Wednesday, February 04, 2026
THE 2026 OBIE AWARDS
On January 31, 2026,
the American Theatre Wing announced the winners of the 69th Annual Obie
Awards, continuing its mission to honor the boldest and most innovative
work in Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway theater.
In a stunning and important departure from traditional gala ceremonies, this year’s awards prioritized direct financial support for artists.
Thanks to a generous anonymous donation, the winners were awarded grants totaling over $250,000, with individual prizes ranging from $3,000 to $15,000.
These grants are
intended to provide a "new path forward" by funding the future work
of the creators who make New York theater so vibrant.
2026 OBIE AWARD WINNERS: THE PLAYS
|
Play |
Creative Team |
Producers / Theater |
Plot & Notable Facts |
|
Bowl EP Outstanding New Play |
Writer: Nazareth Hassan
Director: Nazareth Hassan
Cast: Felicia Curry, Oghenero Gbaje, Essence
Lotus |
Producers: Vineyard Theatre, National Black
Theatre, The New Group
Theater: Vineyard Theatre |
The Plot: Two aspiring rappers bond in a literal
skatepark at the "edge of the galaxy."
Fact: The production featured live skateboarding on
a stage-built half-pipe. |
|
Can I Be Frank? |
Writer: Morgan Bassichis
Director: Sam Pinkleton |
Producers: Mike Lavoie & Carlee Briglia
Theater: SoHo Playhouse |
The Plot: A comedian investigates the life of Frank
Maya, one of the first openly gay comics on TV.
Fact: Director Sam Pinkleton won for both this and ta-da!
this year. |
|
The Wind and the Rain |
Writer: Sarah Gancher
Director: Jared Mezzocchi |
Producers: En Garde Arts, Vineyard Theatre
Theater: Waterfront Museum Barge / Sunny’s Bar |
The Plot: A site-specific history of Red Hook’s
"Sunny’s Bar" through the lens of a hundred years.
Fact: The show began on a barge and ended in the
actual Sunny’s Bar. |
|
ta-da! |
Writer: Josh Sharp
Director: Sam Pinkleton |
Producers: Mike Lavoie & Carlee Briglia
Theater: Greenwich House Theater |
The Plot: A frantic solo comedy about childhood
magic, identity, and survival.
Fact: The performance is synchronized with a manic
2,000-slide PowerPoint presentation. |
|
Rheology |
Writer/Director: Shayok Misha Chowdhury
Cast: Bulbul Chakraborty |
Producers: The Bushwick Starr, HERE, Ma-Yi Theater
Co.
Theater: The Bushwick Starr |
The Plot: A physicist mother and her artist son
explore the science of sand and their relationship.
Fact: Bulbul Chakraborty is a real-life theoretical
physicist. |
|
The Great Privation |
Writer: Nia Akilah Robinson
Director: Kellie Williams
Cast: Crystal Lucas-Perry |
Theater: SoHo Rep / Playwrights Horizons |
The Plot: A drama exploring the historical theft of
Black bodies for medical science.
** Fact: Crystal Lucas-Perry won for her work in two
different shows this season. |
|
Grangeville |
Writer: Samuel D. Hunter
Director: Jack Serio
Cast: Paul Sparks |
Theater: Signature Theatre |
The Plot: Two estranged half-brothers reconnect
while caring for their dying mother in Idaho.
Fact: Paul Sparks received the Sustained
Achievement award for his performance. |
|
Chiaroscuro |
Writer: Aishah Rahman
Director: abigail jean-baptiste |
Theater: National Black Theatre |
The Plot: Six Black singles on a cruise ship
navigate love, isolation, and colorism.
Fact: This was a major revival of a "jazz
aesthetic" play originally written in 2002. |
** Crystal Lucas-Perry was also honored for her performance in Pericles: A Public Works Concert Experience (The Public Theater)
SPECIAL CITATIONS & DESIGN AWARDS
- Design
Awards: Afsoon Pajoufar (Sets), Kate McGee (Lighting),
and Frank J. Oliva (Sets).
- Sustained
Achievement in Design: Cha See (Lighting) and David Bengali
(Video).
- Special
Citations: On The Rocks Theatre Co. (for The Beastiary);
the Ensemble of Bowl EP; Troy Anthony (Music/Lyrics
for Pericles); the Ensemble of Prince Faggot; and the
collaborative team of I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan.
- Lifetime
Achievement: Performance artist Carmelita Tropicana and Kate
Valk of The Wooster Group.
- Ross
Wetzsteon Award ($15,000): Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling
Theater.
ELIGIBILITY & JUDGING
The 2026 Process:
The judges evaluated over 300 in-person productions that
opened between September 1, 2024, and August 31, 2025. Unlike other awards, the
Obies have no nominees—they simply announce the winners of excellence.
The 2026 Judging Panel:
Co-chaired by Wilson Chin (Scenic Designer) and Ryan
J. Haddad (Playwright/Actor), the panel included: Stephanie Berry, Modesto
“Flako” Jimenez, Jonathan McCrory, Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, Aya
Ogawa, Barbara Samuels, and Whitney White.
Eligibility Rules for 2027:
- Eligibility Window: September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026.
- New
Co-Chairs: Taylor Reynolds and Heather Alicia Simms will
lead the 70th Annual Obies.
- How
to Enter: Producers must invite the judges to see their shows by
emailing obieinvites@americantheatrewing.org.
VIEWING
If you missed the live announcement on Spectrum News
NY1’s "On Stage," you can still catch the celebration:
2026 THEATER AWARDS CALENDAR
The Obie Awards demonstrate that the heart of New York theater isn't just in the big theaters and big prices and big stars of midtown, but also in the basements, barges, and community centers of the village and all the boroughs of NYC.
*** *** ***
By trading a red carpet for direct grants, the American Theatre Wing powers the independent spirit of Off-Broadway to remain financially sustainable for
creative rule-breakers.
Labels: American Theater Wing, BOBOOBLOG, broadway, creative rule breakers!, independent theater, Obies, Off Broadway, Off-off Broadway, theater grants
Saturday, November 10, 2007
BOBOOBLOG
We have just started a new (sister/brother) BLOG to focus on theatrical news, reviews, credits, etc.
bobooblog.blogspot.com
BOBOOBLOG = B - OB - OOB BLOG:
The Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway BLOG!
QPORIT is designed for features; in some cases -- theatrical reviews, and interviews with Broadway stars and directors for example -- stories will overlap.
However, BOBOOBLOG will include lots more detail on theater than we can include here.
In particular, we are hoping that directors, producers, and actors from (ALL! the zillions of) OOB shows (as well as OB and Broadway shows too, of course) will provide us with flyers for ALL! their shows in advance, plus full cast and creative credits when the show goes up. We want BOBOOBLOG to be a theater resource of unmatched power, information and usefulness.
An example of the utility of BOBOOBLOG is that we had a hard time finding a real list of which theaters were dark and which were open during the current stagehands' strike. We tracked it down and posted that list on BOBOOBLOG, along with information about how to obtain refunds. Because of the volume of information, it would have taken hours to post the information here according to our formatting standards, but we were able to put it up in minutes on BOBOOBLOG once we found it:
http://bobooblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/theater-closings-refunds-due-to-strike.html
