Winners

Direction

• Kenny Leon

  ​Much Ado About Nothing​ (The Public Theater)

  This director reimagined Shakespeare through the Black lens, remixing classical and knightly romance into spirituals, rituals, and social dance from the African Diaspora and hanging the Elizabethan language on the balance of Black vernacular and humor. For inspiring new audiences with stories rooted in the Black experience and providing accessibility to Shakespeare that is artistically wondrous, educational, rooted, soulful, and unapologetically Black, the judges have awarded an Obie to KENNY LEON for his direction of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. 

• JoAnne Akalaitis

  MUD/Drowning​ (Mabou Mines, Weathervane Productions, The Days and Nights Festival)

  Two works by the great playwright María Irene Fornés, one set to music by the iconic composer Philip Glass, were brought vibrantly to life this season. Nuanced performances and a subtle design were calibrated by masterful directing – directing emblematic of a relentless curiosity about human interaction, at moments tragic, at moments absurd, and the ability to employ the most essential elements of theater to maximum emotional effect. For her visionary direction of MUD/DROWNING, the judges have awarded an Obie to JOANNE AKALAITIS.  

• Whitney White

  Our Dear Dead Drug Lord​ (WP Theater, Second Stage Theater, by special arrangement with Benjamin Simpson and Joseph Longthorne)


  Animal sacrifice, Narco-terrorist seánce, rhapsodic group dance, and the guttural rage of female adolescent teenagers are just a few of the challenges a director had to contend with in Alexis Scheer’s Our Dear Dead Drug Lord. Summoning the dead and bringing to life the unbridled joy, sexual desires, and supernatural chaos of the Dead Leaders Club demanded a leader with a wickedly magical vision and the ability to conjure up a visceral force of energy. For her razor sharp direction and vibrantly staged production of OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD the judges have awarded an Obie to WHITNEY WHITE. 

• Les Waters

  Sustained Excellence in Direction


  For moving fearlessly and skillfully between the naturalistic and the fantastical, for his ease with both the delicate and the spectacular, for his mastery of the borderlands where emotion and reality are equally slippery, for his significant collaborations with actors and designers and his advocacy of new writers and young directors, and for his exquisite work this season with two beautifully troubling and eerie Lucas Hnath plays, the committee is very pleased to have awarded LES WATERS an Obie for Sustained Excellence in Direction.

Special Obie Citation + Establishment of Michael Feingold Award

• Michael Feingold

  Special Citation

  The Obies owe a singular debt to one person who has passionately sought out the most interesting and innovative theater in New York City. For his work as a leading voice in theater criticism, his advocacy on behalf of Off and Off-Off Broadway, and for his masterful leadership of the Obie Awards where he served for twelve years as the Chairman and 31 years as a judge, the judges have awarded former Obie Chairman MICHAEL FEINGOLD a Special Obie Citation for his Extraordinary Service to the Theater. 

  In addition, the Obies will establish a Special Citation to be given annually in Mr. Feingold’s name – the MICHAEL FEINGOLD AWARD. This award will recognize achievement in criticism, dramaturgy, translation, scholarship, mentorship or education, or for a theatrical contribution which has not been historically acknowledged by major awards.

Lifetime Achievement

• Vinie Burrows

  This actress isn’t just a part of theatre history; she embodies it. In a career spanning seven decades, she has appeared with Helen Hayes, Mary Martin, and Taylor Mac, and performed in the works of Thornton Wilder, Jean Genet, and Richard Maxwell. With a repertory of eight solo shows performed more than 6,000 times on tour across America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, she has created space and visibility for Black artists in the theatre. As an activist, she has spoken internationally and at the UN on issues of peace and disarmament, racial discrimination, women’s equality, and economic and social development. Her tenacity and skill are matched only by her openness to new forms and her bottomless vitality. “My strength comes from those who came before me, as a Black person,” she has said, “their struggle gives me strength.” For her radical embrace of art and life, and for the strength and inspiration she has given to the world, the judges have awarded this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award to VINIE BURROWS. 

• Tim Sanford

  How about self-effacingly changing the landscape of the American theater one new play at a time, one directorial accomplishment after the other, performance after performance, design after design? How about introducing young playwrights to New York audiences, and providing new opportunities for established writers? How about fostering formal innovation, and promoting works of unruly ambition? How about strengthening the representation of cultural diversity season after season? How about unfailingly supporting the artists to whom you have given opportunities, never promising more than you can give, and more often than not giving more than you promised, at the same institution for 36 years – first as a literary intern, then as Literary Manager, then as Artistic Director? For his extraordinary contribution to the theater – one which we anticipate continuing following his tenure at Playwrights Horizons – the judges have awarded this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award to TIM SANFORD.

