The Oppenheimer Award (also known as the Newsday George Oppenheimer Award or the Oppy) was named after the late playwright and Newsday drama critic George Oppenheimer. It was awarded annually to the best New York debut production by an American playwright for a non-musical play. The selection committee has included playwrights Edward Albee,

Wendy Wasserstein Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 ...

James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ...

, and

Richard Greenberg Richard Greenberg (born February 22, 1958) is an American playwright and television writer known for his subversively humorous depictions of middle-class American life. He has had more than 25 plays premiere on and Off-Broadway in New York City ...

. The award carries a $5,000 cash prize. The first award of $1,000, to the play ''

Getting Out ''Getting Out'' is a play by Marsha Norman. The play was produced at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre in October 1978 and then Off-Broadway in May 1979. The play concerns a female prisoner just released from prison, who returns to her home in ...

'' by Marsha Norman, was made in 1979, two years after Oppenheimer's death. It was discontinued in 2007.

Winners

*1979 ''

'', Marsha Norman *1981 ''

Crimes of the Heart ''Crimes of the Heart'' is a play by American playwright Beth Henley. It is set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century. The play won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In 1986, the p ...

'’, Beth Henley *1983 ''

To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday ''To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday'' is a 1996 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Pressman and starring Peter Gallagher and Claire Danes as a father and daughter struggling to come to terms with the tragic death of wife and mother, Gi ...

'', Michael Brady *1985 ''The Bloodletters'' by

*1988 ''Mr. Universe'' by

Jim Grimsley Jim Grimsley (born September 21, 1955) is an American novelist and playwright. Biography Born to a rural family in Grifton, North Carolina, Grimsley said of his childhood that "for us in the South, the family is a field where craziness grows l ...

*1989 ''The Film Society''

Jon Robin Baitz Jon Robin Baitz (born November 4, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and television producer. He is a two time Pulitzer Prize finalist, as well as a Guggenheim, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and National Endowment for the ...

*1990 ''Tales of the Lost Formicans'', Constance Congdon *1991 '' La Bête'' by

David Hirson David Hirson (born 1958) is an American dramatist, best known for his award-winning Broadway comedies, '' La Bête'' and ''Wrong Mountain''. Biography Hirson was born in New York City to actress Alice and playwright Roger O. Hirson. He was educ ...

*1992 '' Marvin's Room'', Scott McPherson *1993 ''Joined at the Head'' by Catherine Butterfield *1994 ''Pterodactyls'' by

Nicky Silver Nicky Silver is an American playwright. Formerly of Philadelphia, he resides in London. Many of his plays have been produced off-Broadway, and also at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. Biography Early life Silver was born in ...

. '' Why We Have a Body'' by Claire Chafee *1996 ''Insurrection: Holding History'',

Robert O'Hara Robert O'Hara (born 1970) is an American playwright and director. He has written ''Insurrection: Holding History'' and ''Bootycandy''. ''Insurrection'' is a time traveling play exploring racial and sexual identity. ''Bootycandy'' is a series of ...

*1997 "The Grey Zone",

Tim Blake Nelson Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor and playwright. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in '' Minority Report'' (2002), Dr. Pend ...

*1999 '' Wit'' by

Margaret Edson Margaret "Maggie" Edson (born July 4, 1961) is an American playwright. She is a recipient of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''Wit''. She has been a public school teacher since 1992. Background and education Edson was born in Was ...

*2002 ''Brutal Imagination'' by Cornelius Eady *2003 ''Corner Wars'' by Tim Dowlin *2004 ''The Flu Season'' by Will Eno *2005 ''Everything Will Be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy'', Mark Schultz *2006 ''The Sugar Bean Sisters'', Nathan Sanders *2007 '' Heddatron'',

Elizabeth Meriwether Elizabeth Hughes Meriwether (born October 11, 1981) is an American writer, producer and television showrunner. She is known for creating the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'', and for writing the play ''Oliver Parker!'' (2010) and the romantic comedy fil ...

Notes

{{reflist American theater awards