishing Pictures
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Sally Jacobs
Conference of the Birds
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Laura Crow
Mary Stuart
Distinguished Lighting Design
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Beverly Emmons
Direction
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Edward Cornell
Johnny on a Spot
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Elizabeth LeCompte
Point Judith
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A.J. Antoon
The Art of Dining
Performance
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Michael Burrell
Hess
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Michael Cristofer
Chinchilla
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Lindsay Crouse
Reunion
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Elizabeth Franz
Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You
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Morgan Freeman
Mother Courage and Coriolanus
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John Heard
Othello and Split
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Michael Higgins
Reunion
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Madeleine le Roux
La Justice
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Jon Polito
Performances with Dodger Theatre Company and the BAM Theater Company
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Bill Raymond
A Prelude to Death in Venice
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Dianne Wiest
The Art of Dining
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Hattie Winston
Mother Courage and The Michigan
Playwriting
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Lee Breuer
A Prelude to Death in Venice
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Christopher Durang
Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You
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Romulus Linney
Tennessee
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Roland Muldoon
Full Confessions of a Socialist
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Jeff Weiss
That's How the Rent Gets Paid (Part Three)
Special Citations
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The Flying Karamazov Brothers
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The Actors of Le Centre International de Creations Theatrales
Outstanding Ensemble Performance
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Ellen Stewart and La Mama E.T.C.
For Contribution to the American theatre by the importation of Foreign Companies
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David Jones and Richard Nelson
For innovative programming at the BAM Theatre Company
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Ntozake Shange
For her Adaptation of Mother Courage
Sustained Achievement
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Sam Shepard
Obie Committee
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Eileen Blumenthal
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Erika Munk
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Harold Clurman
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Julius Novick
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Terry Curtis Fox
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Michael Feingold
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Ross Wetzsteon
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