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
Best New American Play
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Metamorphosis in Miniature
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Mr. Dead and Mrs. Free
Best Theater Piece
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Tadeusz Kantor
Wielopole, Wielopole
Sustained Excellence in Set Design
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Jim Clayburgh
Sustained Excellence in Lighting Design
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Arden Fingerhut
Direction
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Tommy Tune
Cloud 9
Distinguished Ensemble Performance
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Lisa Banes, Brenda Currin, Elizabeth McGovern and Beverly May
May My Sister in This House
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Adolph Caesar, Larry Riley, and Denzel Washington
A Soldier's Play
Performance
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Kevin Bacon
Forty Deuce and Poor Little Lambs
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James Barbosa
Soon Jack November
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Ray Dooley
Peer Gynt
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Christine Estabrook
Pastorale
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Michael Gross
No End of Blame
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E. Katherine Kerr
Cloud 9
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Kenneth McMillan
Weekends Like Other People
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Kevin O'Connor
Chucky's Hunch, Birdbath, and Crossing the Crab Nebula
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Carole Shelley
Twelve Dreams
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Josef Sommer
Lydie Breeze
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Irene Worth
The Chalk Garden
Playwriting
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Robert Auletta
Stops and Virgins
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Caryl Churchill
Cloud 9
Special Citations
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La Mama
20th Anniversary Celebration
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Harvey Fierstein
Torch Song Trilogy
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Theatre Communications Group
Sustained Achievement
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Maria Irene Fornes
Obie Committee
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Eileen Blumenthal
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Michael Feingold
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Erika Munk
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Julius Novick
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Richard Gilman
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Gus Edwards
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Ross Wetzsteon
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Robert Massa