HELEN HAYES AWARDS 2023 Archives - DC Theater Arts

Top Ten Memorable Moments from the 2023 Helen Hayes Awards

Nicole Hertvik — Fri, 26 May 2023 14:58:46 +0000

If the 2023 Helen Hayes Awards had a message, it is that one language is no longer enough to convey the myriad of lived experiences in our community. American theaters have been slowly inching toward more diverse and inclusive programming for a few years now, but rarely does that stretch so far as to include stories told in a language other than English.

The outsized number of awards going to GALA Hispanic Theatre’s Spanish-language productions and Olney Theatre Center’s bilingual English/American Sign Language production of The Music Man demonstrate that if a story is told well, DC audiences will happily step out of their comfort zones for it. A Spanish-language production? ¡No hay problema! A leading man performing in sign language? DC audiences are here for it.

2023 Helen Hayes Awards hosts Erika Rose, Holly Twyford, Christopher Michael Richardson, Naomi Jacobson, and Michael Urie. Photo by Carletta Girma.

Monday night’s event — written and directed by Will Gartshore and co-directed by Holly Twyford — was held at The Anthem and was the first in-person ceremony since 2019 and a chance for local artists to gather for what some refer to as “DC’s Tony Awards” and others cheekily call “theater prom.” The evening went on in spite of the devastating loss of GALA’s founding artistic director Hugo Medrano just hours before that theater became the night’s big winner, taking home 11 trophies, 9 for On Your Feet! La historia de Emilio y Gloria Estefan ¡En español! Medrano’s presence was felt throughout the evening, starting with host Naomi Jacobson’s introductory speech that honored his legacy as the region’s longest-serving artistic director and ending with the creative team of On Your Feet! accepting the award for Outstanding Production (musical, Helen) with a resounding cry of ¡Que Viva Hugo!

The success of On Your Feet! and The Music Man is encouraging because it demonstrates that local audiences — and Helen Hayes voters — have an appetite for stories about people whose lived experiences — and methods of expressing those experiences — are different from their own. But also… these shows just slapped. On Your Feet! director/choreographer Luis Salgado’s production burns with intensity, and the national attention given to Olney’s The Music Man proves they know how to put on a show. As do the other big winners of the night: Signature Theatre’s The Color Purple, a revival bursting with homegrown talent, and Studio Theatre’s John Proctor Is the Villain, playwright Kimberly Bellflower’s kick-ass modern coming-of-age story. This is theater that sets your soul ablaze.

Here are my top ten memorable moments from this year’s Helen Hayes Awards:

1 Patrick Lord and Jared Mezzocchi taking home the inaugural Helen Hayes Award honoring Outstanding Media/Projections Design for their work on GALA’s On Your Feet! (Lord) and Round House’s we declare you a terrorist… (Mezzocchi). The fact that Lord and Mezzocchi, local innovators with national reputations as projection-design advocates, were honored with this recognition along with the other talented nominees in the category deserves a round of applause.

2 Director Timothy Douglas accepting the Outstanding Production Award (musical, Hayes) for The Color Purple and reminding us that the theater made in 2022 was created in the wake of the biggest seismic shift to ever hit the theater world. Douglas’ speech rang like a salute to all the artists who were determined to resume their craft while processing COVID, Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and the numerous leadership changes (some of them hostile and toxic) that rocked (and continue to rock) the DC theater community.

3 Actor James Caverly (of Only Murders in the Building fame) and the ensemble of Olney Theatre’s The Music Man accepting their awards for Outstanding Performer and Outstanding Ensemble (musical, Hayes). Through sign language and English interpretation, Caverly noted that he performed the notoriously upbeat role of Harold Hill at one of the roughest moments in his life, just weeks after his father passed away. Performer Amelia Hensley then encouraged theater makers to consider more productions featuring Deaf and hard-of-hearing talent and increase accessibility to all shows going forward.

Clockwise from top left: James Caverly accepting the award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical (Hayes) for ‘The Music Man,’ Olney Theatre Center, with interpreter Amanda Welly; playwright Kimberly Belflower and the cast of ‘John Proctor Is the Villain,’ Studio Theatre, accepting the award for Outstanding Production of a Play (Hayes); the sons of Hugo Medrano accepting the award for Outstanding Production of a Musical (Helen) for ‘ON YOUR FEET!,’ GALA Hispanic Theatre. Photos by Shannon Finney.

