Ethan Hawke, Laurie Metcalf, Chad Deity & More Win 2011 Obie Awards

The 2011 Obie Awards were presented on May 16 at a ceremony held at Webster Hall hosted by David Hyde Pierce and S. Epatha Merkerson. Administered by The Village Voice, the awards honor off-Broadway productions, performers and directors and are not competitive. Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity was named Best New American Play, an award that includes a $1,000 prize. A complete list of winners follows:

Performance
F. Murray Abraham, sustained excellence of performance
André Braugher, The Whipping Man (Manhattan Theatre Club)
Michael Chernus, In the Wake (Public Theater)
Ethan Hawke, Blood from a Stone (The New Group)
Hamish Linklater, The School for Lies (Classic Stage Company)
Laurie Metcalf, The Other Place (Manhattan Class Company)
Thomas Sadoski, Other Desert Cities (Lincoln Center Theater)
Scott Shepherd, Gatz(Elevator Repair Service / Public Theater)
Brenda Wehle, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures (Signature Theatre/Public Theater)
Charlayne Woodard, The Witch of Edmonton (Red Bull Theater)

Playwriting
Kristoffer Diaz, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Second Stage), Best New American Play
Samuel D. Hunter, A Bright New Boise (Partial Comfort Productions)
Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Invasion! (The Play Company)

Direction
Austin Pendleton, Three Sisters (Classic Stage Company)
Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, Peter and the Starcatcher (New York Theatre Workshop)
Leigh Silverman, In the Wake (Public Theater) and Go Back to Where You Are (Playwrights Horizons)

Design
Jill BC Du Boff, sustained excellence of sound design
Donyale Werle, sustained excellence of set design

Special Citations
Design and choreography, Sleep No More (Punchdrunk Theatre) Felix Barrett, Livi Vaughan, Beatrice Minns, Maxine Doyle, Stephen Dobbie, Euan Maybank, and David Israel Reynoso
Young Jean Lee, We’re Gonna Die (13P / Joe's Pub)
Debbie Tucker Green and Leah C. Gardiner, Born Bad (Soho Rep)

Obie Grants
Metropolitan Playhouse, Wakka Wakka

The Ross Wetzsteon Award
Belarus Free Theater

Lifetime Achievement Award
René Buch and Repertorio Espanol