Playwriting

• Will Arbery

  Heroes of the Fourth Turning​ (Playwrights Horizons)

  This play puts onstage characters who are entirely new to the contemporary theatre. They are complex creations; presented with sympathy but a highly critical eye, they have much to say about our current state of political and cultural deadlock. For his depth and clarity of vision—as well as his superb gift for dialogue—the judges have awarded an Obie Award to WILL ARBERY for HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING. 

• Haruna Lee

  for the Conception and Writing of ​Suicide Forest​ (Ma-Yi Theater Company, Bushwick Starr)

  This supremely idiosyncratic new work draws from the sticky-floor tradition of a New York theater in which the inexplicable and the undeclared defy an exact interpretation, the world of the pleasurably and provokingly half unknowable.  For this generous and original fusing of theatrical idiom, for their heartfelt and complex exploration of which of our identities define us and guide us and when and how, the judges have awarded an Obie for the Conception and Writing of SUICIDE FOREST to HARUNA LEE.

• Michael R. Jackson

  A Strange Loop​ ​(Playwrights Horizons, Page 73)


  It takes a gifted playwright to transmute the subject of his own writer’s block into a stylistically daring musical that gleefully exposes racism in the gay community, homophobia in the Black community, and rampant political correctness in the theatre community. And it takes a brave artist to put onstage a veritable chorus line of his inner demons, exposing his deepest conflicts with scalding honesty, while examining his cultural heritage with brazen wit. It isn’t every season that a new voice announces itself with such assurance. For his originality of vision, mordant wit, and bracing candor, the judges have awarded an Obie to MICHAEL R. JACKSON for his musical A STRANGE LOOP.

Choreography

• Camille A. Brown

  Sustained Excellence in Choreography

  This relentlessly rigorous choreographer creates joyous and challenging work that has broadened the conversation around the power of dance in theater. This season alone, she used baseball as a conduit to speak truths about being Black in America, created an urgent physical language that gave a legendary choreopoem new emotional life, and filled Central Park itself with unapologetic dance joy. After a banner year that included work on Toni Stone, for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, and Much Ado About Nothing, and following season after season of singular work Off-Broadway, the judges have awarded an Obie for Sustained Excellence in Choreography to CAMILLE A. BROWN. 

Performance

• Liza Colón-Zayas and Elizabeth Rodriguez

  ​Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven (Atlantic Theater, LAByrinth Theater Company)

  It takes a lot to stand out in a crowd of 18 actors (and a goat!) but it takes even more trust, grace, and generosity to share the stage and stand among an ensemble, boldly elevating the performances and stories of a rowdy community of characters often disregarded by society. With a lot of humanity and unflinching ferocity these two powerhouse women delivered a balanced partnership of riotous comedy and heartbreaking tragedy in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ HALFWAY BITCHES GO STRAIGHT TO HEAVEN. For their guiding presence and commanding performances as Sarge and Miss Rivera the judges have awarded an Obie to LIZA COLÓN-ZAYAS and ELIZABETH RODRIGUEZ.

• Emily Davis

  Is This A Room ​(Vineyard Theatre)

  Investigating American whistleblower Reality Winner offered a lens into human psychology so real that the resulting performance could only be described as heroic. Working from a transcript in a context bordering on the surreal, this performer’s emotional bravery and truth often seemed to match – in the ephemeral and symbolic way that can only be achieved in theater – the sacrifice of Winner herself. For an unforgettable performance packed with as much danger and heartbreak as American Democracy itself, the judges have awarded an Obie to EMILY DAVIS for her performance as Reality Winner in IS THIS A ROOM.

• Edmund Donovan

  ​Greater Clements​ (Lincoln Center Theater)

  A well-meaning and gentle young man, hindered by psychological limitations and prone to periodic outbursts

  falters in the confines of an economically crumbling town. This season an actor brought this character to life 

  with heartbreaking clarity and subtle humor, eschewing sentimentality and caricature and rendering the essential 

  goodness and humanity of a man tragically overcome by social and familial circumstances.  For his sensitive, 

  yet monumental performance as Joe Bunker in GREATER CLEMENTS, the judges have awarded an Obie to

  EDMUND DONOVAN.

