Last night was the 62nd annual Obie Awards, the prizes awarded to off-Broadway New York theatre (founded by The Village Voice and co-presented with the American Theater Wing, which is a co-producer of the Tonys). Sure, individual Jews win this sort of thing every year. But this year also included Jewish narratives in winning productions.

For example, while Oslo is not written from a Jewish perspective, the play is about the 1993 peace accords and includes Israeli characters, including former Israeli president Shimon Peres. The play, which has since transferred to Broadway and is nominated for a slew of Tonys, won big last night. The play was one of the winners for Best New American Theatre Work, as well as an Ensemble Award.

One of Oslo‘s current Broadway rivals, Indecent, is also a recent off-Broadway transfer, and Rebecca Taichman took home one of the Best Director awards last night. In addition, the show’s playwright, Paula Vogel, received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

But remember, if Jews kill it in anything, it’s musicals, and this year’s winner not only has a Jewish creative team, but is set in a small Israeli town, about the local population breifly bonding with a group of Egyptians. The Band’s Visit, based off of the famous Israeli film, won the Obie Musical Theatre Award (the prize goes to its writers, Itamar Moses and David Yazbek), and David Cromer was another winner for Best Director. (It must have been a nice night for Katrina Lenk, who was in The Band’s Visit between stints in Indecent, in which she currently performs. She also performed a number from the former show.)

While the Obies don’t necessarily overlap with Tony-eligible shows, could last night be a predictor for the upcoming Broadway Awards show (June 11th, y’all!), when Oslo and Indecent once again face off? In fact, the Obies was just another feather in Oslo‘s cap; it’s taken comparable best play awards from other important competitions like the Lucille Lortel Awards and the Outer Critics Circle.

For now, mazel tov to both shows for their wins.

Photo of Katrina Lenk and Tony Shalhoub in Atlantic Theater Company’s ‘The Band’s Visit,’ by Ahron R. Foster. Via Tablet.

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Good news! After a relatively gentile 2016 scene, This Broadway season is looking to be mighty Jewish. Here are the Semitic-seeming shows scheduled for spring:

First of all, Sondheim. Second of all, Sondheim where Jake Gyllenhaal is taking on a role made famous by Mandy Patinkin. That’s right, the Jewish actor stars in a revival of Sunday in the Park with George, opening next month.

Onto March! What a gift— it moves The Price from previews to opening; it’s a revival of the Arthur Miller play that actually has some overt Jewishness, unlike many of his more coded shows. March gives us the Broadway transfer of Oslo— as in, the Accords; the play tells the story of the little-known key players behind the scenes of the 1990s Israeli-Palestinian peace process. And, perhaps best of all, March brings us War Paint, the musical that stars Patti LuPone as Helena Rubinstein (focusing on her lifelong rivalry with Elizabeth Arden).

April showers bring Bette Midler back to Broadway! That’s when the revival of Hello, Dolly! opens, and everyone is rightfully freaking out. April also brings Indecent to the Great White Way, the new play with music about the controversy of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance playing Broadway in the 1920s (women kissing each other!? How scandalous!).

Also, hey, did you know off-Broadway (or even, God forbid, off-off-Broadway) is a thing? One such promising play is If I Forget, opening February. It’s a family drama about a liberal Jewish studies professor, set a few months before 9/11. Also, a new David Mamet play about a psychiatrist, The Penitent, opens around the same time (it may not be particularly Jewish; it remains to be seen. But Mamet sure is).

So the pickings are ripe! Whether you want a new family drama, or an old musical favorite, there’s something for you.

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If you’re in New York before the end of August, you should absolutely see Oslo, the new off-Broadway play at the Lincoln Center Theater. If you miss your chance, fear not! Lincoln Center has announced the play’s Broadway transfer for March 2017.

The J. T. Rogers piece follows the famous 1993 peace accords through the lens of a Norwegian couple (real-life acquaintances of the playwright) that played a key role in the negotiations behind the scenes. It opened earlier this month to rave reviews, including the Times.

Jewish media also favored the play overall (making diplomatic conversation entertaining for three hours is no easy feat), but was wary of the sunny political messaging.

“No inherent criticism of the Accords is permitted, and with this absolute certainty comes a lack of nuance,” wrote the Forward, for example, adding that it lacks “historic weight and immediacy.”

Well, now you’ll have ample opportunity to decide for yourself. The play runs at the Lincoln Center Theater through August 28th, and will begin Broadway previews March 23rd for an April 13th opening.

Image: Michael Aronov, Anthony Azizi (foreground), and Jefferson Mays (background) in Oslo. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

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