Kevin Adams Leads Obie Design Winners

Lighting designer Kevin Adams received an award for sustained excellence in lighting design at this year’s Obie Awards, held Monday, May 20. The Obies, sponsored by The Village Voice, honor achievement in the Off Broadway theatre world.

Other design winners included Marilys Ernst, for the video sequences in Talk, produced by the Foundry Theatre; Angela Moore and Michael Schmelling for the set and lighting design, respectively, of Richard Maxwell’s Drummer Wanted; and Whit McLaughlin for the sound design of The Fab 4 Reach the Pearly Gates. Receiving a special citation were Daniel Aukin and Louisa Thompson for the direction and design of (sic).

This year’s team of judges included Village Voice staffers Charles McNulty and Alisa Solomon, plus guest judges Darius de Haas, Michael Greif, John Heilpern, and Melanie Joseph.

A complete list of winners follows:

Performance
Bill Camp, Homebody/Kabul
Reg E. Cathey, James Himelsbach, Karen Kandel, Anthony Mackie, John Seitz, Maria Tucci (ensemble), Talk
Christopher Donahue, Monster
Linda Emond, Homebody/Kabul
Raul Esparza, tick, tick...BOOM!
Juliana Francis, Maria del Bosco
Peter Frechette and Reg Rogers, The Dazzle
Yvette Ganier, Breath, Boom
Martha Plimpton, Hobson's Choice
Jeffrey Wright, Topdog/Underdog
Direction
George C. Wolfe, Topdog/Underdog
Mary Zimmerman, Metamorphoses
Design
Kevin Adams, Sustained Excellence of Lighting Design
Marilys Ernst, video for Talk
Angela Moore and Michael Schmelling, set and lighting design of Drummer Wanted
Whit MacLaughlin, sound design for The Fab 4 Reach the Pearly Gates
Special Citations
ART/NY for support of Off Broadway theatre
Daniel Aukin and Louisa Thompson direction and set design of (sic)
Ingmar Bergman and the Royal Dramatic Theatre of Sweden, The Ghost Sonata
Daniel MacIvor, In on It
Charles L. Mee and Les Waters, playwriting and direction of Big Love
Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch at Liberty
The Wooster Group for To You, the Birdie!
Playwriting
Melissa James Gibson, (sic)
Tony Kushner, Homebody/Kabul
Sustained Achievement
Caryl Churchill
Grants
Ma-Yi Theatre Company
Salt Theatre Company
The Ross Wetzsteon Award
PS 122