By Maria Esteves - May 23, 2013
The 58th Annual 2013 Village Voice OBIE Awards (OBIES 2013) co-hosted by Jessica Hecht and Jeremy Shamos honoring theatrical excellence and achievements in Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway commenced Monday, May 20, 8:00 pm at the legendary Webster Hall ballroom, New York. The official sponsors included Stella Artois, Parenteau Guidance PR, A.R.T. NY, Academy of Dramatic Arts, Fragoli, and Barefoot Wine & Bubbly.

2013 OBIE Awards Ceremony featured performances by Banda Magda Band and the cast of award-winning Off-Broadway musical Here Lies Love. OBIE award presenters included Bobby Cannavale, Cyndi Lauper, Krysta Rodriguez, and Courtney B. Vance. The Obie Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Meryl Streep went to LOIS SMITH and FRANCES STERNHAGEN.

58th Annual 2013 Village Voice OBIE Awards:
Obie presenter Meryl Streep, center, with Lifetime
Achievement Award winners LOIS SMITH, left, and
FRANCES STERNHAGEN. Photo by Emily Tan/Village Voice.

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

The judges may vote multiple OBIES in any category where outstanding achievement deserves recognition. The winners of the 2013 OBIE Awards were judged by:

Erin Courtney - Playwright, OBIE Award winner

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

Mia Katigbak - Director/performer, co-founder of NAATCO

Tom Sellar - Editor, critic and theater magazine

Leigh Silverman – Director, OBIE Award winner

Alexis Soloski - Theater critic, The Village Voice

This year’s OBIES included 24 awards within 11 categories. The following are the various awards and their winners:

Performance

EISA DAVIS

Sustained Excellence Performance Award

BRANDON J. DIRDEN for The Piano Lesson (Signature Theatre)

SHULER HENSLEY for The Whale (Playwrights Horizons)

MATTHEW MAHER

PAUL THUREEN for Blood Play (The Debate Society/Bushwick Starr)

Directing

LEAR DEBESSONET for The Good Person Of Szechwan (Foundry Theatre/La MaMa)

JOHN RANDO for All In The Timing (Primary Stages)

RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON for The Piano Lesson (Signature Theatre)

ERIC TING for We Are Proud To Present A Presentation... (Soho Rep)

Playwriting

AYAD AKHTAR for Disgraced (LCT3)

ANNIE BAKER for The Flick (Playwrights Horizons)

Music and Lyrics

DAVID BYRNE and FATBOY SLIM for Here Lies Love (Public Theater)

Best Design

LAURA JELLINEK for Sustained Excellence of Set Design

CLINT RAMOS for Sustained Excellence of Costume Design

Special Citations

DAVID LEVINE and MARSHA GINSBERG for HABIT (Crossing the Line Festival/FIAF & PS122)

DAVE MALLOY and RACHEL CHAVKIN for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Ars Nova)

NATURE THEATER OF OKLAHOMA for Life and Times: Episodes 1-4 (Public Theater/SoRep)

OBIE Grants

FULCRUM THEATER - $1,000

HALF STRADDLE - $1,000

Best New American Play

DETROIT, playwright Lisa D’Amour

GRIMLY HANDSOME, playwright Julia Jarcho

Ross Wetzsteon Award

CLUBBED THUMB - $1,000

Lifetime Achievement Award

LOIS SMITH

FRANCES STERNHAGEN