New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared yesterday "Village Voice Obie Awards Day" in the Big Apple, celebrating the half-century mark of a program that recognizes the best of Off and Off-Off-Broadway theater. Jerry Tallmer, the awards' founder, recalls the original Obies, held in June, 1956, when Shelley Winters hosted the event. Pictured above are Obie golden anniversary hosts Brían F. O'Bryne and Stockard Channing.
