The nominations for the 2002 Helen Hayes Awards were announced Monday March 11 at a reception at The Canadian Embassy hosted by the Ambassador of Canada to the United States, Michael Kergin, and Mrs. Marguerita Kergin. In his opening remarks, Ambassador Kergin pledged a generous donation of $20,000 to the Helen Hayes Awards, which Helen Hayes Awards Board Chairman Victor Shargai stated would be used by the Washington Theatre Legacy Project, an educational outreach program initiated by the Helen Hayes Awards in 1994, to provide theatre tickets to Washington area students to foster an interest in the theatre.

Newly appointed Executive Director Linda Levy Grossman, prior to announcing the nominations, discussed the state of Washington area theatre and commented that the Washington theatre industry remained stable during the 2001 judging cycle (January 1 - December 31, 2001) despite the events of the past year. In fact, 78 theatres produced 357 productions that ran for 8,075 performances and were attended by a total 2,200,489 audience members.

Leading the nominations for resident productions were Arena Stage with 15 nominations, The Studio Theatre with 13 nominations, The Shakespeare Theatre with 12 nominations, and Signature Theatre with 12 nominations. Productions at The Kennedy Center garnered 16 nominations out of 20 possible nominations for the non-resident categories. Leading the nominations for individual productions were Agamemnon and His Daughters, Blues in the Night, Don Carlos, Home, The Invention of Love, Perseus Bayou, The Pirates of Penzance, and Putting It Together, each with 5 nominations, and SPUNK with 4 nominations. Acting nominations include the following:

The 18th Annual Awards Ceremony will be held Monday May 6, 2002, at 8pm in The Kennedy Center Concert Hall. S. Epatha Merkerson will reprise her role as Mistress of Ceremonies for the Awards presentation.

-- Michelle Butler

Also see the Current Theatre Season Calendar for D.C.