WASHINGTON, DC – On May 20, 2024, the 40th Helen Hayes Awards took place at The Anthem on the District Wharf, with over 1,600 theatre-makers and theatre supporters in attendance. Esteemed Washington theatre artists Felicia Curry, Rayanne Gonzales, Maria Rizzo, and Holly Twyford hosted an evening showcasing the vibrant and diverse community of professional theatre artists in the Washington region. They were joined by a performance ensemble of Quadry Brown, Carolyn Burke, Victoria Gomez, Sarah Anne Sillers, and Wood Van Meter with special performances by two-time Award recipient Melody A. Betts, Tuyết Thị Phạm, and James J. Johnson. The ceremony was written by Will Gartshore and co-directed by Will Gartshore and Raymond O. Caldwell. 

Recognizing work from 151 eligible productions presented in the 2023 calendar year, awards were given in 41 categories. Productions under consideration in 2023 included 44 musicals, 107 plays, and 36 world premieres. For the eighth year, the Helen Hayes Awards were given in parallel tracks determined by the ratio of Actors’ Equity contracts involved in an individual production, recognized as recipients in either the “Helen” or “Hayes” categories. For the second year, performers were adjudicated as gender inclusive (vs. gender segregated “actor” and “actress”), with ten or 11 nominees and two recipients in each performance category. 

Topping the list of individual theater organizations receiving Helen Hayes Awards this year was Arena Stage and The Keegan Theatre. Each received six awards for work in 2023. Seussical received all six awards for The Keegan Theatre, including Outstanding Production, Musical Helen. Arena Stage received three for Swept Away (Musical, Hayes), two for Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches (Play, Hayes), and one for Exclusion (Play, Hayes). Arena Stage received an additional award with the Alley Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and ACT Theatre/5th Avenue for Cambodian Rock Band (Play, Hayes). 

Fela! (Musical, Hayes), a co-production from Olney Theatre Center and Round House Theatre went home with five awards, including Outstanding Production (Musical, Hayes). Solas Nua received three awards for The Honey Trap (Play, Helen) and Toby’s Dinner Theatre received three awards for Something Rotten (Musical, Helen).

Outstanding Productions in 2023 went to The Jungle from STC & Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Visiting Production), A Year with Frog and Toad from Imagination Stage (Theatre for Young Audiences), La Salpêtrière from Taffety Punk Theatre Company (Play, Helen), and My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion from Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and The Wilma Theater (Play, Hayes).

The 40th Helen Hayes Tribute honored Peter Marks, former Theater Critic at the Washington Post. Marks stepped down in late 2023 after serving in this role for 21 years. This award recognizes Marks’ decades of knowledgeable and thoughtful writing about the DC-area, national, and international theatre landscape. He offered nuanced theatre criticism and reporting and  he contributed immensely to the recognition of the artistic vibrancy of our region.

This year’s award show was supported by a variety of hosts and sponsors. Sheila Johnson and The Honorable William J. Newman, Jr., served as this year’s Honorary Chairs alongside Event Chair Jan Du Plain. 

Producing Sponsors included Andrew A. Ammerman, Jan Du Plain, Meg and John Hauge, Dr. Judy Kuriansky, Craig Pascal, Alan J. Savada and Will Stevenson. Co-Chairs included Michael Burke and Carl Smith, Claire Carlin, Janet Farrell, Myrna Fawcett, Holly Hassett, Kevin Hennessy, Karina Hou, John Kiser, David A. Lamdin, Abel Lopez, Shahin D. Mafi, Dale A. Mott and Charles D. Urstadt, Bonnie Nelson Schwartz, Robin Phillips, and Annie Simonian Totah of the Sami and Annie Totah Family Foundation.

This year’s host committee included Drs. Nathan and Debbie Ann Doyle Ainspan, Jacqueline Badger Mars, Jeffrey and Stacie Lee Banks, Sherrie Beckstead, Susan and Dixon Butler, Debra Chandler, Prima and Chas Colburn, Leayne Dempsey, Kimberly E. Douglas and Maria Manuela Goyanes, Gary P. Fontaine and O’Shelya Brown, Edie Fraser, Brett and Cynthia Fuller, Handan Gencogluer, Barbara Hawthorn, Randy C. Howes, Debbie M. Jackson & Bill Lammers, Cliftine Jones, Elizabeth A. Karcher & Arthur A. Cohen, Renée Klish, Catherine Leggett, Jason Loewith, Howard Menaker & Patrick Gossett, David & Rita Sirignano, Lisa Stark, Carmen Stull, Graciela Thomen Ginebra, and Linda White.

