Winners

Outstanding New Play

• Nazareth Hassan

  Bowl EP (Vineyard Theatre | National Black Theatre | The New Group)

  This play deftly encompasses the great subtlety of queer adolescent love with that of raging demons that reside within. Stillness and motion have been captured in perfect harmony to give us a truly experiential and boldly experimental play that digs into the psychic caverns of its characters with such humor, such nuance, such grace. For writing a play that transported us into universal feelings of first love, visceral connection and angst, for constantly intriguing and keeping us on our toes, and for conceiving of a theater in an abandoned swimming pool with skaters whom we all fell in love with, the judges present the Obie Award for Outstanding New Play to NAZARETH HASSAN for BOWL EP.

Playwriting

• Morgan Bassichis

  Can I Be Frank? (Mike LaVoie | Carlee Briglia)

  Bassichis’s exquisite monologue with songs that conjure the soul of Frank Maya, an adored, openly gay comedian of the ‘80s and early ‘90s who died of AIDS as he was just on the precipice of fame. They blend their own exuberant life, wit, and vivacious personality with excerpts from Maya’s original performances. What results is a moving portrait of legacy, artistic lineage, and a comingling of our queer past with the here and now, perhaps most profoundly exposing the depth of lives lost due to our government’s cruel and willful inaction. If Maya died before achieving fame, this play lovingly gives him his due, while simultaneously spotlighting Bassichis as a writer and artist of great esteem. For creating and embodying this arresting, whimsical, and gorgeously rendered resurrection, the judges award an Obie for Playwriting to MORGAN BASSICHIS for CAN I BE FRANK?

• Sarah Gancher

  The Wind and the Rain: A story about Sunny's Bar (En Garde Arts | Vineyard Theatre)

  Gancher’s expansive and ambitious script pits the macro (the tenuousness of human existence) against the micro (the tenacity and vibrancy of individual people’s lives). So it seems fitting that such a play would itself take place at the edge of the Earth, on a bobbing barge off of Red Hook. This is a story about Sunny’s Bar, and it is also about Tone, the woman who soldiers on to keep Sunny’s legacy alive. From this floating world, Gancher conjures a community that refuses to be forgotten. The bar becomes a vessel for ancestors and neighbors, for music and memory, for the land beneath and the water surrounding it. With local musicians echoing the rhythm of the tide and the audience folded into the evening’s embrace, the play transforms performance into communion. For weaving wind, water, and human history into a living archive—for honoring a neighborhood’s soul through sound, story, and the persistence of spirit—the judges award an Obie for Playwriting to SARAH GANCHER for THE WIND AND THE RAIN: A STORY ABOUT SUNNY’S BAR.

Directing

• Sam Pinkleton

  ta-da! (Mike LaVoie | Carlee Briglia) and Can I Be Frank? (Mike LaVoie | Carlee Briglia)

  In the journey of bringing a text to life through live theatre, words claim the space, and the stage becomes a vessel, carrying the audience on a historical ride through comedy as an act of both individual and collective healing. Laughing through grief, grieving through laughter, a night at the theater becomes a ritual of memory, revisiting the past to create something new. TA-DA! unfolds as an act of gay magic, a remembrance of a mother’s love, and a celebration of the unexpected beauty in art-making and self-discovery. CAN I BE FRANK? emerges as a meticulous study of performance art in the time of the AIDS crisis, confronting the echoes of the past with the dissonance of today’s world. For crafting these works with daring imagination, tenderness, and truth, the judges are proud to award an Obie for Direction to SAM PINKLETON.

• abigail jean-baptiste

  Chiaroscuro (National Black Theatre | The Flea)

  Beginning with her foray into theatre as a young actor, she was curious about the history and emotional needs of every character in the play. She now stands among a new generation of visionary directors whose work is defined by fearless curiosity and a deep respect for all of the various elements that go into the craft of storytelling. An unapologetic risk taker, the projects she takes on illuminate the voices, history, and perspectives that have been historically marginalized. Her work is grounded in her reverence for the elders. She constantly seeks the stories and guidance of those who paved the way for this generation. With that as her foundation, she reshapes language and boldly reimagines the future of theatre. Her rehearsal rooms are a balance of rigor with freedom, humility, and leading with confidence—creating spaces where truth and experimentation thrive. In her recent direction of CHIAROSCURO, a daring exploration of colorism, identity, and the lingering shadow of slavery. She transformed complex ideas into an intimate and accessible dialogue. She unleashed sensitive conversations that needed an audience. For the brilliance of her recent work but also for the emergence of an exciting, courageous voice—one unafraid to confront today’s challenges and illuminate tomorrow’s possibilities, the judges present an Obie Award for Direction to ABIGAIL JEAN-BAPTISTE. 

