Passing Strange, Dividing the Estate, Yellow Face & More Win Obies

Passing Strange was named "Best New Theater Piece" and Horton Foote's Dividing the Estate and David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face picked up playwriting prizes at the 53rd annual Obie Awards, which honor the season's best off-Broadway productions and performers. Presented by the Village Voice, the Obie ceremony was held at Webster Hall and hosted by Elizabeth Marvel and Bill Camp.

The musical Adding Machine won a trio of awards for director David Cromer, performer Joel Hatch and designers Takeshi Kata sets and Keith Parham lights.

Passing Strange's award, which includes a $1,000 cash prize for co-creators Stew and Heidi Rodewald and director Annie Dorsen, was given for its off-Broadway premiere production at the Public Theater last summer. The Broadway production, now running at the Belasco Theatre, has been nominated for seven Tony Awards.

Obie winners were chosen by a committee chaired by Village Voice theater critic Michael Feingold.

The complete list of winners is as follows:

PLAYWRITING:
Horton Foote, Dividing The Estate
David Henry Hwang, Yellow Face

DIRECTION:
Krzysztof Warlikowski, Krum
David Cromer, Adding Machine

PERFORMANCE:
LisaGay Hamilton, The Ohio State Murders
Kate Mulgrew, Iphigenia 2.0
Francis Jue, Yellow Face
Rebecca Wisocky, Amazons and Their Men
Joel Hatch, Adding Machine
Heidi Schreck, Drum Of The Waves Of Horikawa
Veanne Cox, Sustained Excellence of Performance
Sean McNall, Sustained Excellence of Performance

ENSEMBLE:
De'Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Stew, Passing Strange

DESIGN:
Takeshi Kata, set; Keith Parham, lighting design, Adding Machine
Peter Ksander, scenic design Untitled Mars This Title May Change
Ben Katchor, drawings; John Findlay & Jeff Sugg, set & srojection; Russell H. Champa, lighting design, The Slug Bearers Of Kayrol Island
Jane Greenwood, Sustained Excellence of Costume Design
David Zinn, Sustained Excellence of Costume and Set Design

SPECIAL CITATIONS:
Nature Theater of Oklahoma, No Dice
David Greenspan, The Argument

BEST NEW THEATER PIECE:
Stew, Heidi Rodewald, Annie Dorsen, Passing Strange

THE ROSS WETZSTEON AWARD:
Cherry Lane Theatre Mentor Project

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Adrienne Kennedy

OBIE GRANTS:
Keen Company $5,000
Theater of a Two-Headed Calf $5,000