The American Theatre Wing Reveals Eligibility Details and Judges for 71st Annual Obie Awards

The American Theatre Wing revealed the committee of judges and eligibility details for The 71st Annual Obie Awards, celebrating the best of Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway.

Serving as co-chairs for the second year in a row are Obie-winning director Taylor Reynolds and Obie-winning actor Heather Alicia Simms. Joining them on the committee of judges for the Obie Awards 2026-2027 season are: Obie-winning set designer Afsoon Pajoufar; Obie Lifetime Achievement recipient Carmelita Tropicana; Obie-winning Costume Designer Oana Botez; Obie-winning director and designer Jared Mezzocchi; Broadway actress Maria-Christina Oliveras; Broadway actress Maechi Aharanwa; founding member the Obie-winning producers Harlem 9 Spencer Scott Barros; and award-winning arts activist Raquel Almazan.

The official 71st Obie Awards season includes Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows that open between September 1, 2026, and August 31, 2027. Only in-person work that has taken or will take place during this time period are eligible for consideration. The Obie Awards consider more than 300 productions each season. With the exception of Lifetime Achievement, Best New American Play, the Ross Wetzsteon Award Grant (presented to a theatre that nurtures innovative new plays), the Michael Feingold Award (recognizing achievement in criticism, dramaturgy, translation, scholarship, mentorship, education, or other theatrical contribution), and the Morgan Jenness Award (recognizing a figure in theater that is not traditionally recognized, but champions new voices and has left a lasting impact on generations of theater artists), the Obie Award categories are purposefully informal to create limitless possibilities for recognizing personas and productions worthy of distinction each year. In addition, the committee of judges typically presents multiple Special Citations – now the category with the largest number of grantees – as well as up to four Theatre Grants in recognition of theater companies whose work and mission the judges feel should be supported.

Invites for performances can be sent to obieinvites@americantheatrewing.org, and upcoming productions can be submitted via the 71st Obie Awards Productions Submission form on ObieAwards.com homepage. For more information regarding Obie Award consideration, visit ObieAwards.com.

Eligibility for the 70th Obie Awards, honoring the best of the 2025-2026 off and off-off Broadway season, closed on August 31, 2026. Winners for the 70th Annual Obie Awards will be announced in January 2027.