Obie Awards

Stew's soulful rock musical Passing Strange and race satire Yellow Face were two big winners at last night's 53rd annual Village Voice Obie Awards, presented at Webster Hall. Established in 1955, the awards are the "freewheeling wild child of New York theater's awards world," and are chosen by a committee of critics and working theater artists. Yellow Face's lead Francis Jue won an Obie, along with playwright David Henry Hwang. The Observer's John Heilpern wrote in his review of Yellow Face: "The play is a powerful departure—a bitterly honest attempt by the dramatist to come to terms with himself and who he is in the tumult of racially divided America." Passing Strange won for ensemble and best new theater piece. You can watch a video of the presentation here. More winners after the jump.  read more »