The 40th Helen Hayes Awards were also supported by Events DC, Destination DC, Giant Food, The Share Fund, TodayTix, and the Washington Post. 

Produced and administered by Theatre Washington, the Helen Hayes Awards honors excellence in professional theatre in the greater Washington area. A full list of award recipients is available on theatrewashington.org or at these links:

All Recipients (alpha by first name) 

Recipients by Production (count)

Recipients by Production (alpha) 

Recipients by Theater (count) 

Recipients by Theater (alpha) 

Named for actor Helen Hayes – a Washington native and legendary First Lady of the American Theatre – the Helen Hayes Awards has honored excellence in professional theatre throughout the Washington region for four decades. 

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About Theatre Washington
Through collaborative partnerships and programs, Theatre Washington supports the Washington, DC-area’s professional theatre community to celebrate artistic achievement, strengthen the theatrical workforce, support institutional growth and advancement, and cultivate collective action. Theatre Washington’s core programs include: the Helen Hayes Awards, Theatre Week, Theatre Work, and the Taking Care Fund.

Gas prices slightly increased from Monday. It’s the first such increase after several consecutive days of prices dropping.

According to AAA, the current national average price for regular gas is $3.598 per gallon. On Monday, it was $3.59 per gallon. 

One week ago, regular gas was $3.612 per gallon. A month ago, it was $3.673 per gallon. 

Despite the recent downward trend in prices, the price of regular gas remains higher today than at this time last year. One year ago, the average cost of regular gasoline was $3.539 per gallon, according to AAA. 

California remains the state with the highest gas prices in the country, with an average price for regular-grade gas of $5.188 per gallon. Mississippi is the state with the least expensive gas, at $3.057 per gallon. To view the price of gas in each state, click here.

Here is how gas prices in different states and areas in the mid-Atlantic region compare. 

Washington, D.C.

The average price for a gallon of regular-grade gas in the nation’s capital is $3.719. This is slightly cheaper than yesterday’s price of $3.721. One week ago, the price was $3.732.

Maryland

In Maryland, a gallon of regular-grade gas is $3.555. This is an increase from Monday’s price of $3.544 per gallon. However, both prices are cheaper than the average price from a week ago, which was $3.571 per gallon.

Virginia

The average price for a gallon of regular-grade gas in Virginia on Tuesday is $3.436. This is an increase from Monday’s average of $3.398 per gallon. Last week, the average price for a gallon of regular-grade gas was $3.438, according to AAA.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Pennsylvania

Gas prices in the Keystone State were higher than the national average. The average price of regular-grade gas in Pennsylvania on Tuesday is $3.758 per gallon. This is slightly higher than Monday’s average of $3.741. One week ago, the average price of regular-grade gas was $3.764. 

Delaware

The average price for regular-grade gas in Delaware is $3.449 per gallon, less expensive than the national average. On Monday, the average price was $3.453 per gallon, and last week, it was $3.489 per gallon. 

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) -The annual Run for the Wall happens around mid-May every year.

These are a group of people who have come together to ride for those who can’t. They have one mission and four routes, as the run starts in Ontario, California, and ends in Washington, DC.

“My purpose for running for the wall in the beginning, I started in 2019 right here in Meridian. I was an F-N-G, so I started here. Once I got here and saw the comradely, what the mission was and what it stands for, it touched me. It was emotional, so I decided it was something I wanted to do from now on after the initial year in 2019, I talked to my wife and told her about the people I met on the run, and I talked to a couple of other friends out of Chattanooga Tennessee, and another friend out of Georgia and so far since 2019 I’ve got five people to join me, which I call my group now with the run for the wall, but this year I’m riding in honor of a friend I met seven years ago that died over in Iraq so that is why I ride in the run for the wall,” says Johnnie Ruddleston, Assistant Platoon leader, 3rd Platoon.

Everyone out here is riding for a purpose, as one individual says their reasons will have them riding for the rest of their lives.

“I grew up an Air Force brat; I was 12 when my dad retired; my dad was a veteran of Korea and Vietnam; my dad is no longer with us, so this is for him,” says Michael Cooper, F-N-G of Run for the Wall.

As they make their way down the interstate, they will arrive in Washington, DC, on the Friday of Memorial weekend.

To learn more about Run for the Wall, you can visit their website: https://rftw.us.

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