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The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice
The Village Voice

The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper in New York City, United States featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City....
 newspaper to theater artists in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
. Similar to how the Tony Awards cover Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 productions, the Obies cover off-Broadway
Off-Broadway

Off Broadway theater is an umbrella term for a defined set of Play , musical theater or revues performed in New York City. Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway in Manhattan's Theatre District, New York, the hub of the theater industry in the United States, the term later becam...
 and off-off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway

Off-Off-Broadway refers to theatrical productions including Play , musical theater or performance art pieces performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway theatre productions and Off-Broadway productions....
 productions. (There is also an presented annually by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America for creative excellence in the world of advertising.)

The Obie Awards were initiated by Edwin (Ed) Fancher, publisher of the The Village Voice, who handled the financing and business side of the project.






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The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice
The Village Voice

The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper in New York City, United States featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City....
 newspaper to theater artists in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
. Similar to how the Tony Awards cover Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 productions, the Obies cover off-Broadway
Off-Broadway

Off Broadway theater is an umbrella term for a defined set of Play , musical theater or revues performed in New York City. Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway in Manhattan's Theatre District, New York, the hub of the theater industry in the United States, the term later becam...
 and off-off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway

Off-Off-Broadway refers to theatrical productions including Play , musical theater or performance art pieces performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway theatre productions and Off-Broadway productions....
 productions. (There is also an presented annually by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America for creative excellence in the world of advertising.)

The Obie Awards were initiated by Edwin (Ed) Fancher, publisher of the The Village Voice, who handled the financing and business side of the project. They were first given in 1956 under the direction of theater critic Jerry Tallmer. Initially, only off-Broadway productions were eligible; in 1964, off-off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway

Off-Off-Broadway refers to theatrical productions including Play , musical theater or performance art pieces performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway theatre productions and Off-Broadway productions....
 productions were made eligible.

With the exception of the Lifetime Achievement and Best New American Play awards, there are no fixed categories and no listed nominations. Awards in the past have included performance
Acting

Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a Fictional character and, usually, Speech communication or singing the written text or Play ....
, direction, best production, design
Design

Design is used both as a noun and a verb. The term is often tied to the various applied arts and engineering . As a verb, "to design" refers to the process of originating and planning for a product, structure, system, or component with intention....
, special citations, and sustained achievement. Not every category is awarded every year. The Village Voice also awards annual Obie grants to selected companies, as well as a Ross Wetzsteon Grant, named after its former theater editor.

Other awards for off-Broadway theater are the Lucille Lortel Awards
Lucille Lortel Awards

The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986....
, the Drama Desk Awards, the Drama League Award
Drama League Award

The Drama League Awards, created in 1935, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway theatre and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing....
, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards.

The ceremony for the 2007-08 season was held on May 19, 2008.

List of winners


External links