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To Obie or to Desk?
Celebrating off-, off-off, and beyond Broadway since 1955
Fifty-five years ago, theater makers in New York had mainly one figurine to aspire to: the Antoinette Perry Awards, better known as the Tonys. No awards covered Shakespeare or new American playwrights. All the recognition went to Broadway, leaving the rest in a dark corner. Something had to be done.
The year was 1955, and while McDonald’s was being franchised throughout the U.S. and Steve Jobs was being born, the Obie Awards and the Drama Desk Awards where introduced in New York. Then journalist and co-founder of the Village Voice, Jerry Tallmer created the Obie Awards to acknowledge the growing Off-Broadway movement. A little more uptown, the Drama Desk, which began in 1965 to explore key issues of the theater community, created its own awards to celebrate the achievements of theater in whichever stage they where presented. Though the Obies and Drama Desk Awards had similar motives when they where created, they grew into slightly different celebrations.
On one hand we have the Obies (on a side note, Obie is not an acronym; the name is a diminutive of “O-B,” as in Off-Broadway). They will take over Webster Hall on May 17th on a night that has been known to mix debauchery with sincere praise. Since the Obies don’t announce their nominations, the audience members are should expect many surprises. Other important details to watch this year include the hosting of Anika Noni Rose and Michael Cerveris and a performance by the cast of FELA! One of the best things about the Obies is that both award presenters and judges are not only writers from the Village Voice, but also varied members of the theater community. Although the awards are a close celebration, the general public can enjoy the award ceremony that has celebrated names such as Al Pacino and Meryl Streep.
On the other hand, we have the Drama Desk Awards, which will be held May 23 at F.H. LaGuardia Hall at Lincoln Center. Drama Desk not only holds the award ceremony, but also produces a series of panel discussions to educate the public about pressing matters in theater. Not all the quirk, however, is downtown. For six years now, DDA personalizes its nominations (which by the way, are out May 3. Nominees render a sketch relevant to the role or stage production that helped them obtain their nomination. Sketches from previous years are on display at Arté Café (106 W 73rd St.). Past Drama Desk winners include Dustin Hoffman and Geoffrey Rush.
Whatever mood or location you find yourself this May, the Drama Desk or the Obies (or both!) promise to be a witty and fun night.