• Paul Lazar

  The Barbarians (La MaMa | Third Ear Theater Co.)

  A conversation between a cigarette butt and a dog turd. Mad science experiments gone awry. A hero. A villain. Sordid love affairs. A phony President and her assistant. One would imagine that directing Jerry Lieblich’s outlandish and fantastically surreal play about words and power would be like trying to tame a wild boar with a toothpick. But Lazar did so with a seemingly effortless hand and created wonder-filled cohesion. For wrangling this glorious beast of a play with deft, elegance, precision, and heart, the judges award an Obie for Direction of THE BARBARIANS to PAUL LAZAR.

Sustained Achievement in Directing

• David Herskovits

  Show/Boat: A River (Target Margin Theater | NYU Skirball | Under the Radar Festival)

  Every time you see one of this director’s meticulously created shows, you leave more confused than ever, and you’re better for it. Each show’s tiny revolution invites us to attempt to grasp onto a muchness of thought as well as visual and auditory composition of the unknown. For decades, he’s begun with an impulse and invites new and old collaborators into an exacting process. Together, actors, designers, stage managers, composers, administrative staff, assistants, and others dream into the potential of the theater while utilizing pre-existing texts and generating something new together. This director knows that the work is made up of all the people putting the show together, and their presence and intentionality are what shape what the audience will eventually experience. This season, his SHOW/BOAT: A RIVER flowed through time with elemental grace, a love letter to the theatre and those who make it. With staging stripped to its bare bones and costumes that carried echoes of other eras, the piece allowed language to drift like water and rise like memory. Herskovits reworked a classical piece to question the myths we’ve inherited and the currents we still navigate. His vision reminded us that theatre, like a river, is always remaking its own path. For his unwavering commitment to unearth the unknown without looking for answers, the judges award an Obie for Sustained Achievement in Directing to DAVID HERSKOVITS.

• Whitney White

  Walden (Second Stage Theater) and Liberation (Roundabout)

  White has been on an unstoppable journey directing new American plays that have both challenged and expanded the theatrical landscape. From her early production, OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD, through her transformative staging of ON SUGARLAND at New York Theatre Workshop, and most recently to the bold and “liberating” piece, the Broadway-bound, LIBERATION. From a near-future family drama set amidst global unrest and environmental breakdown, to a personal history of intergenerational feminism, she crafts huge stories of enormous scope while always keeping the pulse on the human relationships at their heart. In addition to these two finely detailed productions this season, she also directed a Broadway musical, and wrote and starred in the sensational MACBETH IN STRIDE at BAM. She continues to bring a distinct interpretation to every piece she touches. What makes her artistry so extraordinary is her refusal to impose a single signature style. Instead, she allows each production to find its own voice, drawing out the essence of the story and the truth of each character. She directs much like a conductor of an orchestra, whether guiding a trio or a cast of twenty, her direction finds the harmony, meter, and singular voice in each piece. In her productions, the epic and the intimate merge organically into a sublime whole. For her many seasons of impeccable direction and boundless energy and imagination, the judges award an Obie for Sustained Achievement in Directing to WHITNEY WHITE.

Performance

• Bulbul Chakraborty

  Rheology (The Bushwick Starr | HERE Arts Center | Ma-Yi Theater Company)

  A star is born. As Chakraborty takes the stage, she first engages the intellect. A physics professor, her ease in explaining the mysteries of the physical world feels natural and delightful. Then the audience begins to understand the frame through which we are experiencing the physicist’s sudden coughing fit. We are watching a son imagining the unimaginable: the death of his mother. Iteration after iteration, the son dares himself to creep closer and closer to his worst nightmare. And yet the true and deep core of the play lies with his mother, who lost her mother decades ago. She plunges nakedly, beautifully into her own grief through song, in an expression that is pure divinity. For her deeply personal performance of unaffected sincerity, the judges award an Obie for Performance to BULBUL CHAKRABORTY in RHEOLOGY.