4 Host Michael Urie’s running gag with fellow host Holly Twyford about Urie not having a Helen Hayes Award. While Urie has an Obie Award and Teen Choice and Screen Actor’s Guild nominations (he has also hosted the Drama Desk Awards more than once), the Ugly Betty alum has received nary a single Helen Hayes nomination for his headline-catching lead roles in Hamlet, Jane Anger, and Spamalot. And let’s be clear: DC has basically claimed Urie as one of our own. Or, as he quipped onstage, “I’m now as DC as cherry blossoms in spring!” Someone give this man a Helen Hayes Award, stat!

5 Raymond O. Caldwell and Adrienne Torf’s beautiful speech upon accepting the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical Adaptation (play, Helen) for Theater Alliance and IN Series’ production of Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience. In their poignant speech, the co-creators asked us to consider who will carry an artist’s message forward when they pass? Luckily for us, Caldwell and Torf did just that with June Jordan’s work.

Similarly, (I’m cheating so this still counts as number five): The witty banter between co-writers Awa Sal Secka and Dani Stoller as they accepted the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical: “At a time when antisemitism and racism are growing at an alarming rate, to be able to win this award for telling this story that love overcomes all obstacles is the best thing that could ever happen… I love you so much! No, I love you so much!” (Insert Secka and Stoller’s voices interchangeably throughout this exchange as they giddily express their appreciation for each other.) No wonder they tell award-winning stories together!

6 Michael Windsor and Yaritza Pacheco discussing what happened to the dozens of second-hand sofas from thrift stores across the DMV that netted them the Outstanding Set Design Award (musical, Helen) for their intimate interpretation of tick, tick… BOOM! Audiences for that show enjoyed the immersive production on those cozy couches as the three-member cast performed all around them… and sometimes in their laps. It’s good to know the sofas have moved on to good homes.

7 Michael Innocenti accepting the Outstanding Ensemble Award for Keegan Theatre’s The Outsider (play, Helen) and thanking the Washington Post “for not coming to review our show so that they could write their 100th article on the revival of Into the Woods.” Innocenti’s observation hones in on the stark financial conditions of the publishing industry that are leading to a decline in local arts coverage by many (most) publications across the city. Sigh…

The audience at The Anthem. Photo by Carletta Girma.

8 Jaucqir LaFond receiving the Outstanding Lead Performer Award (play, Helen) for his performance in Perisphere Theater’s Blue Door. We Stan an outstanding performer from a very small theater company getting recognized with a big old award. In his speech, LaFond noted that the last time he was at The Anthem he was working as an usher. How’s that for a glow-up?

9 Synetic Theatre’s artistic director Paata Tsikurishvili accepting the Outstanding Production Award (play, Helen) for Host and Guest reminding us that when he moved to Washington, DC, from the Republic of Georgia, conditions there were similar to those now in Ukraine. “Synetic Theatre has allowed me to live the American dream,” Tsikurishvili announced before closing his speech with a rousing Slava Ukraini!

10 But the most bittersweet story from this year’s Helen Hayes Awards is the passing of Hugo Medrano just hours before his work at GALA was recognized as some of the best in the industry. Hugo Medrano and GALA have done amazing, groundbreaking work over the past 40 years, opening doors for hundreds of Latinx artists. My hope is that the American theater community rallies around GALA at this time because, I promise you, their next chapter is going to be stupendous. Let Medrano’s legacy be that his work was only the beginning. As On Your Feet’s creative team shouted upon accepting the award for Oustanding Production: ¡Que viva Hugo!… long live Hugo.

What moment sticks out to you from this year’s awards? Share in comments!

The 2023 Helen Hayes Awards took place on Monday, May 22, 2023, at The Anthem, 901 Wharf Street SW, Washington, DC.

SEE ALSO:
Theatre Washington celebrates 2023 Helen Hayes Awards (news story, May 23, 2023)
What to expect at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards (feature by Nicole Hertvik, May 3, 2023)

The post Top Ten Memorable Moments from the 2023 Helen Hayes Awards appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

Theatre Washington celebrates 2023 Helen Hayes Awards

DC Theater Arts Staff — Tue, 23 May 2023 03:30:35 +0000

Want to see all the recipients right away? Scroll down to the yellow-highlighted list!

