By Maria Esteves - June 3, 2014
The 59th Annual 2014 Village Voice OBIE Awards (OBIES 2014) co-hosted by Award winning producer/actress Tamara Tunie, Spring Awakening, and Obie Award winner actor Hamish Linklater, The Crazy Ones, honoring theatrical excellence and achievements in Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway commenced Monday, May 19, 8:00 pm at the historical Webster Hall ballroom, New York. A gala reception with live music by The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn preceded the awards. The 2014 OBIES included a special performance of the new musical Fun Home by SYDNEY LUCAS. Lucas became the first in the history of the Obies to receive an award at age 10 for her performance. The Obie Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Kelli O'Hara went to ESTELLE PARSONS.

This year’s award presenters were Andy Karl, Betsy Aidem, Cristin Milioti, David Bar Katz, Harvey Fierstein, Kelli O'Hara, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Lena Hall, Lily Rabe and Stephen Trask.

59th Annual 2014 Village Voice OBIE Awards Cocktail Reception: OBIE Chairman, Michael Feingold, TheaterMania columnist, left, with Tony Award-winning costume designer William Ivey Long.

59th Annual 2014 Village Voice OBIE Awards: Performance OBIE winner LARRY PINE, Death of Walt Disney, and his wife Margaret.

59th Annual 2014 Village Voice OBIE Awards: OBIE Judges director of programming Nicky Paraiso, The Club at La MaMa, left, and OBIE Award winning writer/composer Kirsten Childs.

59th Annual 2014 Village Voice OBIE Awards: OBIE
Presenter actress Betsy Aidem, All The Way Broadway.

The Village Voice Obie Awards founded by Jerry Tallmer in 1955, acknowledge the best of Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway theatrical productions. The name OBIE derives from the abbreviation for Off-Broadway (O.B.). Past recipients include Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Denzel Washington, Edward Norton, Felicity Huffman, James Earl Jones, Kathy Bates, Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Nathan Lane, Sigourney Weaver and Viola Davis. The judges may vote multiple OBIES in any category where outstanding achievement deserves recognition.

The winners of the 2014 OBIE Awards were judged by:

Kirsten Childs - Obie Award-winning writer and composer

Michael Feingold - Chairman emeritus chief theater critic, The Village Voice

Michael Sommers - Critic, New Jersey Newsroom

Nicky Paraiso - Director of programming, The Club at La MaMa

Rick Sordelet – Fight director; acting lecturer, Yale School of Drama

Tonya Pinkins - Obie and Tony Award-winning actress

This year’s OBIES included 32 awards within 11 categories. The following are the various awards and their winners:

Lifetime Achievement Award
ESTELLE PARSONS

Best New American Play

BRANDEN JACOBS-JENKINS for Appropriate, Signature Theatre and An Octoroon, SOHO REP.

Musical Theater

Author LISA KRON, composer JEANINE TESORI and director SAM GOLD for Fun Home, Public Theater

Direction

JAMES MACDONALD for Love and Information, New York Theatre Workshop

LIESL TOMMY for Appropriate, Signature Theatre 

OLIVER BUTLER for The Open House, Signature Theatre 

Performance

CHRIS MYERS for An Octoroon, SOHO REP. 

JOHANNA DAY for Appropriate, Signature Theatre 

JOHN EARL JELKS for Sunset Baby, Labyrinth Theater Company; Fetch Clay, Make Man, New York Theatre Workshop

JOHN ELLISON CONLEE for The (Curious Case Of The) Watson Intelligence, Playwrights Horizons

K. TODD FREEMAN for Fetch Clay, Make Man, New York Theatre Workshop

LARRY PINE for public reading of unproduced screenplay Death of Walt Disney, SOHO REP. 

MIA KATIGBAK for Awake and Sing, National Asian Association Theatre Company

SYDNEY LUCAS for Fun Home, Public Theater

Playwriting

WILL ENO for The Open House, The Signature Theatre

Best Design and Music

Video designer BEN RUBIN for Arguendo, Elevator Repair Service at Public Theater

Fight direction and choreography EMMANUEL BROWN and SONYA TAYEH for Kung Fu, Signature Theatre

Lighting design ERIC SOUTHERN for The Correspondent, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

Ross Wetzsteon Award

ABRONS ARTS CENTER 

Sustained Excellence Award

MARYLOUISE BURKE in a performance

JUSTIN TOWNSEND of lighting design

Special Citations

MALLORY CATLETT for This Was the End, Chocolate Factory Theater Music

HEATHER CHRISTIAN, lighting JIYOUN CHANG and projection HANNAH WASILESKI for The World Is Round, BAM Fisher Theater

RATTLESTICK PLAYWRIGHTS THEATER and LUCY THURBER for The Hill Town Plays

OBIE Grants

600 HIGHWAYMEN 

48 HOURS IN HARLEM