We celebrated the region’s vibrant professional theatre community on Monday, May 18, 2026, during the 42nd Annual Helen Hayes Awards at The Anthem on the District Wharf. More than 1,600 theatre artists, administrators, supporters, and industry leaders gathered for an evening recognizing outstanding achievement across Washington-area stages. This year’s ceremony was hosted by Felicia Curry, Derrick Truby, and Holly Twyford who guided audiences through a celebratory evening featuring performances from the Helen Hayes Awards Ensemble and reflections of the creativity and vibrancy of the local theatre community.
Recognizing productions presented during the 2025 calendar year, the Helen Hayes Awards honored work from 149 eligible productions, including 42 musicals, 107 plays, and 33 world premieres. Awards were presented across 41 categories, including gender-inclusive performance categories.
Complete lists of 2026 Helen Hayes Award recipients:
Recipients (alpha order by name)
Recipients by Production (#)
Recipients by Production (alpha)
Recipients by Theatre (#)
Recipients by Theatre (alpha)
The evening also featured the presentation of the inaugural Transformative Cultural Impact Award to philanthropist, business leader, and arts advocate Adrienne Arsht in recognition of her decades long commitment to advancing arts and culture nationally and internationally. Arsht’s transformational support of cultural institutions includes landmark investments in the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, and numerous initiatives supporting civic engagement, resilience, and the arts.
The 2026 Helen Hayes Awards were supported by a distinguished group of sponsors and community partners, including Events DC, Destination DC, Downtown DC BID, Share Fund, TodayTix, Giant Food, Tang Reserve Tea, University of Maryland College Park School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, The Quincy hotel, and OTJ Architects. Honorary Chairs were Luke Frazier and Robert Pullen, with Leadership Circle Committee, Jan Du Plain, Edie Fraser, Catherine Hand, Beth Mendelson, Annie Simonian Totah, Robin Phillips, Jose Alberto Ucles and Tom Noll and Bonnie Nelson Schwartz, Founder of the Helen Hayes Awards.