Monday evening the 2023 Helen Hayes Awards took place at The Anthem on the District Wharf, with over 1,600 theater-makers and theater supporters in attendance. Esteemed Washington theater artists Naomi Jacobson, Erika Rose, Holly Twyford, and Christopher Michael Richardson hosted an evening showcasing the vibrant and diverse community of professional theater artists in the Washington region. They were joined by a performance ensemble of Quadry Brown, Carolyn Burke, Drake Leach, and Kanysha Williams and special guest star Michael Urie, with additional performances by Frenchie Davis and Solomon Parker III. Recognizing work from 131 eligible productions presented in the 2022 calendar year, awards were given in 41 categories. Productions under consideration in 2022 included 39 musicals, 97 plays, and 38 world premieres. For the seventh 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 first year in 2022, performers were adjudicated as gender inclusive (vs. gender segregated “actor” and “actress”), with ten nominees and two recipients in each performance category.

Topping the list of theaters receiving Helen Hayes Awards this year was GALA Hispanic Theatre, which received a total of 11 awards for work in 2022, including nine for their production of ON YOUR FEET! La historia de Emilio y Gloria Estefan ¡En español! (Musical, Helen), one for REVOLTOSA (The Troublemaker) (Musica, Helen), and one for La casa de la laguna (The House on the Lagoon) (Play, Helen). The success was bittersweet for the GALA community, which is mourning the passing of the theater’s co-founder and producing artistic director, Hugo Medrano.

Going home with four awards for The Color Purple (Musical, Hayes) and two awards for She Loves Me (Musical, Hayes) was Signature Theatre. Olney Theatre Center received three awards for Meredith Willson’s The Music Man and one each for The Joy That Carries You (Play, Hayes) and A.D. 16 (Musical, Hayes).

Outstanding Productions in 2022 went to Guys and Dolls from The Kennedy Center (Visiting Production), Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience (Theatre for Young Audiences), ON YOUR FEET! from GALA Hispanic Theatre (Musical, Helen), The Color Purple from Signature Theatre (Musical, Hayes), Host & Guest from Synetic Theater (Play, Helen), and John Proctor is the Villain from Studio Theatre (Play, Hayes).

The 2023 Helen Hayes Tribute honored Bonnie Nelson Schwartz, Founder of the Helen Hayes Awards and a fixture of Washington’s cultural community. Nelson Schwartz is a Tony and Emmy-nominated producer of Broadway theater, television, and concerts, with over 100 plays, films, television programs, and concerts in Washington, DC, New York, London, and South Africa to her credit.

The two recipients of the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company were ExPats Theatre and Prologue Theatre. Prologue Theatre received two additional awards for their production of The Revolutionists (Play, Helen) — Outstanding Supporting Performer Fabiolla Da Silva and Outstanding Director Jessica Lefkow.

This year’s award show was supported by a variety of hosts and sponsors. Angie M. Gates, President and CEO of Events DC, served as this year’s honorary chair alongside event chair Jan Du Plain. Producers included Andrew Ammerman, Jan Du Plain, Meg and John Hauge, Craig Pascal, and Alan J. Savada and Will Stevenson. Co-Chairs included Terry O. Brackett, Michael Burke & Carl Smith, Myrna Fawcett & Michael Singer, Karina Hou, Christie Johnson, Abel Lopez, Shahin D. Mafi, Lola C Reinsch of the Reinsch Pierce Family Foundation, and Sammy and Annie Totah Family Foundation. Honorary Committee Hosts included Congressman Don Beyer (US Representative from VA-8), Mrs. Megan Beyer (Director of the Office of Art in Embassies at the U.S. Department of State), Senator Adam Ebbin (Senate of Virginia – District 30), Suzan E. Jenkins (Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County), Congressman Jim Moran (Former US Representative from VA-8) and Brooke Pinto (Ward 2 Councilmember, District of Columbia). This year’s host committee included: Terri Allen (CAPPA), Jeffrey Allen & Stacie Lee Banks, Sherrie Beckstead, Susan & Dixon Butler, Claire Carlin, Laura Einstein & Helene Madonick, Gary Fontaine & O’Shelya Brown, Holly Hassett, Barbara Hawthorn, Kevin Hennessy, Frank F. Islam & Debbie Driesman, Rebecca Klemm, Renée Klish, Jacqueline Mars, Howard Meneker & Patrick Gossett, Carl & Undine Nash, Michelle Pendoley, Bonnie Nelson Schwartz, David & Rita Sirignano, Dana M. Smith, Carol & Tom Wheeler.