• Quincy Tyler Bernstine

  Well, I'll Let You Go (Regular People | Patrick Catullo | The Cohn Sisters | Shira Friedman | Danny Kopel)

  How does one portray a newly-widowed woman navigating the depths of grief while searching for clarity on the circumstances of her husband’s death? For Bernstine, it is with sublime restraint, grace, and humor. Never leaving the stage, she is equally powerful listening or speaking. With the audience on all sides and exposing lighting leaving nowhere to hide, Quincy’s emotional transparency is heartstoppingly raw, unbearably authentic and ultimately cathartic. For her perfectly calibrated and unforgettable performance, the judges award an Obie for Performance to QUINCY TYLER BERNSTINE in WELL, I’LL LET YOU GO.

• 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)

  The incomparable Lucas-Perry is known for terrific performances, but this season, she outdid herself. First in THE GREAT PRIVATION (HOW TO FLIP TEN CENTS INTO A DOLLAR), she played two mothers, two centuries apart. In 1832, Mrs. Freeman stands firm in her dignity, fighting fiercely to protect the ones she loves. In the present, Minnie and her daughter are forced to contend with the troubled history beneath the ground on which they stand. Lucas-Perry immediately followed these dual roles with a virtuosic performance as Gower in PERICLES: A PUBLIC WORKS CONCERT EXPERIENCE. She captivated, she orated, she belted to the heavens! Most profoundly, she led an enormous cast with command, grace, and great care, demonstrating deep love for every single person with whom she shared the stage. The judges feel privileged to present an Obie Award for Performance to CRYSTAL LUCAS-PERRY for PERICLES and THE GREAT PRIVATION (HOW TO FLIP TEN CENTS INTO A DOLLAR).  

• Stephanie Weeks

  Show/Boat: A River (Target Margin Theater | NYU Skirball | Under the Radar Festival)

  Uncomfortable feelings could well up when watching a musical about race and art written in the 1920s. But in David Herskovits’ bare and spacious adaptation of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s Show Boat, what was historically problematic is laid bare by a robust and excellent ensemble. Among which, Weeks shines as the emotional anchor to a story spanning many years. She grounded the production’s abstraction in clarity and care, allowing the work’s darkness to become a site of understanding rather than retraumatization. Her performance invited reflection instead of reaction, transforming pain into grace and compassion into resistance. Weeks guided the audience through precision, generosity, and a voice that carried the weight of history with poise. For her deeply felt and gorgeously sung portrayal of Julie La Verne and for leading the collective through the river of life with integrity and grace, the judges present an Obie Award for Outstanding Performance to STEPHANIE WEEKS for SHOW/BOAT: A RIVER.

Sustained Achievement in Performance

• Paul Sparks

  Grangeville (Signature Theatre Company)

  In his more than twenty-five years of performances on off-Broadway stages, Sparks continues to reveal new depths and colors while quietly melting into the fabric of the text and production. His performances are electric and virtuosic, magnetic without being showy or grandstanding. For a heartbreaking performance this season that captures the complexity of brotherhood, the distance carved by family trauma, the absence of childhood love, and the journey toward acceptance through grief in GRANGEVILLE, and to recognize his unforgettable off-Broadway performances over the years, the judges are proud to present an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Performance to PAUL SPARKS.

• Stephanie Berry

  The Gospel At Colonus (Little Island)

  With a voice and joyful noise, she carried us into a gospel—a space where we reckoned with a fable on an island and discovered how Oedipus found his truth. Drawing on years of training and experience, she gave us permission to grieve our grievances and to rejoice fully in our joy. This is also because her body is a temple. Her mind is a sacred matrix of possibility. Her spirit embodies the very essence of what we need in this moment—every single time. And in THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS, she gave us exactly that. For the ways in which her career stands as a testimony—an embodiment of resilience. For the way in which she has shaken us to our core with the rigor of her artistic expression—the Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Performance goes to STEPHANIE BERRY. Thank you for showing us how to stay young. Thank you for showing us how to stay in the game. Thank you for showing us the power of our gifts to transform dead spaces into thriving gardens full of life. May this special award be just the beginning of many more years of sustaining us—and the field—with your light.

