On Monday, January 22, 2024, at a celebration honoring outstanding work on stages across the Washington area, theatre artists, administrators, patrons, and special guests gathered at the ATLAS Performing Arts Center for Theatre Washington’s announcement of nominees for the 40th Helen Hayes Awards.
Hosts of the 2024 Helen Hayes Awards, Felicia Curry and Tom Story, welcomed the audience and Washington, DC-area performers Victor Salinas, Ryan Sellers, Sarah Anne Sillers, and Fran Tapia joined them to announce the nominations.
Recognizing work from 151 eligible productions, nominations were announced in 41 categories and grouped in “Helen” or “Hayes” cohorts, depending on the number of Equity members involved in the production. Nominations are the result of 49 carefully vetted judges considering 2,005 individual pieces of work, such as design, direction, choreography, performances, writing, and more. Productions under consideration in 2023 included 44 musicals, 107 plays, and 36 world premieres.
Peter Marks, former Theatre Critic at the Washington Post, will receive the 2024 Helen Hayes Tribute Award. Marks recently stepped down at the end of the year after serving in this role for 21 years. This award appreciates and honors Marks’ decades of knowledgeable and thoughtful writing about the DC-area, national, and international theatre landscape. He offered nuanced theatre criticism and reporting with respect, relish, and generosity. His work contributed immensely to the artistic vibrancy of our region.
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.
View all nominations by category.
View all nominations by production.
View all nominations by theatre.
Save the date for the Helen Hayes Awards celebration on Monday, May 20, 2024 at The Anthem.