The 2023 Helen Hayes Awards were also supported in part by Arctos Technology Solutions, Destination DC, Monty Hoffman, Hoffman and Associates, Share Fund, TodayTix, and Everything Legendary.

Produced and administered by Theatre Washington, the Helen Hayes Awards honors excellence in professional theater in the greater Washington area. A full list of award recipients is available below, 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)

2023 Helen Hayes Awards Nominees and recipients

Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical – Helen
Monty Python’s Spamalot | Toby’s Dinner Theatre
ON YOUR FEET! | GALA Hispanic Theatre
The Spongebob Musical | Toby’s Dinner Theatre
tick, tick…BOOM! | Monumental Theatre Co
REVOLTOSA (The Troublemaker)** | GALA Hispanic Theatre

Outstanding Ensemble in a Play – Helen
Fantastagirl and the Math Monster | Adventure Theatre MTC
The Revolutionists | Prologue Theatre
The Outsider | The Keegan Theatre
The Trip | Best Medicine Rep
Under the Sea with Dredgie McGee | 1st Stage

Outstanding Production – Theatre for Young Audiences
Beastgirl | The Kennedy Center
Make Way for Ducklings | Adventure Theatre MTC
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed***** | Imagination Stage
P.Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical | Imagination Stage
Under the Sea with Dredgie McGee | 1st Stage

Outstanding Production in a Musical – Hayes
American Prophet | Arena Stage
Meredith Willson’s The Music Man | Olney Theatre Center
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed***** | Imagination Stage
No Place to Go | Signature Theatre
She Loves Me | Signature Theatre
The Color Purple | Signature Theatre

Outstanding Production in a Musical – Helen
Monty Python’s Spamalot | Toby’s Dinner Theatre
ON YOUR FEET!* | GALA Hispanic Theatre
Once on This Island | Constellation Theatre Company
The Spongebob Musical | Toby’s Dinner Theatre
tick, tick…BOOM! | Monumental Theatre Co

Outstanding Production in a Play – Hayes
Ain’t No Mo’ | Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in association with Baltimore Center Stage
John Proctor is the Villain | Studio Theatre
Much Ado About Nothing | Shakespeare Theatre Company
Nollywood Dreams | Round House Theatre
The Joy That Carries You | Olney Theatre Center
The Tempest | Round House Theatre

*Full title: ON YOUR FEET! La historia de Emilio y Gloria Estefan ¡En español!
**Full title: REVOLTOSA (The Troublemaker) – Variations on the 1897 Zarzuela for Today
***Full title: La casa de la laguna (The House on the Lagoon)
****Full title: FIRES IN THE MIRROR: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and Other Identities
*****Full title: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience
******Full title: Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience

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 more than three decades.

About Theatre Washington
Through collaborative partnerships and programs, Theatre Washington supports the Washington, DC-area’s professional theater 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 Summit, Theatre Work, and the Taking Care Fund.

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Our ‘Naked Mole Rat’ is in the running for three Helen Hayes awards!

Deryl Davis — Fri, 19 May 2023 20:49:27 +0000

First off, naked mole rats don’t wear clothes, nor do they play electric guitars. But in Imagination Stage’s winter production of Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience, they did both and more. They played drums, piano, and other instruments while enacting a rousing musical theater adapation of the beloved Mo Willems children’s book about one of their kind who — yazooks! — decides to strike out on his own and wear clothes. Director Kathryn Chase Bryer also took a nontraditional path, casting actor-musicians who performed the show’s ten songs live while also playing the group of mole rats Wilbur, Grande, Tall, Venti, Stark Naked, and others. The inventive approach made for a successful run in the holiday season and put the production into competition for three awards at Monday evening’s Helen Hayes Awards, Washington’s premier event recognizing excellence in professional theater. Imagination Stage’s production of Naked Mole Rat is up for Outstanding Direction in a Musical (Hayes), Outstanding Production in a Musical (Hayes), and Outstanding Production: Theatre for Young Audiences.