Design

• Afsoon Pajoufar (Sets)

  Five Models in Ruins, 1981 (Lincoln Center Theater) and Cold War Choir Practice (Clubbed Thumb | Page 73)

  During the fear of nuclear war, the boundless imagination of a child transforms the beloved Wild Project in COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE—an exquisite visual feast of wartime fantasy. In FIVE MODELS IN RUINS, 1981, a photo-ready Vogue cover becomes a textured world that exposes the glamour and brutality of the fashion industry. For this remarkable consistency in scenic design excellence, the judges are proud to present the Obie Award for Outstanding Design to AFSOON PAJOUFAR.

• 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)

  From project to project, this designer turns themselves inside out, boldly delivering big ideas with great heart. She approaches every project with unwavering nuance, fluctuating from the bold dynamic colorful world of THE BEASTIARY to the self-reflective austerity in her approach to lighting SUPPOSE BEAUTIFUL MADELINE HARVEY. Her resolute commitment to environmental immersion has never been more evident in the theater than in her design for this season’s BOWL EP. For her deep investments in collaboration, continually putting herself on the line, and tirelessly honoring the legacy of experimental theatre with audaciously expansive lighting achievements this season, the judges are proud to present the Obie Award for Outstanding Design to KATE MCGEE.

• 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)

  Set design for the stage is not just about what is on stage, it’s about what is not onstage. Conventional signifiers like furniture, props, and architecture may illustrate time and place, but they can just as equally limit the mind’s eye and diminish the full power of a story. Oliva’s designs this season recognize this with its blank canvases of raw materials, open playing spaces, and audience configurations that blurs the separation between audience and stage. By allowing the audience to visually fill in the blanks, his designs also invite them to be active participants physically and emotionally. For his set designs for WELL, I’LL LET YOU GO; DANGER AND OPPORTUNITY and A KNOCK ON THE ROOF, the judges are proud to award an Obie for Outstanding Design to FRANK J. OLIVA. 

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)

  A name that continuously illuminates every space they enter, she shapes environments with light and shadow, infusing each project with an unmistakable sense of energy and presence. Her collaborative spirit, generosity, and pursuit of excellence have made her an essential voice within the theatre community. This season, her work has elevated a remarkable range of productions: LIBERATION, HOLD ME IN THE WATER, TA-DA, TROPHY BOYS, SHOW/BOAT: A RIVER, BABE, and IN THE AMAZON WAREHOUSE PARKING LOT. Each is distinguished by her refined visual sensitivity and her ability to tell stories through the dynamic game of light and darkness. For her sustained achievement in lighting design and her ongoing contributions to the vitality of the field, the judges are proud to present an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Design to CHA SEE.

• 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)

  Striking the perfect balance between abstraction versus illustration, subtlety versus spectacle, and stillness versus kinetic, his video design shape-shifts with each unique project. From his raw and gritty immersive design for WE LIVE IN CAIRO, to his hauntingly elegant design for LIGHTS OUT: NAT “KING” COLE, to his exuberantly playful design in JOY, his work elevates every project he touches. For his many seasons of video and projection designs, the judges are proud to present an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Design to DAVID BENGALI.

Special Citations

• On The Rocks Theatre Co. for Concept and Creation

  The Beastiary (On The Rocks Theatre Co. | Ars Nova)

  Medieval pageantry at its most contemporary absurd from the hand-carved and painted proscenium and set pieces, to the fantastical period-adjacent costumes full of colorful details and patterns, to the imaginatively crafted puppets and vivid soundscape and lights, this production is a full-meal, no-stone-left-unturned sensory delight. Its boundless creativity is an inspiration for making the impossible possible. The Obie judges are proud to present a Special Citation to ON THE ROCKS THEATRE CO. for the concept and creation of THE BEASTIARY. 

