Bringing the Washington, DC-area theatre community together in recognition and celebration.

Helen Hayes Awards

The Helen Hayes Awards recognize outstanding achievement from professional theatres and theatre-makers across the Washington, DC region. Named for the legendary First Lady of the American Theatre, Helen Hayes, the awards celebrate the artists and companies whose work makes the Washington, DC-area a thriving, nationally recognized theatre community.

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Fame The Musical at GALA Hispanic Theatre.

Stan Weinstein

Nominee & Recipient Database

With thousands of nominees in dozens of categories annually, there are many memories and much to celebrate! Use our Helen Hayes Award nominee and recipient database to search theatres, theatre-makers, and productions since 2011.

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History of the Helen Hayes Awards

In the early 1980s, the Washington Theatre Awards Society was founded to recognize and encourage the excellence of Washington, DC’s professional theatres. Since then, the Washington, DC-area theatre community has grown into one of the largest and most successful in the nation, producing a wide range of classical plays, original musicals, theatre for young audiences, and new work.

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Backstage at the Helen Hayes Awards

Events DC, Theatre Washington, and executive producer Bonnie Nelson Schwartz (founder of the Helen Hayes Awards) present Backstage at the Helen Hayes Awards - a three-part series hosted on GATHER by Events DC spotlighting DC’s outstanding professional theatre community.