Rick Hammerly News

Celebrated local actress Grey Garrett will lead Virginia Repertory Theatre’s regional premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, portraying multi-Grammy Award-winner Carole King, at the November Theatre beginning June 23.

Those of us in the DC area have known about the talents of Dame Felicia Curry for many years. I’m sure you remember her recent star turn in My Lord, What a Night at Ford’s Theatre where she played the famous opera star Marian Anderson or maybe you saw her blow the roof off of Arena Stage in Nina Simone: Four Women or possibly you and your kids enjoyed her as the lead character in Mirandy and Brother Wind at Adventure Theatre. My point here is that there is a good reason why actor and Curry’s unofficial manager Rick Hammerly elevated Felicia Curry to Dame Felicia Curry. She truly is DC Theatre royalty.

Following a national search, Virginia Repertory Theatre welcomes new artistic directors, Desirée Roots, Todd D. Norris and Rick Hammerly, who will steer all artistic aspects of Central Virginia’s flagship professional theatre, according to William H. Carter, Chair-Elect of the Board and Chair of the Selection Committee.

The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts presents an evening of world-premiere plays, professionally directed and performed live by professional actors and Theatre Lab supporters in the 10th Annual Dramathon online on Friday, December 11 at 7:30pm. 

Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive (WAPAVA) and WAPAVA President Jackson R. Bryer have announced that Rick Hammerly has joined the organization as its new Executive Director as of October 1, 2020. Hammerly, a 2-time Helen Hayes Award-winning actor/director, is also the Producing Artistic Director of Factory 449.

On September 25, the 36th Annual Helen Hayes Awards concluded, after a series of virtual events celebrating Washington's dynamic and diverse theatre community.

theatreWashington announces further details for the 36th annual Helen Hayes Awards, which were originally scheduled to take place at The Anthem on May 18, 2020.

THE JEANE DIXON EFFECT, a play by Joseph Rodota based on the life of the late a?oecelebrity psychica?? Jeane Dixon, has been released as an audio play on Apple Podcasts and other platforms.

Tonight, at a celebration honoring theatre excellence on stages across the Washington area, theatre artists, administrators, patrons, and special guests gathered in the National Theatre's Helen Hayes Gallery for theatreWashington's announcement of nominees for the 36th Annual Helen Hayes Awards, which will be presented on Monday, May 18 at an event at the Anthem.

Factory 449's 'Agnes of God' is an emotional, intimate play that speaks to inner struggles. With a sharp script and an exceptional cast, it's an insightful and aching performance that is both enjoyable and heartbreaking to watch.

On Saturday November 9, 2019, Factory 449, a Helen Hayes Award-winning theatre company in residence at Anacostia Arts Center, opens 'Agnes of God' by John Pielmeier. 

Ford's Theatre announces that acclaimed Washington actor Craig Wallace will return to Ford's to reprise the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for the company's holiday production of A Christmas Carol.

Factory 449: a theatre collective, coming off its critically acclaimed, Helen Hayes Award-winning production of Cordelia Lynn's' LELA & CO., presents AGNES OF GOD by John Pielmeier.

Factory 449 presents the new play, THANK YOU, DAD, by Aladrian C. Wetzel, at the Kennedy Center's 2019 Page To Stage New Play Festival. Originally commissioned by Rapid Lemon Productions, the 3-part play will be performed on Saturday, August 31 at 2:30pm in the Kennedy Center's newest performance space, THE REACH.

On Sunday, June 16, Washington, D.C.'s theatre community gathered to celebrate the end of MICHAEL KAHN's 33-year tenure as Artistic Director of Shakespeare Theatre Company with musical and dramatic performances, special guests from the worlds of entertainment, politics, and media, and a mayoral proclamation.

Every year, hundreds of theatre artists and patrons gather to honor the work done on stage from the previous year. But just as important as getting the chance to acknowledge the craft of their peers are the many reunions that take place. Though the 35th Annual Helen Hayes Awards began at 7:30pm on May 13, the celebrating started much earlier as collaborators from productions both big and small started reuniting on the Waterfront, then quickly bled into The Anthem. Things got underway quickly; after hosts Felicia Curry and Rick Hammerly provided a snappy intro, the winners of the 47 categories were unveiled in a timely fashion, though never at the expense of the acceptance speeches. The Helen Hayes are never a short show, but last night, they ended just a hair after 10:30pm, a relatively early end before the afterparty. These are theatre artists we're talking about - pacing is everything.

At the 35th annual Helen Hayes Awards on Monday, May 13 at The Anthem, actress, director, playwright, leader, and professor Jennifer L. Nelson will receive the 2019 Helen Hayes Tribute. Nelson has dedicated her artistic life to increasing access and inclusion of traditionally marginalized theatre artists largely in the Washington area region, and was a Helen Hayes Award recipient for her original play Torn from the Headlines, which received the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play in 1997.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosts more than 120 outstanding theater students from colleges and universities across the nation as part of the 50th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), which runs April 16-20, 2019 in multiple locations throughout the Center. The Center also announced the national awardees for the KCACTF. Selected awardees and representatives will be brought to Washington, D.C. for an expense-paid trip to participate in the National Festival. These student artists from across the United States have been recognized for their outstanding work from the eight regional festivals that were held January 8 through February 28, 2019.

The 35th Annual Helen Hayes Awards will take place on Monday, May 13, 2019 at The Anthem, the cultural center of Southwest D.C.'s District Wharf, with a celebratory party to follow.

You may be forgiven if the phrase 'romantic getaway' doesn't immediately inspire images of Iceland and, though it features several couples, Steve Yockey's 'Reykjavik' is unlikely to change your mind. What it will do is give a momentary, and at times uncomfortably intimate, glimpse into the relationships of these couples as paths intersect and unwind in the titular city. It is a haunting and disorienting ride you won't want to miss.