Kathryn Chase Bryer and Deborah Wicks La Puma

“It’s really nice to be recognized for the TYA [Theatre for Young Audiences] work, because TYA often doesn’t get as much recognition as theater for adults,” says Bryer, who already has two Outstanding Direction in a Musical awards (for a 2018 production of Wonderland: Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure at Imagination Stage and a 2019 production of Fly by Night at 1st Stage). “I’m really proud that we are nominated alongside theaters like Arena [Stage] and Signature [Theatre], who have more resources than we do. [For us] it’s all about creating theater that is excellent for young audiences. We really believe in that.”

Naked Mole Rat is one of several Mo Willems books that have been adapted into musicals. In this case, Willems collaborated with composer and music director Deborah Wicks La Puma, who has a long history with Imagination Stage and has herself won a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Musical Adaptation (in 2018, for Ella Enchanted at Adventure Theatre). Naked Mole Rat premiered in 2018 at Seattle Children’s Theater, with script and lyrics by Willems and original music by La Puma. It is their fourth musical collaboration. The Seattle production included a live band performing the show’s ten rock-infused songs that La Puma says were inspired by the glam rock sounds of David Bowie and Queen.

“We were lucky to premiere at the Seattle Children’s Theater, because they always perform with live music,” La Puma says. “It really just elevates any production. I always say that if I win the lottery, I’m going to start a foundation to support theaters to pay for live music. That’s my dream.”

Knowing the realities of theater funding, La Puma and her team recorded the music tracks to Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience for theaters that could not afford live musicians. She estimates that “a majority” of the 24 productions of the show to date have used the recorded music. So she was thrilled to learn that one of her longtime partners, Imagination Stage, was not only using live music but had found actors who could play the songs themselves.

To dress or not to dress is the question in this rock musical with (L-R) Steven Gondré-Lewis, Katherine Zoerb, Alana Thomas, Harrison Smith, and Caroline Dubberly in ‘Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience.’ Photo by Margot Schulman.

“It’s a really bold choice to have your lead characters also playing the music,” La Puma says. “It can make it hard to cast, but then [the show] is really a quadruple threat. It’s amazing. But you have to know who’s out there.”

Kate Bryer recalls writing to La Puma to ask for her thoughts about staging the musical this way. “I said, ‘I don’t think it’s been done before, but how would you feel if I have the actors play all the instruments as part of the story?’” Bryer remembers. “And Debbie said, ‘That’s great!’”

Bryer says she was not overly concerned about finding actors who could fulfill the show’s musical demands. She had done the same with Wonderland: Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure in 2018 for which she won her first Hayes Award for Outstanding Direction in a Musical.

“There are actually a surprising number of actors who play instruments [in the Washington area], and I know a lot of them from years and years of doing this kind of work,” Bryer says. “I just keep my eye on them, and I know where they are, because I’m always up for somebody who can play and act at the same time.” Bryer says she has had a “special affinity” for actors playing music onstage since seeing a Broadway production of Sweeney Todd done in that fashion years ago.

According to Bryer, the biggest challenge she and her team faced in mounting their production of Naked Mole Rat was the coordination of music cues and blocking, or actor movement. For help, she turned to Music Director Deborah Jacobson, with whom Bryer had worked for over a decade.

Russell Rinker, Alana Thomas, Harrison Smith, Steven Gondré-Lewis, and Katherine Zoerb rock it out in ‘Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience.’ Photo by Margot Schulman.

“I knew she could do it, because she’s so brilliant,” Bryer says of Jacobson. “But she had to look at the score and figure out how we could orchestrate or re-orchestrate everything. Like, what instruments do you need for each song? When do you need a guitar or a piano or drums? So she had to go through each of the numbers and figure out what was needed instrumentally, and then, I had to go through and figure it out from a movement perspective and a staging perspective. How is that person going to perform that action while they’re carrying a bass guitar, and is that possible? So, that was the challenge. How can [performers] act and play an instrument at the same time?”