• Ensemble of Bowl EP: Felicia Curry

  Bowl EP (National Black Theatre | The New Group | Vineyard Theatre)

  Ensemble work is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart. It challenges the actor in the deepest ways to find the concentric circle between themselves, their character, and their collaborators in order to discover a performance that is both completely their own and completely necessary. Each actor must be hyper-aware of their role and place, executing their moments to the best of their ability while also supporting their fellow performers so that they, too, can shine. This takes great patience and generosity. The ensemble of Nazareth Hassan’s play achieved this and so much more. Your work was unforgettable, disruptive, and full of possibility. In every beat, in every moment of Hassan’s intimate and engrossing world, you shined. You gave the entire community a glimpse at a new type of performance, one in which individual truth and theatre-making can collide fully and unapologetically. Felicia, I first got to know your work in DC on some of our greatest stages, for which you’ve been awarded not only one but two Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play. Your shapeshifting ability to combine music and character precedes you. You are a true thespian and woman of the stage, and I cannot wait to see more of you in New York City and beyond. To all three of you, Bravo. Congratulations. Thank you for your work, and please keep disrupting. Keep reaching for theatrical truth, and I cannot wait to see what you will do next. It is with great pleasure, honor, and pride that the judges present a Special Citation to FELICIA CURRY, OGHENERO GBAJE, and ESSENCE LOTUS–the ensemble of BOWL EP.

• Ensemble of Bowl EP: Oghenero Gbaje

  Bowl EP (National Black Theatre | The New Group | Vineyard Theatre)

  Ensemble work is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart. It challenges the actor in the deepest ways to find the concentric circle between themselves, their character, and their collaborators in order to discover a performance that is both completely their own and completely necessary. Each actor must be hyper-aware of their role and place, executing their moments to the best of their ability while also supporting their fellow performers so that they, too, can shine. This takes great patience and generosity. The ensemble of Nazareth Hassan’s play achieved this and so much more. Your work was unforgettable, disruptive, and full of possibility. In every beat, in every moment of Hassan’s intimate and engrossing world, you shined. You gave the entire community a glimpse at a new type of performance, one in which individual truth and theatre-making can collide fully and unapologetically. Oghenero, I will cherish your work as Quentavius da Quitter for a long time. Your take on the role was fresh, grounded, and raw. You are an incredible musician and multi-hyphenate, and the world is truly your oyster. We are all lucky to share space with you and to take part in the music that only you can create. To all three of you, Bravo. Congratulations. Thank you for your work, and please keep disrupting. Keep reaching for theatrical truth, and I cannot wait to see what you will do next. It is with great pleasure, honor, and pride that the judges present a Special Citation to FELICIA CURRY, OGHENERO GBAJE, and ESSENCE LOTUS–the ensemble of BOWL EP.

• Ensemble of Bowl EP: Essence Lotus

  Bowl EP (National Black Theatre | The New Group | Vineyard Theatre)

  Ensemble work is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart. It challenges the actor in the deepest ways to find the concentric circle between themselves, their character, and their collaborators in order to discover a performance that is both completely their own and completely necessary. Each actor must be hyper-aware of their role and place, executing their moments to the best of their ability while also supporting their fellow performers so that they, too, can shine. This takes great patience and generosity. The ensemble of Nazareth Hassan’s play achieved this and so much more. Your work was unforgettable, disruptive, and full of possibility. In every beat, in every moment of Hassan’s intimate and engrossing world, you shined. You gave the entire community a glimpse at a new type of performance, one in which individual truth and theatre-making can collide fully and unapologetically. Essence, from the moment I first met you in your audition for Soft by Donja R. Love at MCC, I knew that your talent and voice were singular. You are a warrior. You are brave, and your uncanny ability to pursue the truth of every theatrical moment is a rare talent. Every time you step on stage, you open your heart and share a distinct vulnerability with your scene partners and the audience. To all three of you, Bravo. Congratulations. Thank you for your work, and please keep disrupting. Keep reaching for theatrical truth, and I cannot wait to see what you will do next. It is with great pleasure, honor, and pride that the judges present a Special Citation to FELICIA CURRY, OGHENERO GBAJE, and ESSENCE LOTUS–the ensemble of BOWL EP.

