1988: David Henry Hwang examined the relationship between a white diplomat and Featured Actor (or was that actress?) B.D. Wong, in which nothing was what it seemed. Other ators: Ron Silver (Speed-the-Plow), Joan Allen (Burn This), L. Scott Caldwell (Joe Turner's Come and Gone).

1990: Frank Galati's stirring adaptation and staging of the John Steinbeck novel was smashingly performed by the Steppenwolf acting company from Chicago. Actors: Robert Morse (Tru), Maggie Smith and Margaret Tyzack (Lettice and Lovage), Charles Durning (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof).

1992: Brien Friel's tale of five Irish sisters took top honors, and Brid Brennan won Featured Actress as one of the five. Other actors: Judd Hirsch (Coversations with my Father), Glenn Close (Death and the Maiden), Larry/Laurence Fishburne (Two Trains Running).

1994: The more abstract second half of the epic series played in rep with its predecessor and took honors all over again. This time, Stephen Spinella won Best Actor, and Jeffrey Wright's sassy but wise Belize took Featured Actor. Other actors: Diana Rigg (Medea), Jane Adams (An Inspector Calls).

1996: Terrance McNally was honored again (over Sam Shepard, August Wilson and David Hare) for this look at diva Maria Callas' frighteningly instructive sessions with Julliard opera students. Winners: George Grizzard (Delicate Balance), Zoe Caldwell and Audra McDonald (Master Class), Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Seven Guitars).

1998: French playwright Yasmina Reza's comedy about friendships tested over the title subject won over a Martin McDonagh play that nearly swept the acting awards and won Best Director for Garry Hynes. Actors: Anthony La Paglia (A View from the Bridge), Marie Mullen, Tom Murphy and Anna Manahan (Beauty Queen of Leenane).

2000: Michael Frayn's idea of what went down between physicists Niels Bor and Werner Heisenberg when they met in World War II won Featured Actress for Blair Brown as Bohr's wife. Michael Blakemore got Best Director for this and Kiss Me Kate. Other actors: Stephen Dillane and Jennifer Ehle (The Real Thing), Roy Dotrice (Moon for the Misbegotten).

2002: Edward Albee ventured into unexpected explorations of love with this play, whose competition included Topdog/Underdog and Metamorphoses. Actors: Alan Bates and Frank Langella (Fortune's Fool), Lindsay Duncan (Private Lives), Katie Finneran (Noises Off).

2004: Best Actor Jefferson Mays triumphed in Doug Wright's tale of a German tranvestite antique collector. Other actors: Phylicia Rashad and Audra McDonald (Raisin in the Sun), Brian F. O'Byrne (Frozen).

2006: Alan Bennett's look at British prep-school boys clawing their way into university took Best Actor and Featured Actress for teachers Richard Griffiths and Frances de la Tour. Other actors: Cynthia Nixon (Rabbit Hole), Ian McDairmid (Faith Healer).

2008: Tracy Letts made his contribution to the dysfunctional-family genre with this mammoth Midwestern comedy-drama, stirringly acted by a Steppenwolf ensemble. Actors: Mark Rylance (Boeing-Boeing), Deanna Dunagan and Rondi Reed (August: Osage County), Jim Norton (The Seafarer).