Follies, Cate Blanchett, Amy Morton and More Among D.C.'s Helen Hayes Award Nominees

The Kennedy Center's production of Follies as well as the Broadway-bound prouction of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? are among the nominees for the 28th Annual Helen Hayes Awards. Cate Blanchett (Uncle Vanya), Follies star Jan Maxwell, Virginia Woolf's Tracy Letts and Amy Morton and Fela's Sahr Ngaujah earned acting nods in their respective categories. The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, currently running at off-Broadway's Public Theatre, also received a nod. The awards honor the best in theater in the Washington D.C. area and will be presented on April 23 at the Warner Theatre and JW Marriott Hotel.

A complete list of nominees follows:

Outstanding Resident Outstanding Resident Musical
Follies, The Kennedy Center
Hairspray, Signature Theatre
Liberty Smith, Ford's Theatre
Pop!, The Studio Theatre 2ndStage
Side By Side By Sondheim, Signature Theatre
The Sound of Music, Olney Theatre Center

Outstanding Resident Play
A Bright New Boise, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Cyrano, Folger Theatre
King Lear, Synetic Theater
Ruined, Arena Stage
Venus in Fur, The Studio Theatre

Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production
Michael J. Bobbitt, Fabian Barnes, Mirandy and Brother Wind, Adventure Theatre, African Continuum Theatre
Brianne Camp, Karma Camp, Hairspray, Signature Theatre
Irina Tsikurishvili, Ben Cunis, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Dale Anthony Girard, Cyrano, Folger Theatre
Robb Hunter, Walworth Farce, The Studio Theatre
Susan Shields, STAY, Theater of the First Amendment
Kate Arnold Wernick, A Year With Frog and Toad, Adventure Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production
Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Gregg Barnes, Follies, Kennedy Center
ESosa, Ruined, Arena Stage
Kendra Rai, Green Bird, Constellation Theatre Company
Chelsey Schuller, A Year With Frog and Toad, Adventure Theatre

Outstanding Director, Resident Musical
Matt August, Liberty Smith, Ford's Theatre
Keith Alan Baker, Jennifer Harris, Hunter Styles, Pop!, Studio Theatre 2nd Stage
Michael Baron, A Year With Frog and Toad, Adventure Theatre
Toby Orenstein, Lawrence B. Munsey, Chicago, Toby's Dinner Theatre
Eric Schaeffer, Hairspray, Signature Theatre
Janet Stanford, Dr. Dolittle, Imagination Stage

Outstanding Director, Resident Play
David Muse, Habit of Art, Studio Theatre
David Muse, Venus in Fur, Studio Theatre
Aron Posner, Cyrano, Folger Theatre
Charles Randolph-Wright, Ruined, Arena Stage
Serge Seiden, Charlotte's Web, Adventure Theatre
Paata Tsikurishvili, King Lear, Synetic Theater
John Vreeke, A Bright New Boise, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical
A Year With Frog and Toad, Adventure Theatre
Hairspray, Signature Theater
Liberty Smith, Ford's Theater
Pop!, Studio Theatre 2nd Stage
Sound of Music, Olney Theatre Center

Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play
¡Ay, Carmela!, GALA Hispanic Theatre
Birds of a Feather, Hub Theater
Cyrano, Folger Theater
Habit of Art, Studio Theatre
King Lear, Synetic Theater
Oedipus El Rey, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production
Lex Ishimoto, Billy Elliot the Musical, Kennedy Center
Tracy Letts, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Arena Stage
J. Mark McVey, Les Misérables, Kennedy Center
Sahr Ngaujah, FELA!, Shakespeare Theatre Company
Richard Roxburgh, Uncle Vanya, Kennedy Center

Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical
Rob McQuay, Dr. Dolittle, Imagination Stage
Euan Morton, Parade, Ford's Theatre and Theater J
Geoff Packard, Liberty Smith, Ford's Theater
Tom Story, Pop!, Studio Theatre 2ndStage
Alan Wiggins, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Olney Theatre Center

Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Production
Cate Blanchett, Uncle Vanya, Kennedy Center
Leah Hocking, Billy Elliot the Musical, Kennedy Center
Rozina Kambos, Return to Haifa, Theater J
Melanie Marshall, FELA!, Shakespeare Theatre Company
Amy Morton, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Arena Stage

