Helen Hayes Awards

theatreWashington announced today that the 32^nd annual Helen Hayes Awards will be celebrated at the historic Lincoln Theatre on May 23, with Washington favorites E. Faye Butler and Lawrence Redmond as hosts. A Dance Party follows at the world-renowned 9:30Club, just blocks away. Both events, sponsored by TodayTix, honor 236 Helen Hayes Award nominees drawn from the 202 eligible productions presented in 2015. Included among those productions are a staggering 59 world premieres. Also in the spotlight this year is the inaugural Women’s Voices Theater Festival, with a range of plays and musicals that received 13 nominations. Tickets for the combined Awards Ceremony and Dance Party are $275 for premium seating, $150 for general seating, and can be purchased at theatreWashington.org beginning May 2.

theatreWashington President and CEO Amy Austin commented, “We’re excited to be returning to the Lincoln Theatre because of its amazing history in our city, and we’re thrilled to be taking over the 9:30 Club for a celebratory Dance Party. There’s so much phenomenal work produced every night in area theatres, this is the one night of the year we gather together to toast the excellent work of 2015 and the community as a world-class theatre destination!”

TodayTix sponsorship includes announcements of the Helen Hayes Award recipients in real time through push notifications via their mobile app. Opt-in for the live updates will become available in the coming weeks. “It says a lot that TodayTix has joined us as our sponsors,” Austin commented. “They’ve changed the way theatres do business – and we’re always eager to look ahead.”

Named for actor Helen Hayes – a Washington native and legendary First Lady of the American Theatre – the Helen Hayes Awards honorsexcellence in professional theatre throughout the Washington region. Over the last three decades it has set a standard for artistic accomplishment recognized by theatre makers and theatre lovers far beyond the Beltway. Awards are given in parallel “Helen” or “Hayes” cohorts, depending on the number of Equity members involved in a production, for a total of 47 award categories, plus the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company

Coordination of the nominations process is a year-round and demanding endeavor. Over the course of 2015, a pool of 40 Helen Hayes Awards Judges submitted a total of 21,936 scores for 2,940 individual pieces of work (design, direction, choreography, etc.). Of those scores, 1,499 were for acting performances alone. The result this year is a roster of 236 nominations drawn from 79 productions at 35 theatres. A complete list of nominees past and present can be found at theatreWashington.org.