Dustin Hoffman, Frank Langella, and Sam Shepard -- It's Obies 1966!

May 26, 1966, Vol. XI, No. 32

Village Voice 'Obie' Awards 1965-66

The Eleventh Annual Village Voice Off-Broadway Award were handed out on Saturday afternoon in a gala ceremony at the Village Gate. Anne Jackson, herself a previous "Obie" winner, distributed the 24 coveted parchments before a boisterous and enthusiastic capacity crowd. Most of the on-lookers were theatre people who had come to applaud their peers.

The afternoon began with a wild sight-and-sound spectacle. On stage were the five members of the Myddle Class, a rock and roll band; they were illuminated by the kinetic light projections of Jackie Cassen from the Open Stage, 23 St. Mark's Place. The combination soon had the audience screaming...

VILLAGE VOICE OFF-BROADWAY AWARDS
Season 1965-66

Best Play: "The Journey of the Fifth Horse," by Ronald Ribman

Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman ("The Journey of the Fifth Horse")

Best Actress: Jane White ("Coriolanus" and "Love's Labor's Lost")

Distinguished Performances: Clarice Blackburn ("The Exhaustion of Our Son's Love"), Marie Charba ("Birdbath"), Gloria Foster ("Medea"), Sharon Gans ("Soon Jack November"), Frank Langella ("Good Day" and "The White Devil"), Michael Lipton ("The Trigon"), Kevin O'Connor ("Chicago"), Jess Osuna ("Bus" and "Veronica"), Florence Tarlow ("Istanbul," "Red Cross," and "A Beautiful Day"), Douglas Turner ("Day of Absence")

Distinguished Playwriting: Emanuel Peluso ("Good Day"), Sam Shepard ("Chicago," "Icarus's Mother," and "Red Cross")

Distinguished Direction: Remy Charlip ("A Beautiful Day"), Jacques Levy ("You're as Old as Your Arteries," "Red Cross," and "The Next Thing")

Distinguished Design: Lindsey Decker ("Red Cross"), Ed Wittstein ("Serjeant Musgrave's Dance")

Special Citation: Joseph H. Dunn, for his production of "The Automobile Graveyard," which brilliantly combines the arts of design, lighting, and staging for audience involvement.

Special Citation: H. M. Koutoukas, for the style and energy of his assault on the theatre in both playwriting and production.

Special Citation: Peter Schumann, for his Bread and Puppet Theatre, which embodies a courageous and rigorous vision and practice of theatre engaged with its time.

Special Citation: Theatre For Ideas, for encouraging exploration in dramatic literature and music and providing a forum for thought in the theatre.

Special Citation: Theatre In The Street, for upholding the tradition of street theatre and reaching out to new English- and Spanish-speaking audiences.

Judges: Albert Bermel, Maria Irene Fornes, Robert Pasolli, Isaiah Sheffer, Michael Smith

Presenting The 'Obies'

The following 11 actresses have presented the "Obie" Awards for The Voice.

Shelley Winters, 1956
Geraldine Page, 1957
Maureen Stapleton, 1958
Kim Stanley, 1959
Anne Bancroft, 1960
Julie Harris, 1961
Lotte Lenya, 1962
Uta Hagen, 1963
Colleen Dewhurst, 1964
Gloria Foster, 1965
Anne Jackson, 1966

[Each weekday morning, we post an excerpt from another issue of the Voice, going in order from our oldest archives. Visit our Clip Job archive page to see excerpts back to 1956.]