• Troy Anthony (Libretto, Composition, and Music Direction)

  Pericles: A Public Works Concert Experience (The Public Theater)

  His musical adaptation of the classic play rang through the Cathedral of St. John the Divine like a breath of fresh air. The beats were electric, the melodies were infectiously catchy, and the lyrics were dramatic and clear. This Shakespearean story of loss and reunion has never felt more relevant, joyful, and moving. The music was an event that demanded to be experienced live. Anthony’s soul-enriching work provided a welcome container for community connection, grief, and rejuvenation. It is especially meaningful that Anthony ascended from Public Works participant to full-fledged creator of that glorious, spiritual evening. The Obie judges are proud to present a Special Citation to TROY ANTHONY for his music, lyrics, and music supervision of PERICLES: A PUBLIC WORKS CONCERT EXPERIENCE. 

• Ensemble of Prince Faggot: Rachel Crowl, K Todd Freeman, David Greenspan, Mihir Kumar, John McCrea, and N'yomi Allure Stewart

  Prince Faggot (Playwrights Horizons | SoHo Repertory)

  Rachel Crowl Speech
  K. Todd Freeman Speech
  David Greenspan Speech
  Mihir Kumar Speech
  John McCrea Speech
  N’yomi Allure Stewart Speech

  Blending and blurring real-life and speculative narratives of the acting company and historical figures, PRINCE FAGGOT is a singular play with unique demands of its actors. Alternating between quietly personal, soul-baring monologues, wildly fabulous scenes of broad comedy, and operatically wrenching scenes of uninhibited emotion, the acting company leaves it all on stage. The Obie judges are proud to present a Special Citation to RACHEL CROWL, K. TODD FREEMAN, DAVID GREENSPAN, MIHIR KUMAR, JOHN MCCREA, and N’YOMI ALLURE STEWART, the acting ensemble of PRINCE FAGGOT. 

• Mona Pirnot (Playwright), David Greenspan (Performer), and Ken Rus Schmoll (Director)

  I'm Assuming You Know David Greenspan (Atlantic Theater Company)

  Mona Pirnot Speech
  David Greenspan Speech
  Ken Rus Schmoll Speech

  A fabulous trio conspires to create an utterly delightful evening of comedic wonder. Mona Pirnot’s excellent script was written as a vehicle, and an homage, to its titular star, clearly tailored to Mr. Greenspan’s otherworldly talents. The elegant staging was so sly and swift that at times it appeared Greenspan was dancing with himself. Portraying four young, female playwrights, one of whom is Mona, Greenspan spins a tale (he was literally spinning) of friendship, hope, and competitive ambition. The play was made for him, and it was made for us. It is at once a love letter to the theatre and a work of reverence for the artists who help us become ourselves. For their seamless and sublime collaboration, the Obie judges are thrilled to bestow a Special Citation to MONA PIRNOT, DAVID GREENSPAN, and KEN RUSS SCHMOLL for I’M ASSUMING YOU KNOW DAVID GREENSPAN.

• Mehr Theatre Group for Creation

  Blind Runner (St Ann's Warehouse | Mehr Theatre Group | Waterwell | Under the Radar Festival | Nimruz)

  A revolutionary piece in a time of revolutionary needs, BLIND RUNNER took the New York City stage and challenged Western norms of language and narrative structure to deliver a piece with passion and full intensity. Performers gave their absolute selves in the form of a marathon of human emotions [with closed captions]. Mixed media served as a tool for accessibility and as an invitation to understand the other, the person running in front of us. A visual poem to us, the audience. For these reasons, the Obie judges award a Special Citation to MEHR THEATRE GROUP.

Lifetime Achievement

• Carmelita Tropicana

  Performance artist, playwright, lecturer and Latina comedian

  The New York City art scene of the 1980s gave birth to this singular artist and her irreverent persona. For over thirty years, she has created social commentary with absurdist performance pieces, essays, and films filled with vibrant characters, including Pingalito Betancourt, Martina, and a version of Hernan Cortes’s horse. Animals personified, camp, and spectacle assist her in meeting the moment and exploring the intersection of ethnicity, sexuality, gender, race, and class. From this lineage of humor and resistance, she has built a canon of fearless imagination. Her work transforms laughter into critique and camp into a method for survival, revealing how art can confront systems of power while holding space for joy. Over the course of her career, she has graced audiences with her disarmingly alive charm from the early days of the WOW Café Theater, across Europe, and back to PS 122, INTAR Theatre, and most recently Soho Rep. Through mentorship, teaching, and service, she continues to shape a world where queer, Latinx, and feminist performance thrives. At the center of her mantra, “YOUR KUNST IS YOUR WAFFEN” (art is your weapon), humor is an act of defiance and imagination remains our shared weapon. She continues the legacy of dreaming into what might be possible, and inspires the next generation to also wield art as our weapon. The judges are thrilled to bestow an Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement to CARMELITA TROPICANA.