• April Matthis

  ​Toni Stone ​(Roundabout Theatre Company) 


  Reaching into the past to celebrate pioneers gives us power. This year, the actress who portrayed the first woman to

  play professional baseball for the Negro League in an era filled with harsh sexism, racism and Jim Crow seemed to 

  actually alter the molecular structure of the air around her audience. The character tells us, “between the weight of a 

  thing and the reach…there’s breath…and in that breath is life”. By expertly utilizing her physicality, presence, and voice,

  with both a mercurial humor and gravity, this actress breathed thrilling new life into a Black American female pioneer 

  named Toni Stone. For her tour de force performance, intellectual investment, and for unearthing history with a mastery

  of the craft, the judges have awarded an Obie to APRIL MATTHIS for her performance in TONI STONE.

• Joe Ngo

  Cambodian Rock Band ​(Signature Theatre Company)

  Rarely do roles ask an actor to live a whole life onstage, much less one that survives a genocide and fronts a rock band playing guitar and singing in Khmer. Somehow this actor made it all look effortless, making audiences laugh and dance while gutting them emotionally. In a performance that brought decades of history and humanity onstage, he imbued the role with a heartbreaking authenticity and warmth that only comes when a play is perfectly matched with its performer. For his electric and devastating performance as Chum in CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND, the judges have awarded an Obie to JOE NGO.

• Deirdre O'Connell

  Dana H. ​(Vineyard Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Center Theatre Group)

  While we have witnessed lip syncing used to estimable theatrical effect, nothing prepared us for a virtuosic performance of such intensity that the art of lip synching was raised to heretofore unimaginable dramatic heights.  For her stunning performance as a troubled woman trapped in increasingly harrowing circumstances in DANA H., the judges have awarded an Obie to DEIRDRE O’CONNELL.

Design

• Yu-Hsuan Chen

  Set Design, ​Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (​ WP Theater, Second Stage, by special arrangement with Benjamin Simpson and Joseph Longthorne)

  Create a treehouse, an inner sanctum where four teenagers will speak their truths and do their worst in that terrifying way that only teenagers can. Everything is secret and no one is safe here. Add to this puzzle that the physical theater itself is tricky – steep and shallow – a challenging space to make dynamic. The result is somehow vaulting but also intimate, an edgy clubhouse in which something dangerous is clearly going to happen. For her evocative, tactile, and very clever Set Design for OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD, the judges have awarded an Obie to YU-HSUAN CHEN.

• Mikhail Fiksel

  Sound Design, ​Dana H. ​(Vineyard Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Center Theatre Group) and ​Cambodian Rock Band (​Signature Theatre Company)

  Just as the patterns of a recorded voice start to feel normal, the room explodes with a barrage of sounds that instantaneously crack open a universe of new terrors, joys, and possibilities in a theatrical world you thought you had figured out. And in a nearly unprecedented act of theatrical wizardry, a sleepy matinee crowd feels the music and story come alive in their guts and is possessed to stand up and dance. Sound design is tricky and elusive; sometimes the audience doesn’t notice the greatest work – that isn’t the case here. For ecstatic, explosive, and mind-numbingly diverse contributions to both DANA H. and CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND, the judges award an Obie for Sound Design to MIKHAIL FIKSEL.

• Andrea Hood

  Costume Design with Public Works (The Public Theater)

  How is it possible? An ocean of performers enters the Delacorte theater upstage center, through the voms, pouring into the audience through the side gates, and down the aisles right up onto the stage. And they all look fabulous. For four seasons in a row, this artist has somehow defied both time and resources to boldly costume hundreds of performers, not as interchangeable members of a giant chorus, but rather as vibrant individuals, each costume r
  ealized with wit, style, grace and JOY. The judges were stunned by this achievement and have proudly awarded an Obie to ANDREA HOOD for her Costume Design with Public Works.

• Arnulfo Maldonado

  Sustained Excellence in Set Design

  Whether depicting the emotional weight of a sharply limited reality or evoking boundless and abstract interior landscapes, great scenic design engages our imaginations and emotions even as it defines physical space. Represented this season alone by the amazingly different worlds needed for The New Englanders, Mojada, The Rolling Stone, Power Strip, A Strange Loop, The Underlying Chris, One in Two, and Fires in the Mirror, his work showed remarkable variety, depth and passion. For this undeniable achievement, the judges were moved to award an Obie for Sustained Excellence in Set Design to ARNULFO MALDONADO.