Acting and musical performance weren’t the only things that had to be aligned. The musical also involves dance. For that, Bryer called on choreographer Tony Thomas. “Debbie and Tony and I went through each number and decided what all the instruments were going to be,” Bryer recounts. “Then we told Tony, you’re going to have to choreograph this number, but Russell’s going to be playing the piano, and Kathryn is going to be on the bass, and Alana has to be playing a triangle, so just keep that in mind,” Bryer laughs.

Added to the mix was the fact that the production had been cast immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. That meant that everything was on hold for a number of months. Nonetheless, the show did go on, almost a year and a half after it was originally scheduled, during the 2022/23 holiday season, by which time many patrons were returning to the theaters.

For both Bryer and La Puma, all the work seems to have been worth it, whatever happens to that naked mole rat on Monday night. Each seems fairly sanguine about the prospects. What is clear is their shared enthusiasm for and commitment to Theatre for Young Audiences. “I’m always excited when TYA gets highlighted like this in DC,” La Puma says. “I’ve dedicated my life to it.”

For her part, Bryer reflects that even though (or perhaps, because) TYA audiences “age out” so quickly, “we really strongly believe in what we do. We know that we’re building the audiences of the future, and we want them to eat good ‘food’ so they will be healthy. So, they’ve got to have good theaters, so they will become good theater-goers and recognize good work. That’s our job.”

Judging by the Helen Hayes nominations accorded to Naked Mole Rat, it would seem the DC theater community agrees.

The 2023 Helen Hayes Awards will take place on Monday, May 22, 2023, at The Anthem, 901 Wharf Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. For more information and to order tickets, go online.

COVID Safety: Theatre Washington will follow The Anthem’s mask-optional guidelines.

SEE ALSO:
What to expect at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards (feature by Nicole Hertvik, May 3, 2023)
‘Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed’ at Imagination Stage will rock a kid’s world (review by Sarah Shah, December 4, 2022)

About the Wendi Winters Memorial Series: DC Theater Arts has partnered with the Wendi Winters Memorial Foundation to honor the life and work of Wendi Winters, the DC Theater Arts writer who died in the Capital Gazette shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 28, 2018. To honor Wendi’s legacy, the Wendi Winters Memorial Foundation has funded the Wendi Winters Memorial Series, monthly articles to be produced by DC Theater Arts to bring attention to theater companies and theater practitioners in our region who engage in exemplary work that makes our community a better place.

For more information on DC Theater Arts’ Wendi Winters Memorial Series, check out this article graciously published by our friends at District Fray Magazine.

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Musical makers Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith score a Helen Hayes nomination

Kendall Mostafavi — Mon, 08 May 2023 18:36:18 +0000

Local creative duo Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith have been churning out original works to DC-area theaters for over 20 years now. And while they have collaborated on more lighthearted pieces like the holiday musical Silver Belles, most of their works lean more toward the macabre.

Conner and Smith turned a horror movie classic into Night of the Living Dead the Musical. And in 2015, they were commissioned by Creative Cauldron for the first phase of the Virginia theater’s “Bold New Works for Intimate Stages” project, resulting in three darkly delicious musicals: Turn of the Screw, an adaptation of the same-titled novel involving a naive governess who encounters ghosts while caring for two orphaned children; Monsters of the Villa Diodati, based on the true events of the evening Mary Shelley found the inspiration to create Frankenstein; and Witch, telling the history of strong women being condemned, feared, and labeled “Witch.”

Stephen Gregory Smith and Matt Conner. Photo courtesy of Creative Cauldron.

But Conner and Smith are not tied to a singular genre. The same Bold New Works project also brought forth On Air, the story of radio pioneers Frank and Flora Conrad and the birth of the first American radio station, and Kaleidoscope, the heart-wrenching tale of a Broadway performer’s early stages of Alzheimer’s and the toll it takes on her family and career.

Many of these new works have garnered critical acclaim, but it is their most recent work, Ichabod: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow — a musical adaptation of the Washington Irving classic — that earned Conner and Smith a Helen Hayes nomination for the prestigious Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical.

