Nixon and Knight to Co-Host the Obie Awards, May 21

T.R. Knight, a respected member of the acting company of Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater, and Cynthia Nixon who has graced the stage with her performances since the age of 14, will co-host the 52nd Annual Village Voice Obie Awards in Manhattan on Monday, May 21st at New York University's Skirball Center.

 

Knight has been seen in on the stage in roles including Richard Miller in Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! and as Amadeus in Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. On the New York stage he has played Tim Allgood in Noises Off, Damis in Tartuffe, Joe in This Lime Tree Bower and Brendan Hilliard in Anto Scattergood.

 

Nixon was last seen off-Broadway in the title role of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie . She recently appeared inthe play Rabbit Hole. Prior to that, she was performed the role of Mary Haines in a revival of The Women. At 14, she made her stage debut as Dinah Lord The Philadelphia Story at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. At 15, she was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Louis Malle in the title role of John Guare's Lydie Breeze. Most remarkably, at age 18, she appeared simultaneously in two Broadway productions, David Rabe's Hurlyburly and Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, both directed by Mike Nichols.

 

"The Obies are the freewheeling wild child of New York theater's awards world established in 1955 by the Village Voice theater editor Jerry Tallmer. They are picked by a committee of critics (always including at least 2 VV staff critics) and theatre professionals who know the field. There are a few set awards - Lifetime Achievement, Best New American Play - but no set categories. The Awards have an astounding range, and the roster of past recipients is extraordinary, including everything from now-established superstars (Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington) to people you've never heard of before and aren't likely to hear of again," press notes state.

"Their distinctive pursuit of quality beyond categorizing makes the Obies a powerful tool for enhancing a play's or an artist's power and prestige. In academic institutions all over the country, artists are pulling down big salaries and looked on with respect because of the Obie they won decades ago. Movie stars put their Obie Award on their resumes with pride - even when their LA publicists tell them they never heard of the award, the Obies, the Village Voice, or the theater!

 

Founded in 1955, The Village Voice introduced free form, high-spirited and passionate journalism into the public discourse. Writing and reporting on local and national politics, arts, music, film, dance, and theater, the Voice has foreshadowed virtually every important cultural and political trend. The recipient of three Pulitzer prizes and scores of other awards for reporting and criticism, the Voice is known for its groundbreaking investigations."

Visit www.villagevoice.com for more information and to read the Voice online.

Photo of Cynthia Nixon by Mark Rupp