66th Annual Obie Awards to Return Live and in Person in February

The 66th Annual Obie Awards, celebrating and honoring Off- and Off-Off-Broadway will take place on Monday, February 27, 2023 at Terminal 5 (610 West 56th Street).

After an extended season of uncertainty and innovation, the Obies make their eagerly awaited return to celebrate the most outstanding work of Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway. The resourceful brilliance of Off-Broadway theatre makers - who found revolutionary ways to reach audiences during even the darkest, most isolating days of the past three years - will be recognized and honored in a newly-conceived event celebrating the community's resilience and ingenuity. The ceremony will feature performances from some of the most exciting shows to open Off-Broadway in the last two years.

"I am so grateful to our judges panel for accepting the challenge of expanding the definition of what 'Off and Off-Off-Broadway' can mean," Ms. Hitchens expressed, "and doing so with such care and enthusiasm. I am excited to create a ceremony that fully embraces and celebrates this remarkable new era of creativity."

As previously announced, the 2023 awards are co-chaired by Obie-winning Director and Producing Artistic Leader David Mendizábal and veteran theatre critic Melissa Rose Bernardo. The judges panel includes actor & fight choreographer Dave Anzuelo, actor & playwright Becca Blackwell, scenic designer Wilson Chin, Obie-winning playwright Haruna Lee, theater critic & journalist Soraya McDonald, Obie-winning director & playwright Lisa Peterson, Obie-winning actor Heather Alicia Simms, and Obie-winning costume designer Kaye Voyce.

Leading sponsor for the 2023 Obie Awards is artist-driven theatrical production company, No Guarantees. The Howard Gilman Foundation also serves as a supporting sponsor.

A host, award recipients, and other event details will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Obie Awards are a not-for-profit endeavor, and a key program of the American Theatre Wing, a 501C3 Charitable Organization. All proceeds will support expenses related to the Obies judging process, celebration concert, and grants. Any excess proceeds will be used to increase the grants fund pool for 2024. Tickets to the 2023 Obie Awards can be purchased starting January 30th at www.ObieAwards.com.

Join the New York theatre community as we toast our resilience, remember those we lost, and dance to music from the hottest shows of this past season.

ABOUT THE OBIE AWARDS

The Village Voice created the Obie Awards, at the suggestion of then editor Jerry Tallmer, soon after the publication's own inception in 1955, to encourage the newly burgeoning Off-Broadway theater movement and to acknowledge its achievements. The Obies are structured with informal categories, to recognize artists and productions worthy of distinction in each theatrical year. Over the decades, the Obie Awards played a major role in the Voice's long history of championing work of innovative and exceptional quality Off- and Off-Off Broadway. The Village Voice put the new downtown theater movement on the map with its in-depth coverage, becoming a forum for conflicting viewpoints which helped generate excitement over new works and new approaches to theater-making. The Obies have become a theatrical tradition, a meaningful way to acknowledge the best artistic achievements of downtown theater. The list of actors, writers, directors, and designers who have received Obies at pivotal moments in their careers is a virtual who's who of contemporary theater. While the categories of the awards have continued to change almost annually, the creative spirit remains the same. In 2014, the American Theatre Wing joined in producing and administering the Obie awards. The Obie Awards salute a theatrical movement that's as important, and as vibrant, today as it was in 1955. For more information, visit ObieAwards.com.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING

The American Theatre Wing is a not-for-profit organization, founded on the eve of America's entry into WWI by 7 suffragists and theatre makers who came together to support the nation by harnessing the power of theatre. More than a century later, ATW's vital work continues to be driven by the fundamental belief that theatre is essential to our economic, educational, and social and emotional well-being as a society.

Through a powerful suite of programs that address all aspects of The National Theatre ecology, ATW encourages the discovery of theatre by people of all ages, nurtures talent on stage and off, creates pathways for success for students and young professionals, and encourages the development of the art form itself by recognizing and supporting innovative and excellent work with awards and grants. Building a just, equitable and inclusive American theatre is a guiding principle of all of ATW's work and programs.

ATW's Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative provides discovery, training, and career launching support to under-served young people. Springboard to Design encourages and mentors students from underrepresented populations in the industry to explore the process of theatrical collaboration and the many avenues of American Theatre design. The digital Masterclass offerings for rising creative professionals provide free access to advice, insight, and training by theatre's top creative professionals. The Network for Emerging Theatre Leaders creates a pathway for young aspiring theatre administrators to have successful careers in the theatre by providing inside information, technical assistance, networking opportunities, and mentoring. ATW incubates innovative theatre throughout the country with the National Theatre Company Grants and through the Jonathan Larson® Grants, which support emerging musical theatre writers with significant unrestricted support. ATW gives students, professionals and audiences alike a virtual backstage pass through the five-time Emmy-nominated "Working in the Theatre" documentary series which illuminates the creative process.

ATW is the founder and co-presenter (with The Broadway League) of the Tony Awards®, and the home to the Obie Awards.

Visit AmericanTheatreWing.org to learn more about the extensive programming and grant opportunities for students, theatre professionals, and audiences. For the latest updates and news, follow the Wing on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter