The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice newspaper to theater artists in New York City. Similar to how the Tony Awards cover Broadway productions, the Obies cover off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions. (There is also an OBIE Award 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 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. 1 Awards in the past have included performance, direction, best production, design, 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, the Drama Desk Awards, the Drama League Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards. The ceremony for the 2007-08 season was held on May 19, 2008.2 List of winnersReferencesExternal links
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