Washington Mayor Vincent Gray has unveiled a 2012 budget which would subject tickets to DC theatres to the City’s 6% sales tax. The tax, Gray predicts, would generate $2,303,000 in FY 2012 and nearly ten million over the next four years. [Read more...]

The latest Forever® stamp issued by the United States Postal Stamp will bear the image of Helen Hayes, regarded as “First Lady of the American Theater”.  The first date of issue will be Monday, April 25, 2011 and will be honored with a special ceremony that evening at the Helen Hayes Awards ceremony. [Read more...]

We will remember 2010 as the year in which Arena Stage received three Helen Hayes nominations for outstanding resident musical and no one else – not even the venerable musicmeisters at Signature – got more than one. We will remember 2010 as the year in which Folger Theatre received three nominations for outstanding resident play. In other words, it was the best of times, and the worst of times, for eager theater artists as Helen Hayes Chair Victor Shargai revealed the names of the one hundred fifty-six nominees for the Awards’ twenty-six honors. [Read more...]

The Helen Hayes Awards, which certainly knows their way around great musicals and glamorous parties -  each year they throw a  lavish cast party following the Helen Hayes awards – have created a new monthly event, a chic piano bar singalong and everyone is invited. [Read more...]

and after the show, came the party of the year

Signature Theatre, a nineteen-year-old company based in Arlington, Virginia swept most of the prizes for musicals at last night’s 25th annual Helen Hayes Awards at the Warner Theatre, while William Shakespeare, a four hundred forty-five year old writer from Stratford-on-Avon, England, took the lion’s share of non-musical awards, either through his writing or via the company which bears his name. [Read more...]

The Helen Hayes Awards is seeking well-versed and knowledgeable men and women to serve as Helen Hayes Awards judges. They will serve on a pool of 60 judges whose task will be to see and evaluate all Helen-Hayes eligible productions throughout the calendar year, and provide those critical judgments which result in the nomination and awarding of the prestigious Helen Hayes Awards. The commitment is for a three-year term beginning with the 2009 judging cycle.

Being a Helen Hayes judge serves not only the theatre community, but is a tremendously exciting and rewarding learning experience. If you are a regular theatre-goer and have the time to commit, we hope you will contact William Spates at wspates@helenhayes.org or call 202 337-5316.