These theaters transport you to many places, like Narnia; Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 and Lagos, Nigeria in 1978. On Monday, they received award nominations for painting these scenes for audiences.
Five theaters in Montgomery County were nominated for the 2024 Helen Hayes Awards, which have honored “excellence in professional theatre” throughout the Washington, D.C. area for 40 years, according to the Theatre Washington website.
The awards are named after actor Helen Hayes, “a Washington native and legendary First Lady of the American Theatre,” the website said.
The award ceremony will take place on May 20 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.
Round House Theatre, located at 4545 East-West Highway in Bethesda, received 14 nominations for “The Seafarer,” “August Wilson’s Radio Golf,” “The Mountaintop,” “Ink” and “Fela!” In 2023, the theater won five awards.
Olney Theatre Center, located at 2001 Olney Sandy Spring Road, received 11 nominations for “A Nice Indian Boy,” “Ink” and “Fela!” The theater won five awards in 2023.
Imagination Stage, located at 4908 Auburn Ave. in Bethesda, received eight nominations for “The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen” and “A Year with Frog and Toad.” In 2023, the theater won one award.
Adventure Theatre, located at 7300 Macarthur Blvd., in Glen Echo received five nominations for “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” The theater did not win any awards in 2023.
Perisphere Theater, which was performed out of the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, received one nomination for “Hazardous Materials.” In 2023, the theater won one award.
Overall, 32 theaters were nominated this year, and the theater with the most nominations, also 32, is Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.
Peter Marks, former theater critic at The Washington Post, will receive the 2024 Helen Hayes Tribute Award, which “appreciates and honors Marks’ decades of knowledgeable and thoughtful writing about the DC-area, national, and international theatre landscape,” the website said.