The 2026 Helen Hayes Award nominations have been announced, recognizing outstanding achievement in Washington-area professional theatre. Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, and dozens of regional companies are represented across performance, direction, design, and production categories. The awards highlight the breadth of theatre work presented throughout the D.C. metropolitan area.
Early in my arts management training, I read former Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser’s book, The Cycle. This arts manifesto is a practical guide on creating and sustaining the arts, and I do recommend it for anyone seeking a career in the field. But I digress.
The cast and creative team of Chess Jakob's world-premiere of The American Five at Ford's Theatre has been revealed. See who is starring and learn how to purchase tickets.
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards took place on May 19, 2025, at The Anthem, honoring excellence in Washington D.C. theatre. Signature Theatre led with six wins. Awards were presented in 41 categories from 165 eligible 2024 productions.
Explore the 2025 Helen Hayes Awards Nominees, including standout performances by Bonnie Milligan and Beanie Feldstein. The awards will be presented on Monday, May 19 at an event at The Anthem. The nominations are for productions in the Washington, DC, region in the 2024 calendar year.
Chicago Shakespeare hosted its opening night for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding Friday. In attendance were LaChanze, a producer on the show, and Producer Gigi Pritzker of Madison Wells Live and Chicago’s First Lady Stacie Johnson. Check out photos!
With JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING, Jocelyn Bioh pulls off a challenging theatrical feat: She makes a slice-of-life play consistently engaging and entertaining. Set in Harlem at a hair salon of the same name, JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING follows a group of West African immigrant women working there — along with some of their customers. Bioh has populated her play with a cast of big personalities and peppers in just enough of the stylists’ backstories to allow us to learn more about them.
Straight from a twice-extended Broadway run, Chicago Shakespeare Theater will present the Midwest premiere of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.
Check out brand-new production photos from Jocelyn Bioh's Tony Award-winning new comedy, JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING, performing at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre now through December 15, 2024.
Direct from a twice-extended run on Broadway, Berkeley Rep will present the West Coast premiere of Jocelyn Bioh’s Tony Award-winning new comedy, JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING. Amidst the lively buzz of a scorching summer, love ignites, dreams soar, and secrets unravel. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.
At Round House Theatre, director Jamil Jude stages a brilliant, heightened and deeply emotional interpretation of the Suzan-Lori Parks’ work that is as raw and affecting now as it was when it earned Parks a Pulitzer Prize two decades ago.
If new Artistic Director Edward Hall's RICHARD III is any indication of what Chicago audiences can come to expect during his tenure, they would do well to cheer, 'Long live the king.' The darkly comic historical thriller runs through March 3 at CST's Courtyard Theater.
Get a first look at Chicago Shakespeare Theater's production of William Shakespeare’s Richard III, staged by Artistic Director Edward Hall in the Courtyard Theater, February 2–March 3 in all new video!
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents William Shakespeare’s Richard III, staged by Artistic Director Edward Hall in the Courtyard Theater, February 2–March 3. Power, greed, ambition. A world where to win is everything. And to win at all costs. This marks the first major US production of Richard III to feature a woman with a disability in the title role.
Watch as Director Edward Hall and Katy Sullivan (Richard III) discuss reuniting to take on this epic political thriller RICHARD III at Chicago Shakespeare. Tony Award-nominated actor, Paralympic champion, and bilateral above-knee amputee Katy Sullivan makes her Chicago Shakespeare Theater debut in the title role.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater has revealed the cast and creative team for William Shakespeare’s Richard III. See who is starring and learn how to purchase tickets.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Twelfth Night, staged by director Tyrone Phillips in the Courtyard Theater, running now through November 26.
