Helen Hayes Nominations Announced

The nominations have been announced for the Helen Hayes Awards, which honor achievement in the District of Columbia theatre scene. Nominations are divided into two categories, Helen or Hayes, depending the number of Equity members involved.

The design nominees are:

Outstanding Lighting Design (Hayes)
*Colin K. Bills - Covenant, Theater Alliance
*Jai Morjaria - Macbeth, Shakespeare Theatre Company
*Mextly Couzin - Mexodus, Mosaic Theater Company & Baltimore Center Stage
*Cory Pattak - Nine, The Kennedy Center
*Jen Schriever - Private Jones, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Lighting Design (Helen)
*Dylan Uremovich - Astro Boy and the God of Comics, Flying V
*Brian S. Allard - Hamlet ...the rest is silence, Synetic Theater
*Hailey LaRoe - Las hermanas Palacios (The Palacios Sisters), GALA Hispanic Theatre
*Alberto Segarra - The Nance, 1st Stage
*Sage Green - The Woman In Black, The Keegan Theatre

Outstanding Set Design (Hayes)
*Beowulf Boritt - Avaaz, Olney Theatre Center
*Gisela Estrada - Covenant, Theater Alliance
*Sophia Tepermeister - Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood, Imagination Stage
*Christopher & Justin Swader - Private Jones, Signature Theatre
*Natsu Onoda Power - The Colored Museum, Studio Theatre

Outstanding Set Design (Helen)
*Patti Kalil - Astro Boy and the God of Comics, Flying V
*Matthew J. Keenan - Noises Off, The Keegan Theatre
*Johnny Weissgerber - The Moors, Faction of Fools Theatre Company
* Jonathan Dahm Robertson - The Nance, 1st Stage
*Matthew J. Keenan & Cindy Landrum Jacobs - Webster's Bitch, The Keegan Theatre

Outstanding Sound Design (Hayes)
*David Lamont Wilson - Covenant, Theater Alliance
*Justin Ellington - Jaja's African Hair Braiding, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, & Chicago Shakespeare Theater
*Christopher Shutt - Macbeth, Shakespeare Theatre Company
*Mikhail Fiksel - Mexodus, Mosaic Theater Company & Baltimore Center Stage
*Eric Norris - Private Jones, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Sound Design (Helen)
*Madeline 'Mo' Oslejsek - Astro Boy and the God of Comics, Flying V
*Dan Martin & Tony Angelini - Noises Off, The Keegan Theatre
*Jennifer O'Malley - Summertime, Solas Nua
*Marcus Kyd - The Tragedie of Macbeth, Taffety Punk Theatre Company
* Brandon Cook - The Woman In Black, The Keegan Theatre

Outstanding Media/Projection Design (Hayes)
*Stefania Bulbarella - Jaja's African Hair Braiding, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, & Chicago Shakespeare Theater
* Nicholas Hussong - Next to Normal, Round House Theatre & Barrington Stage Company
*Patrick W. Lord - Private Jones, Signature Theatre
*Kelly Colburn - The Colored Museum, Studio Theatre
*Hannah Wasileski - The Lehman Trilogy, Shakespeare Theatre Company

Outstanding Media/Projection Design (Helen)
*Hailey LaRoe - A Bright Room Called Day, Nu Sass Productions & Pinky Swear Productions
*Mark Costello - Astro Boy and the God of Comics, Flying V
*Hailey LaRoe - Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, Adventure Theatre MTC
*Luis Garcia - Laughs in Spanish, 1st Stage
*Kelly Colburn - Postcards from Ihatov, 1st Stage
*Hailey LaRoe - She Persisted, Adventure Theatre MTC

Outstanding Costume Design (Hayes)
* Erik Teague - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Signature Theatre
*Dede Ayite & Nikiya Mathis - Jaja's African Hair Braiding, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, & Chicago Shakespeare Theater
* Mika Eubanks - Metamorphoses, Folger Theatre
*Paris Francesca - Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood, Imagination Stage
* Moyenda Kulemeka - The Colored Museum, Studio Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design (Helen)
*Rodrigo Munoz - Las hermanas Palacios (The Palacios Sisters), GALA Hispanic Theatre
* Paris Francesca - She Persisted, Adventure Theatre MTC
*Tommy Malek - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Compass Rose Theater
*Kendra Rai - The Nance, 1st Stage
* Janine Sunday & Sarah King - The Sound of Music, Toby's Dinner Theatre

Leading the nominations was 1st Stage's production of Douglas Carter Beane's The Nance, about a gay comic working the burlesque circuit in the 1930s (11); Signature Theatre's staging of Private Jones, Marshall Pailet's musical about a Deaf soldier in World War I (10); and Jocelyn Bioh's comedy Jaja's African Hair Braiding, a co-production of Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, with nine.

The awards will be presented on Monday, May 19 at an event at The Anthem.

For the full list of nominees, go to www.broadwayworld.com/article/Bonnie-Milligan-Beanie-Feldstein-and-More-Nominated-for-2025-Helen-Hayes-Awards-20250210.