Theater News

Jonathan Groff, Earle Hyman, Lynn Nottage, Stephen Sondheim, et al. Win 2009 Obie Awards

Jonathan Groff in The Singing Forest
(© Carol Rosegg)
Jonathan Groff in The Singing Forest
(© Carol Rosegg)

The 2009 Obie Awards, which honor exceptional work Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway, were presented on Monday, May 18 at Webster Hall.

The ceremony was hosted by Daniel Breaker and Martha Plimpton, with Anne Hathaway, Brian d’Arcy James, Gavin Creel, Karen Olivo, John Shea, Kate Mulgrew, Nilaja Sun, and Marc Kudisch as the presenters.

Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of Lynn Nottage’s Ruined was the big winner, as it was named Best New American Play and earned performance awards for Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, and Russell Gebert Jones. Among the many other winners this year were David Cromer, Jonathan Groff, Earle Hyman, David Korins, Lorenzo Pisoni, Stephen Sondheim, and John Douglas Thompson.

This year’s committee is chaired by The Village Voice‘s chief theater critic, Michael Feingold, and includes Alexis Soloski, Eric Grode, TheaterMania contributor Andy Propst, Eisa Davis, Ty Jones, Moises Kaufman, and Chay Yew.

A full list of winners follows below:

Lifetime Achievement Award
Earle Hyman

Best New American Play (includes a cash prize of $1000)
Ruined by Lynn Nottage

Performance
Francois Battiste, The Good Negro
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Ruined
Kevin T. Carroll, sustained excellence of performance
Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Ruined
Jonathan Groff, Prayer for My Enemy and The Singing Forest
Birgit Huppuch, Telephone
Russell Gebert Jones, Ruined
Aaron Monaghan, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!
Lorenzo Pisoni, Humor Abuse
James Sugg, Chekhov Lizardbrain
John Douglas Thompson, Othello

Music and Lyrics
Stephen Sondheim, Road Show


Directing
David Cromer, Our Town
Katie Mitchell, The Waves
Ken Rus Schmoll, Telephone

Design
Toni-Leslie James, sustained excellence of costume design
David Korins, sustained excellence of set design

Special Citation
Sarah Benson (director) and Louisa Thompson (set designer), Blasted
David Esbjornson (director) and Christian Camargo (actor), Hamlet

The Ross Wetzsteon Award (includes a cash prize of $2000)
HERE Arts Center

OBIE Grants ($10,000 divided equally among three theaters)
The Classical Theatre of Harlem
The Chocolate Factory
Lark Play Development Center

For more information, visit www.villagevoice.com/Obies.