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
Obie Grant
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P.S. 122
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Mabou Mines
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Billie Holiday Theatre
Best Performance
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Swoosie Kurtz
The House of the Blue Leaves
Sustained Achievement
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Mabou Mines
Playwriting
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Wallace Shawn
Aunt Dan and Lemon
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Tadeusz Kantor
Let the Artists Die
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Martha Clarke
Vienna: Lusthaus
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Lee Nagrin
Bird/Bear
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John Jesurun
Deep Sleep
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Eric Bogosian
Drinking in America
Design
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Rita Ryack
Costume Design
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Paul Gallo
Lighting Design
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Edward T. Gianfrancesco
Set Design
Special Citations
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Genji Ito
for Music
Direction
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Richard Foreman
Largo Desolato
Performance
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Tom Cayler
A Matter of Life and Death
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Norma Aleandro
About Love and Other Stories About Love
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Kevin Kline
Sustained Excellence of Performance
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Kathryn Pogson
Aunt Dan and Lemon
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Josef Sommer
Largo Desolato
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Jill Eikenberry
"Lemon Sky" and "Life Under Water"
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Helen Stenborg
Talley & Son
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Farley Granger
Talley & Son
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Elizabeth Wilson
Anteroom
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Elisabeth Welch
Time to Start Living
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Edward Herrmann
Sustained Excellence of Performance
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Dylan Baker
Not About Heroes
Obie Committee
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Ross Wetzsteon, Eileen Blumenthal, Michael Feingold, Erika Munk, Julius Novick, Robert Massa, Gordon Rogoff, Rosalyn Drexler, Gautam Dasgupta