• Kate Valk

  Founding Member and Director of The Wooster Group

  For over four decades, she has been a defining force in American experimental theatre. As a founding member and now also director of The Wooster Group, she has continually redrawn the boundaries of performance, bringing intellect, rigor, and heart to an ever-shifting stage. Her work resists categorization. Within the ensemble’s intricate weave of text, image, and technology, she has been both anchor and catalyst, embodying roles that merge precision with risk, structure with wildness. From HOUSE/LIGHTS, HAMLET, THE HAIRY APE to THE TOWN HALL AFFAIR, she has built a performance vocabulary of collage, confrontation, and reinvention. As director and mentor, Valk extends that language beyond herself, guiding a new generation of artists through The Wooster Group’s orbit, like Eric Berryman, Kaneza Schaal, and others whose voices now echo her fearless curiosity. Her support of the Summer Institute has fostered an environment where experimentation is both discipline and invitation, ensuring that the company’s spirit of inquiry continues to evolve. Valk’s devotion to process keeps reminding us that theatre can be an act of research, a rehearsal for the possible, and that endurance itself is an art form. For her lifelong commitment to transforming how we see, listen, and gather, for her expansive artistry that bridges generations while redefining collaboration, the judges proudly present an Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement to KATE VALK.

Theatre Grants

• Urban Bush Women (UBW)

  For decades, this company has moved us—taught us how the body can be a landscape for storytelling itself. They have created space for us to witness how theatre, in all its forms, can be expressed in new and transformative ways. Their body of work has contributed to the definition—and reimagination—of the theatrical lexicon. With each new piece, they have helped to shape how the Black body seeks and finds liberation, so that we, as humans, might find our collective liberation. For this gift—for this legacy—they are receiving this award which honors how their work lives at the edges of experimentation while remaining deeply grounded in Indigenous technologies—technologies that allow our urban selves to meet our “BUSH” selves, awakening the Divine Woman within us all. This is what it means to experience their work: to witness, to fall in love, to remember. They translate the heart of who we are as a civilization, and the progress we must make to become a more divine society—one rooted in equity, working in concert to shift the Black girl’s song from the margins to the center of the narrative. For these reasons, an Obie Award Theatre Grant is being presented to URBAN BUSH WOMEN.

• The Apothetae

  Since its founding by Gregg Mozgala in 2012, this company has sought to elevate disabled artists and storytelling, reshaping the past and the future of the theatrical canon. Creating opportunities and employment for d/Deaf and disabled talent onstage and off, the company develops work with rigor and audacity. A multi-cycle playwriting fellowship with The Lark bolstered writers with significant creative and financial support, stemming from the belief that nuanced representation starts on the page, and that nurturing new plays expressly featuring d/Deaf and disabled characters would directly correlate to new employment streams. This proved true with Mike Lew’s Teenage Dick, a contemporary take on Richard III set in high school. Commissioned by this company and produced off-Broadway to great acclaim with Ma-Yi Theater Company, the play has gone on to receive numerous regional and international productions, showcasing disabled performers in its lead roles. Most recently, they have endeavored to explore the development of bilingual Shakespeare adaptations, interweaving English and American Sign Language to place d/Deaf and disabled artists at the center of classical texts. The judges are thrilled to present an Obie Award Theatre Grant to support the continued work of THE APOTHETAE. 

• New Federal Theatre (NFT)

  Woodie King Jr. founded this theatre company in 1970, creating a platform where Black artists could be seen and heard as multi-faceted beings—where they could take control of their own narratives. A true pioneer, he transformed not only Black theatre but American theatre itself, putting on the map stories that had been historically overlooked and cultivating the careers of some of our greatest actors and theatre makers. Now, more than fifty years later, as a new wave of cultural erasure and creative repression threatens our voices and histories, this company—under the visionary leadership of Elizabeth Van Dyke—once again rises to the call. Its recent seasons have brought forth untold stories, works of historic pertinence, and powerful voices that refuse to be silenced. For these reasons the judges are honored to present an Obie Award Theatre Grant to NEW FEDERAL THEATRE.