• Jen Schriever

  Sustained Excellence in Lighting Design

  Lighting design captures the essence of the theatrical paradox.  Within the concrete physical boundaries of the stage, lighting transports us across vast distances to new and sometimes impossible locations: from mundane rooms soaked in memory and history, across moonlit landscapes shattered by war, to the wild and pulsating interiors of the human mind. This season alone she brought us to the worlds of Broadbend, Arkansas, Power Strip, A Strange Loop and the great dry desert of Tumacho. For her seemingly limitless ability to transport us into these worlds and so many more, the judges have awarded an Obie for Sustained Excellence in Lighting Design to JEN SCHRIEVER.

Special Citation

• Creative Team and Ensemble of ​A Strange Loop​ (Playwrights Horizons, ​Page 73​)
 Antwayn Hopper, James Jackson, Jr., L Morgan Lee, John-Michael Lyles, John-Andrew Morrison, Larry Owens, Jason Veasey, Elijah Caldwell (Ensemble), Stephen Brackett (Director), Raja Feather Kelly (Choreographer), Arnulfo Maldonado (Scenic Design), Montana Levi Blanco (Costume Design), Jen Schriever (Lighting Design), Alex Hawthorn (Sound Design), Cookie Jordan (Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design), Charlie Rosen (Orchestrations), Rona Siddiqui (Music Director), Michael R. Jackson (Vocal Arrangements)

  A Strange Loop​ (Playwrights Horizons, ​Page 73​)

  This show is equal parts introspective, sprawling, gritty, fantastical, and fabulous. Led by an ingenious creative team who took every opportunity to explode the form and powered by a wickedly funny and versatile ensemble, crashing their way through the emotional twists and turns with deep love and sensitivity, Michael R. Jackson’s “big, Black and queer-ass American Broadway show” packed one of the biggest punches in recent Off-Broadway seasons. For their astounding work the judges have awarded a Special Obie Citation to the Creative Team and Ensemble OF A STRANGE LOOP.

• Creative Team and Ensemble of ​Heroes of the Fourth Turning​ (Playwrights Horizons)
Jeb Kreager, Julia McDermott, Michele Pawk, Zoë Winters, John Zdrojeski (Ensemble), Laura Jellinek (Set Design), Sarafina Bush (Costume Design), Isabella Byrd (Lighting Design), Justin Ellington (Sound Design), Danya Taymor (Director)

  Heroes of the Fourth Turning​ (Playwrights Horizons)


  Five brilliant performances, four remarkable designs, and a powerfully focused vision guiding them all. Together, these artists conjured an intimate, fraught, ominously dazzling portrait of conservative youth struggling to define themselves in the middle of a Wyoming night. For their stunning, terrifying production and laser-sharp portrayal of brilliantly drawn characters, the judges have awarded a Special Obie Citation to the Creative Team and Ensemble of HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING.

• David Cale

  for the Writing and Performance of ​We’re Only Alive For A Short Time​ (The Public Theater)

  This artist is a brilliant and deeply respected teller of one man stories, but this time the story he has chosen to tell is his own. In an incredible, vulnerable performance that uses story and song and a secret five-person orchestra, he reveals a harrowing family history, conjuring his parents and brother with shocking clarity, and weaving throughout a deep love of birds and flight.  For his bracing candor, surprising tenderness, and life-affirming wit, the judges have chosen to recognize DAVID CALE with a Special Obie Citation for the Writing and Performance of WE’RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.

• David Neumann and Marcella Murray

  for the Creation and Performance of ​Distances Smaller Than This Are Not Confirmed ​(Advanced Beginner Group, Abrons Arts Center, Chocolate Factory Theater, Mabou Mines)

  This year, a white man and a Black woman had a theatrical conversation around two topics: the fundamental properties of our universe—mass, particles, space, and time—and the prickly, painful subject of race. Eschewing rage and undaunted by the scope of their subjects, they crafted a dialogue about presumptions and judgments that was neither presumptuous nor judgmental, directly addressing their subjects’ enormity by indirectly talking about them. The result of their collaboration is a bold, delicate, unconventional, and wonderfully optimistic piece of Dance Theater. For their work on DISTANCES SMALLER THAN THIS ARE NOT CONFIRMED, the Obie Committee have awarded a Special Obie Citation for Creation and Performance to DAVID NEUMANN and MARCELLA MURRAY. 

• Dave Malloy, Or Matias, and Hidenori Nakajo

  for their collaboration on the Music and Sound of​ Octet​ (Signature Theatre)

  This extraordinary musical uses the intimate personal connection of eight unadorned voices to explore the alienation of technology and social media. The music is inspired, the soaring musical arrangements are exquisite, every voice is spot on, and every member of the audience could hear each note. It all worked so well that it was impossible to know who exactly did what. For their collaboration in creating the soundscape that showcased the boundlessness of the acapella human voice, the judges have awarded a Special Obie Citation to DAVE MALLOY, OR MATIAS, and HIDENORI NAKAJO for their collaboration on the Music and Sound of​ OCTET. 

