THEATER: The 2009 Obies

Saidah Arrika Ekulona and Condola Rashad in "Ruined"

A blow-by-blow recap of Off-Broadway’s biggest (and booziest) night

By Aaron Grunfeld

Every year, the Obie Committee selects the best of Off-Broadway shows in a maneuver of counter-programming to the Tonys. There's very little ceremony to this awards show: no categories, no competition, no envelopes, no orchestra to rush winners offstage. And lots of cheap booze. The winners are selected by a panel of judges (not an academy), who tend to honor risk-takers and success-on-a-budget stories. This year, as part of our coverage of the 2008-09 Theater Awards, I maintained enough sobriety to report on the 54th Annual Obie Awards at Webster Hall!

7:45 The cocktail bar's been open since 7 pm. Ushers announce that the ceremony will be starting upstairs. Few stop drinking, move, or even pause to listen, until they realize there's liquor there too.

8:00 In Webster's grand deco-styled hall, the seats are slowly filling as MCs Martha Plimpton and Daniel Breaker roll their eyes at the junky, pun-laden script that's been written for them. The real scene's at the bar in the back, where tipsy arrivals bum-rush the already frazzled bartenders. From onstage, Plimpton arranges for a steady supply of vodka gimlets to be delivered to her.

8:07 Actress Kate Mulgrew (“Equus”) and Brian d'Arcy James (“Shrek”) announce the award for Best Play: MTC's “Ruined”. The crowd reacts with an approving roar: this play inspires a rare sense of pride & ownership from audiences. But I'm more impressed by one of the actresses, Quincy Tyler Bernstein. She's so totally nonplussed at winning a Performance Award, she sputters for a good minute before thanking God and her mother.

8:15 The evening feels like a college party at midterm break: relaxed and easygoing rather than raucous. People are pacing themselves for a long, happy evening. Anne Hathaway, soon to play Viola in Shakespeare in the Park, bursts out, “Oh my god! Everything's so happy and fun here! Don't tell the Oscars.” She hands the Lifetime Achievement Award to Earle Hyman, an 82-year-old black actor (he played Bill's father on “The Cosby Show”). Continuing the spirit of camaraderie, he advises would-be actors to “keep it simple”, citing Hathaway's moving speech in “Brokeback Mountain”. She's in tears, of course!

8:32 Stephen Sondheim gets an Obie for his lackluster “Road Show”. Come on, does this guy need another award? He won a Lifetime Tony just last year!

8:40 The constant rumble from the back of the hall (ie, from the bar) is shocked into silence by the roaring cast of “Our Town”, who are up in the balcony, near the corporate sponsors and a robot bartender. They're approving the award given to their director, David Cromer. He looks bleary and stiff, like tonight's his only night off and he can't believe he's out mingling instead of at home asleep.

8:52 My favorite show of 2008-09, “Blasted”, earns an Obie for Soho Rep. director Sarah Benson. Hailing from England, she thanks NYC for making her feel so welcome. And my scoop of the evening: this bug-crazy drama is rumored to be moving to a dilapidated ex-Broadway theater hidden behind Appleby's on 42nd Street—if the funding can be found!

8:57 James Sugg, the star of the oddball drama, “Chekhov Lizardbrain”, gets an Obie for his performance. The show's slowing down, as folks are drunker and the shows are less glitzy. So I'm going to check out that robot bartender upstairs.

9:05 The robot bartender is a Mets fan, and tells me the Yankees suck. Machines, these days! I stiff him on the tip.

9:07 I check out the Harlequin Books table. This summer, they're exhibiting six decades of cover art at a Soho gallery. I pick up a bookmark with the cover of “Pardon My Body”, which shows a brunette with a ripped dress and a gun.

9:15 I move on to the Body Paint exhibit. Aside from the model, who's wearing only sea-green and silver latex (and a thong), I'm underwhelmed by the clothes at the Obies. Outside of a few natty pinstripes and one or two '50s vintage cocktail dresses, this crowd has failed to live up to glam standards of show biz. They're dressed like beatniks or students on a third date.

9:25 Back at the main event, Martha Plimpton has downed her third gimlet and is having a blast. She thanks Webster Hall for “hosting the Obies and also for hosting me on the night I lost my virginity and discovered cocaine!” Then she thanks the corporate sponsors, especially those who supplied the liquor. Daniel Breaker laughs, his role reduced to straight man.

9:27 Hands down, Karen Olivo (“West Side Story”) is the best-dressed gal onstage tonight. Looking good in her slinky red dress with a high waist and brocade, she obviously put a little thought into her choice of outfit. Olivo presents an award to an Irish director, Garry Hynes, dressed in artsy black. Like so many of the winners tonight, Hynes is not a New Yorker (David Cromer is a Chicagoan, James Sugg hails from Phillie) but she prefers to work Off-Broadway here in Gotham. The crowd would cheer if they were listening, but it's too sauced.

9:45 Michael Feingold, the Obie committee chair, asks for a moment of silence to honor the friends and loved ones who passed away last season. He makes special note of Bea Arthur (cheers from the crowd) and Harold Pinter. The audience stares silently into cups of melting ice.

9:50 The final awards are parceled out. There's no orchestra to cut winners off, the way Oscar does. But at this point, the speakers keep it short anyway. Sure they're happy to get a check or plaque, but they're even happier to sneak back to pals at the open bar. Plus, folks are flowing downstairs for a burlesque show and music by Jollyship the Whiz-Bang.

The Winners of the 2009 Obies

Lifetime Achievement Award
Earle Hyman

Best New American Play (incl. $1000 cash prize)
“Ruined”, Lynn Nottage

Performance
Kevin T. Carroll, sustained excellence of performance

Francois Battiste, “The Good Negro”
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, “Ruined”
Saidah Arrika Ekulona, “Ruined”
Jonathan Groff, “Prayer for my Enemy” & “The Singing Forest”
Birgit Huppuch, “Telephone”
Russell Gebert Jones, “Ruined”
Aaron Monaghan, “The Cripple of Inishmaan”
Sahr Ngaujah, “Fela!”
Lorenzo Pisoni, “Humor Abuse”
James Sugg, “Chekhov Lizardbrain”
John Douglas Thompson, “Othello”

Music and Lyrics
Stephen Sondheim, “Road Show”

Directing
David Cromer, “Our Town”
Katie Mitchell, “The Waves”
Ken Rus Schmoll, “Telephone”

Design
Toni-Leslie James, sustained excellence in costume design
(w/ special reference to “Wig Out!” at the Vineyard Theatre)

David Korins, sustained excellence in set design
(w/ special reference to “Why Torture is Wrong” at the Public Theater)

Special Citations
Sarah Benson (director) and Louisa Thompson (set), “Blasted”
David Esbjornson (director) and Christian Camargo (Hamlet), “Hamlet”

The Ross Wetzsteon Award (incl. $2000 cash prize)
HERE Arts Center

OBIE Grants ($10,000 divided equally among three theaters)
The Classical Theatre of Harlem
The Chocolate Factory
Lark Play Development Center