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical
Nancy Anderson, Side By Side By Sondheim, Signature Theatre
Jessica Lauren Ball, Sound of Music, Olney Theatre Center
Carolyn Cole, Hairspray, Signature Theatre
Kelly Karbacz, Liberty Smith, Ford's Theatre
Jan Maxwell, Follies, Kennedy Center
Bernardine Mitchell, His Eye is On the Sparrow, MetroStage

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play
Rena Cherry Brown, Wit, Bay Theatre Company, Inc.
Jenny Jules, Ruined, Arena Stage
Ira Koval, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Mona Martínez, ¡Ay, Carmela!, GALA Hispanic Theatre
Lizan Mitchell, Trip To Bountiful, Round House Theatre
Erica Sullivan, Venus in Fur, Studio Theatre
Irina Tsikurishvili, King Lear, Synetic Theater

Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production
Colin K. Bills, A Bright New Boise, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Michael Gilliam, Ruined, Arena Stage
Andrew F. Griffin, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Andrew F. Griffin, Othello, Folger Theater
Chris Lee, The Hollow, Signature Theatre
Tyler Micoleau, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare Theatre Company
Thom Weaver, Cyrano, Folger Theater

Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production
Jay Crowder, Liberty Smith, Ford's Theatre
Jon Kalbfleisch, Hairspray, Signature Theatre
James Moore, Follies, Kennedy Center
Christopher Youstra, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Olney Theatre Center
Christopher Youstra, Pop!, Studio Theatre 2ndStage

Outstanding Non-Resident Production
Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Billy Elliot the Musical, Kennedy Center
Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Arena Stage
Equivocation, Arena Stage
Uncle Vanya, Kennedy Center

Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences
A Year With Frog and Toad, Adventure Theatre
Aladdin's Luck, Imagination Stage
Charlotte's Web, Adventure Theatre
Dr. Dolittle, Imagination Stage
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Adventure Theatre

Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production
Phil Charlwood, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Daniel Conway, Cyrano, Folger Theatre
David Ghatan, Voices Underwater, Rorschach Theatre
Misha Kachman, A Bright New Boise, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
James Noone, Habit of Art, Studio Theatre
Collin Ranney, A Year With Frog and Toad, Adventure Theatre
Lee Savage, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare Theatre Company

Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production
Chris Baine, A Bright New Boise, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Steven Cahill, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare Theatre Company
Irakli Kavsadze, Konstantine Lortkipanidze, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Nicole Martin, Voices Underwater, Rorschach Theatre
Neil McFadden, An Almost Holy Picture, Rep Stage
Matt Rowe, Hairspray, Signature Theatre
Tom Teasley, Green Bird, Constellation Theatre Co

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical
Matthew Delorenzo, Pop!, Studio Theatre 2ndStage
Ricardo Frederick Evans, Dr. Dolittle, Imagination Stage
Kevin McAllister, Parade, Ford's Theatre and Theater J
Jobari Parker-Namdar, A Year With Frog and Toad, Adventure Theatre
Bobby Smith, Sound of Music, Olney Theatre Center
Vishal Vaidya, A Year With Frog and Toad, Adventure Theatre
Dan Van Why, National Pastime, Keegan Theatre

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play
Ben Cunis, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Aubrey Deeker, Walworth Farce, Studio Theatre
Chris Dinolfo, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Philip Fletcher, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Ted van Griethuysen, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare Theatre Company

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical
Tracy Lynn Olivera, Sound of Music, Olney Theatre Center
Nova Y. Payton, Hairspray, Signature Theatre
Kirstin Riegler, A Year With Frog and Toad, Adventure Theatre
Lauren Williams, Hairspray, Signature Theatre
Rachel Zampelli, Pop!, Studio Theatre 2ndStage

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play
Mirenka Cechová, King Lear, Synetic Theater
Margaret Daly, Habit of Art, Studio Theatre
Gabriela Fernández-Coffey, After the Fall, Theater J
Catherine Flye, Pride and Prejudice, Round House Theatre
Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Ruined, Arena Stage
Jennifer Mendenhall, Imagining Madoff, Theater J

Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production
Maximilien A. Baud, Billy Elliot the Musical, Kennedy Center
Ben Cook, Billy Elliot the Musical, Kennedy Center
Hayley McElhinney, Uncle Vanya, Kennedy Center
Hugo Weaving, Uncle Vanya, Kennedy Center
Patrick Wetzel, Billy Elliot the Musical, Kennedy Center

The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical
