American Theatre Wing (Heather Hitchens, President and CEO) and The Village Voice (Peter Barbey, CEO; Stephen Mooallem, Editor-in-Chief) are pleased to announce that the 63rd Annual Obie Awards will be held on Monday, May 21, 2018, and will move to a new venue, Terminal 5 (610 West 56th Street). Emmy and Obie-winning actor John Leguizamo will host. Tickets to the 2018 Obie Awards can be purchased at www.ObieAwards.com.
“Since his 1991, Obie-winning solo show, Mambo Mouth, John has — with little more than a stage, his singular point of view, and his now legendary acting chops — managed to give voice to countless indelible characters — many from woefully underrepresented communities — and leave audiences absolutely riveted in the process. In other words, he is the living embodiment of everything that is essential about Off Broadway. He’s also one of the funniest men on the planet,” said Heather Hitchens, President and CEO of the American Theatre Wing.
“The Obie I won for my first solo play, Mambo Mouth, was unspeakably encouraging for a young artist just starting out, and still holds a ton of meaning to me. I am thrilled to take part in celebrating this year’s crop of Obie winners. It’s not just a great honor; it brings my career full circle,” said John Leguizamo.
The judges’ panel for the 63rd Annual Obie Awards, chaired as in previous years by longtime Village Voice critic Michael Feingold, includes Entertainment Weekly theater critic Melissa Rose Bernardo, Obie-winning projection designer Wendall K. Harrington, Broadway News theater critic Charles Isherwood, Tony nominee and Obie-winning costume designer Toni-Leslie James, dancer-actress-director Sondra Lee, Tony nominee and Obie-winning actor Arian Moayed, and Obie-winning actress Ching Valdes-Aran. Productions that wish to invite consideration from the judges should fill out the official invitation form at www.ObieAwards.com/about. Please direct questions regarding Obie consideration to ObieInvites@AmericanTheatreWing.org.
For more information, visit www.ObieAwards.com.