Winning an Obie Award might seem like a letdown after nabbing three Academy Awards (best picture, director, screenplay for "No Country for Old Men"), but Ethan Coen is suddenly in the running, having a play staged off-Broadway that's getting good reviews.

Coen is just happy that "Almost an Evening" puts him in contention for any other kudos.

"Oscars just ain't gonna do it for me anymore," he tattles to the AP. "I need the Nobel Peace Prize. The Oscars have worn off, man."

Actually, "Almost an Evening" is a compilation of three dramatic works that debuted at the Atlantic Stage 2 earlier this year, then launched a commercial run at The Theatres at 45 Bleecker. The AP describes the shows thus: "The first play, 'Waiting,' has a man enduring what he's told is purgatory; he's told wrong. The second, 'Four Benches,' focuses on a British spy who wants to become 'a people person,' especially after causing the death of an innocent man who was an employee of the year for running a feedlot. And in 'Debate,' God Who Judges and God Who Loves square off at lecterns — until bullets fly. After the last one-act, actors (including Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham) play couples who proceed to deconstruct it. "

Photo: F. Murray Abraham and Mark Linn-Baker in "Almost an Evening." (The Theatres)