When I spoke to Matt and Stephen about the process of creating Ichabod, they stressed repeatedly the importance of staying true to Irving’s text. The idea had gone through iterations before but never felt right until they decided to embrace Irving’s open ending instead of trying to complete the story. Part of the great intrigue of the classic is that the resolution is up to the interpretation of the audience. Consumers expect complete stories, nice and tidy bows that conclude an adventure. But with Ichabod, there is mystery. Was he spirited away by the headless horseman? Did he flee in fear back to the city? Was he murdered out of jealousy? There is no right or wrong answer, which is simultaneously fascinating and unsettling.

The pair decided to set the story primarily in a schoolhouse, an idea that came about in an organic and rather charming way. Stephen explained: “’The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ is one of my father’s favorite stories. So this had been in talks to be done at Creative Cauldron, for years. And then the pandemic hit and it just kept getting pushed back. But after my father passed, we were back here in Virginia, we were going to see a movie. And we were early and so we went to the World Market, and they had all of these miniature objects that you would find in an old schoolhouse. There was a globe, a bench, there were all these different little things, so I started arranging them on the shelf and the idea came to me. What if we tell the story with the things that would be found in a schoolhouse of the time?”

Colum Goebelbecker (Ichabod Crane) and the Cast of ‘Ichabod: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ at Creative Cauldron Photo by William Gallagher.

Focusing on Ichabod being a teacher, new to Sleepy Hollow and an outsider, also stays true to the historical aspect of Irving’s story, which Irving drew from his lived experiences. The characters of the school teacher and the Van Tassels, and events including the Harvest Ball, were aspects of Irving’s life that he formed into a beautiful short story that has been retold countless times for over 200 years.

Conner and Smith also make note of the poetry of the MacArthur nomination: The distinction of being nominated for an honor that is itself a tribute to a great American writer, for a work they created as an homage to another treasured American writer. The acknowledgment for their creative work is prize enough and a credit to their entire repertoire.

Stephen Gregory Smith and Matt Conner

So what’s next for Conner and Smith? Aside from their podcast, which has six seasons now available on Spotify and Anchor, the two have been working on a retro ’80s LGBTQ zombie audio adventure titled “Longshot.” With four episodes on the books and a fifth in production, the episodes average about 20 minutes each and are centered around two teenage boys, Tyler and Justin, and their complicated navigation through falling in love, battling prejudice, and an apocalyptic disaster brought on by a nuclear power plant meltdown. Primarily set in an arcade, the show is full of ’80s nostalgia with an original take on zombie horror.

And new productions are also on the horizon but very early on in the process and, despite my pressing, details would not be divulged. But in the meantime, check out Conner and Smith’s website and delve into their body of work that leans toward the darker nature of society and how humanity fights through it to find love, hope, and peace.

Conner and Smith are among over 400 DC-area theater artists honored with Helen Hayes nominations this year. This year’s Helen Hayes Awards will be the first in-person ceremony since 2019. Congratulations to Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith and all the nominees.

The 2023 Helen Hayes Awards will take place on Monday, May 22, 2023, at The Anthem, 901 Wharf Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. For more information and to order tickets, go online.

SEE ALSO:
What to expect at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards (feature by Nicole Hertvik, May 3, 2023)
A feel-good podcast from theatermakers Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith (interview feature by Kendall Mostafavi, May 30, 2021)

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What to expect at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards

Nicole Hertvik — Wed, 03 May 2023 21:49:51 +0000

The Helen Hayes Awards are back, baby, live and in person! For the first time since 2019, the DMV theater community will be able to celebrate its achievements with a big old party. This year’s event will look and feel different from past ceremonies, so DCTA sat down with Theatre Washington leadership to get the scoop on what to expect when you don your fancy duds on May 22.

The 2019 Helen Hayes Awards at The Anthem. Photo by Shannon Finney.

When and where?

As in 2018 and 2019, the ceremony will take place at The Anthem in Southwest DC. This year, however, the ceremony will be split into two “acts.” Theatre Washington made the decision to split the show into two parts — both taking place on the same evening — after balancing feedback that recent ceremonies didn’t offer enough time to socialize with a determination to honor each nominee. “We are presenting 42 important awards and we want to give time to the nominees,” says Theatre Washington CEO Amy Austin. “We thought about options like splitting it into two nights or giving out some awards before the ceremony, but we didn’t want to leave anyone out on the one night when we’re together.”

