Last night the American Theatre Wing and The Village Voice celebrated the best of Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway, at the 64th Annual Obie Awards held at Terminal 5 in New York City. The Obies celebrate actors, directors, writers, and designers who are changing the theatrical landscape. They do not have set categories, but rather distribute whatever honors the judges deem appropriate each season. This year’s judges included director Arin Arbus, scenic designer Rachel Hauck, and actor Kecia Lewis, all of whom are Obie winners.
Host Rachel Bloom kicked off the evening by telling the audience that the American Theatre Wing was founded by suffragettes, badass women who didn’t give a fuck. She added that “the future is female; the past is, too.” At the end of her opening speech, she casually inserted the words “More women in the theater!” Clearly, she has plans to be one of them in her career post-“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” which came to a close this year after four seasons.
Bloom was right. This year women clearly owned the evening. They won the bulk of the awards, starting with Heidi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me,” which received the prize for Best New American Play. When accepting her award, Schreck called out the women in the room who have inspired her, including playwright Lisa Kron. She also said that at age 14, her mother stopped a violent man by testifying against him. That’s her motivation to do her play night after night.
Suzan-Lori Parks was recognized in the Playwriting category for her new play “White Noise”; directors Jo Bonney and Leigh Silverman were honored, too. Bonney said that her passion comes from collaborating with playwrights on new work. Presenters Kristine Nielsen and Julie White introduced actress Heather Alicia Simms — who won for Best Performance for “By The Way, Meet Vera Stark” and “Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine” — as an actress who exemplifies that there are no small parts, only small actors. It was a night of women supporting women.
However, Lisa McNulty, Producing Artistic Director of Women’s Project Theater, reminded the audience about the current dearth of plays written and directed by women. She emphasized that only 28 percent of the work on stage is created by women. “At a time when women’s voices and bodies are under siege,” she said, “we must celebrate them 100 percent of the time.”
There’s still a lot of optimism for women in theater and the night was reflective of that. Director Liesl Tommy told Women and Hollywood that she thinks women are doing better Off-Broadway than on Broadway. “The downtown scene is starting to be more conscious of their hiring practices and some of my favorite plays this year were either written or directed by women,” she said.
All the women who won 2019 Obie Awards are below. Listed adapted from the Obies.
Best New American Play
Heidi Schreck, “What the Constitution Means to Me” (New York Theatre Workshop)
Playwriting
Madeleine George, “Hurricane Diane” (New York Theatre Workshop)
Suzan-Lori Parks, “White Noise” (The Public Theater)
Directing
Jo Bonney, Sustained Excellence in Directing
Leigh Silverman, Sustained Excellence in Directing
Performance
Mia Barron, “Hurricane Diane” (New York Theatre Workshop)
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Sustained Excellence in Performance
Cherise Boothe, “Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine” (Signature Theatre Company)
Heather Alicia Simms, “Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine” (Signature Theatre Company) and “By The Way, Meet Vera Stark” (Signature Theatre Company)
Design
Dede M. Ayite, Sustained Excellence in Costume Design
Isabella Byrd, Lighting Design, “Light Shining in Buckinghamshire” (New York Theatre Workshop)
Palmer Hefferan, Sustained Excellence in Sound Design
Cookie Jordan, Sustained Excellence in Hair, Wigs, and Makeup
Louisa Thompson, Sustained Excellence in Scenic Design
Special Citations
Clare Barron (Playwright) and Lee Sunday Evans (Director), “Dance Nation” (Playwrights Horizons)
Jackie Sibblies Drury (Playwright) and Lileana Blain Cruz (Director), “Marys Seacole” (LCT3)
The Cast and Creative Team, “The Jungle” (St. Ann’s Warehouse); Miriam Buether (Set Design), Catherine Kodicek (Costume Design), Rachel Redford, Vera Gurpinar, Annika Mehta (Ensemble)
The Director and Creative Team, “Oklahoma!” (St. Ann’s Warehouse); Laura Jellinek (Set Design), Terese Wadden (Costume Design)