• ¡OYE! Group

  Artists, residents, and natives of Bushwick have likely come across this formidable theatre company composed of Black and Latine artists. Their intentional, community-driven work ranges from incubating theatre that sparks dialogue over current political and social issues. They also focus on arts education for Bushwick youth and adults, as well as an impressive array of festivals and productions geared toward the beloved neighborhood. For their dedication and rigor in creating a well of opportunities and resources for Bushwick through their infinite range of artistry and skill, the judges present an Obie Award Theatre Grant to ¡OYE! GROUP.

• Waterwell

  It takes a village to build a village. The guiding principle at this company’s core is dedicated to grappling with how language and performance explore society and the human condition. An inspiring approach to culture and theatre-making, serving as a bridge to connect different points of view and foster understanding in their differences is central to this company’s commitment to civic engagement and social inquiry. For their commitment to education through the arts and the challenges of making it accessible, inclusive, and inviting, as well as for their diligent work in building community and engaging new audiences, the judges present an Obie Award Theatre Grant to WATERWELL.

Ross Wetzsteon Award

• Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater

  For nearly half a century, this company has been a vital force in American theatre, uniting artistry, activism, and access. Born from two visionary lineages, Pregones theater in the Bronx, founded by Rosalba Rolón, and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in Manhattan, established by the trailblazing Miriam Colón, this company embodies the power of cultural partnership and collective leadership. Their bi-borough model bridges audiences, languages, and generations, sustaining a theater rooted in the people it serves. Through original musicals, devised works, and collaborations that span from the South Bronx to San Juan, PR and from Roadside Theater to Harlem Stage, they have amplified Puerto Rican and Latine voices while challenging the boundaries of form and geography. Programs like En Un Acto, the Latinx Playwrights Circle, and March Is Music demonstrate their commitment to the idea that art thrives through community. Under the ongoing leadership of Rosalba Rolón and Alvan Colón Lespier, they continue to nurture artists, mentor youth, and champion work that speaks to both heritage and the future. For their steadfast dedication to excellence, representation, and transformation and ensuring that the stage remains a home for all, the Obie judges are proud to present the Ross Wetzsteon Award to PREGONES / PUERTO RICAN TRAVELING THEATER.

Michael Feingold Award

• John Del Gaudio

  An ardent champion of weird art, a heart-forward producer, and forever ally to the underdog, his name is rarely in the lights, but he is often the most colorfully dressed person behind the scenes, and the most generous in spirit. He has been critical to the creation of countless unconventional works for the stage—performances that are durational and environmental, that defy genre, and those imagined by adventurous women, queer and BIPOC artists. Having him on your team means having your vision supported by his integrity, transparency, and kindness as a producer, and theaters like The Bushwick Starr, Target Margin Theater, and now the incubator organization, The Mercury Store, benefit from his dedication to and knowledge of the field. For his unwavering encouragement of risk-taking artists and for putting the “we” in “weird,” the Obie judges are proud to present the Michael Feingold Award to JOHN DEL GAUDIO.

Morgan Jenness Award

• Nicky Paraiso

  If anyone embodies the living history, present, and future of New York’s turbulent and ever-blooming downtown performance scene, it is this writer, musician, actor, dancer, performance artist, curator, and producer. It is hard to imagine an artist in New York who he has not impacted somehow, including the legendary Meredith Monk, John Jesurun, Anne Bogart, and Jessica Hagedorn to name just a few, but also the countless emerging artists he mentors and uplifts. While exploring Pinoy queerness in his own work, he has championed others as a curator, giving them a platform in The Club at La MaMa and the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, which just celebrated its twentieth year. No one is more full of heart, more eager to celebrate their colleagues, and more willing to support new voices. Nicky is everywhere, seeing everything, and when he believes in you, he makes sure you know. It is the judges’ great pleasure to bestow the inaugural Morgan Jenness Award—named in honor of his dear friend and collaborator—to NICKY PARAISO.