Doors open and drinks will be served starting at 4:30 pm. This year’s celebration will divide the awards presentations into two acts with an approximately 30-minute break to give people time to socialize. A DJ then comes in for an after-party for all guests on The Anthem’s first floor, so bring your dancing shoes and prepare for a great night.

Winner, winner, you get dinner

One big difference in this year’s ceremony is the inclusion of a sit-down dinner (think Golden Globes–style tables) served during “Act One” for nominees, theaters, and paid guests. A reservation in this section goes for a whopping $325, but every individual award nominee (all 220 of them) received one complimentary reservation. In addition to this year’s nominees, expect to see theater supporters and local dignitaries at these tables.

A second section of first-floor seating has been set aside for all ensemble nominees (each of whom received one complimentary ticket), Helen Hayes judges, and other invited guests. A buffet dinner will be served in this section during “Act One” with drinks available from a cashless cash bar all night. Ensemble nominees each receive one complimentary drink ticket and can invite guests to join them in this section for $65.

Finally, general admission tickets are available for $65. Similar to years past, these seats will be in the balcony section. Individuals affiliated with the region’s various theaters are encouraged to gather in groups to cheer on their theater’s nominees. Complimentary light food and paid food from the Anthem will be available and a cashless cash bar will be open all night.

Tickets to both the catered dinner section and the general admission section are now available through Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner of The Anthem, or through an affiliated theater sponsorship.

Note that The Anthem does not take cash, so anyone planning to buy drinks or food should bring a credit or debit card.

Lights, camera, action!

Here’s a list of the DMV notables putting together this year’s Helen Hayes Awards:

Naomi Jacobson, Erika Rose, and Holly Twyford, whom Austin calls “three of the grand dames of DC theater,” will host “Act One.”
Christopher Michael Richardson, the DC performer and director who made headlines last year for understudying the role of Usher in Woolly Mammoth’s production of A Strange Loop, will host “Act Two.”
Michael Urie and Ryan Spahn, the real-life couple who appeared together in Jane Anger at Shakespeare Theatre Company this season, will appear as special guests. “We’re excited about our guests and the fun they will bring,” Austin says, noting that Urie, a frequent face on DC stages, is a previous Drama Desk Awards host. Urie will be in DC during May for the run of Spamalot! at the Kennedy Center.
Will Gartshore and Holly Twyford will co-direct the event. “They have been working hard on a script, performances, and how everything will be presented,” Theatre Washington’s Liz O’Meara-Goldberg shared. “A lot of great DC artists are working on the design of the show and performing in it.”
Musical wunderkind and multiple Helen Hayes recipient Walter “Bobby” McCoy will music-direct the show. What music can we expect? “An ensemble of performers will do some singing and dancing,” Austin says. “Unlike the Tonys where the shows are all still playing, that is not the case here because all the nominated shows happened in 2022. We bring fresh production numbers to the Awards.”
Jan Du Plain is this year’s Awards ceremony chair. She is a sparkling fixture on DC’s social scene, with deep ties to the diplomatic community where she is a longtime leader. “We are thrilled to have Jan because she works every day to raise the visibility of Washington-area theater with organizations and influencers in our region,” Austin says.
Angie Gates, the president and CEO of Events DC, is this year’s honorary chair. She was the former general manager at the Warner Theatre and the force behind the DC government’s 202Creates initiative at the Mayor’s Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment. “Angie has a deep commitment to creatives being able to live in the city, as well as making the arts community a more visible force in driving economic development for the city,” Austin says.

The 2023 Helen Hayes Awards will recognize work from 131 eligible productions presented in the 2022 calendar year in 41 categories. Productions under consideration in 2022 included 39 musicals, 97 plays, and 38 world premieres. For a complete list of nominees, click here.

The 2019 Helen Hayes Awards at The Anthem. Photo by Purple PPL Media.

The 2023 Helen Hayes Awards will take place on Monday, May 22, 2023, at The Anthem, 901 Wharf Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. For more information and to order tickets, go online.

COVID Safety: Theatre Washington will follow The Anthem’s mask-optional guidelines.

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