• Tina Satter

  for the Conception and Direction of ​Is This A Room​ (Vineyard Theatre)

  This is the confrontation she has been fearing, and perhaps half anticipating — this is the nightmare moment when a principled decision becomes a legal investigation. Everyone is careful, polite, inevitably human, and as she transitions from a free woman to a prisoner of the state we watch every pop and creak as her new reality settles around her; we are never allowed to forget that the stakes are more than personal. In a work which is both intimate and clinical, hyper-realistic and thrillingly formal, this director and company of very talented actors give us 70 devastating minutes in the history of our nation, and of an individual. For the Conception and Direction of IS THIS A ROOM, the judges have awarded a Special Obie Citation to TINA SATTER.

• Alexandria Wailes

  for Sustained Excellence as an Artist and Advocate

  The best theatre is often about finding new languages. This dancer, actress, director, choreographer, activist, and ASL director is always introducing new expressions to rooms with care and effortlessly mixing forms and approaches that often transcend whatever “language” is the medium. Her work this season in for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf exemplified how this patient warrior, true teacher, and grounded leader is always working from a deeply physical and soulful place while creating new spaces and conversations in the theater with patience and generosity. For breaking down boundaries with depth and rigor, and for her brilliant and singular contributions to the Off-Broadway community, the judges have awarded a Special Obie Citation for Sustained Excellence as an Artist and Advocate to ALEXANDRIA WAILES. 

• AAPAC (Asian American Performers Action Coalition)

  for advocacy in the field of equity, diversity, and inclusion

  In 2011, a group of artists emerged to initiate a conversation around diversity and the lack thereof in New York City theater. With their regular reports, “Ethnic Representation on New York City Stages,” they have provided hard data about racial, gender and disability representation in casting both On and Off-Broadway, bravely exposing where the industry falls short in its commitment to inclusion. Nine years after their founding, the landscape of New York theater has been changed for the better thanks to the grassroots efforts of this organization–though they will tell you that there’s still more work to be done, and they would be right. For their important and necessary contribution to the American theater in the realm of equity, diversity and inclusion, the judges have awarded a Special Obie Citation for advocacy in the field of equity, diversity, and inclusion to AAPAC, THE ASIAN AMERICAN PERFORMERS ACTION COALITION.

Institutional Recognition

• National Black Theatre

  for Sustained Excellence in Production and continued Advocacy on behalf of Black Artists

  Nina Simone, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni. Just a few legendary giants who have presented work at this historic institution which produces transformational theater that enhances cultural identity by telling authentic stories of the Black experience. Founded in 1968 by the visionary artist and entrepreneur Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, the organization has been a part of the Theater community for over 50 years- giving Black artists – actors, directors, producers, designers, playwrights and entrepreneurs – both spiritual support and service. The legacy continues by the care of Sade Lythcott, CEO, Jonathan McCrory, Artistic Director with support of original company members Abisola Faison, Nabii Faison and their brilliant committed staff and board that hold and lift the community with a devoted concentration to individuals – providing tools, resources, and safe spaces for their own autonomy. For creating metamorphic art that reframes the often distorted narratives of Black life, and sustaining a powerful space of empowerment for its artists, the judges have awarded an Obie for Sustained Excellence in Production and continued Advocacy on behalf of Black Artists to NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE.

• Page 73

  for Providing Extraordinary Support for Early Career Playwrights

  For their wonderful prescience at identifying important new American voices and for their deep commitment to truly supporting them through their substantial yearly fellowship, writers group, summer residency, roster of readings, and an impressive record of production, the Obie committee has awarded an Obie for Providing Extraordinary Support for Early Career Playwrights to PAGE 73.

• The Tank

  for Providing Extraordinary Support for Emerging Artists

  Everybody in theater has a story about the first people that took a chance on them. The “it all started at…” story. The notion of a safe space for artists to try out new things, to get their first show up, or to veer out of their comfort zone in 2020 is radical in a city full of spiking rents and impossible economic pressures. But somehow on 36th street it still happens, for over 2,500 artists and 1,000 performances a year. For inexhaustible resourcefulness and old-school grit, the judges have awarded an Obie for Providing Extraordinary Support for Emerging Artists to THE TANK.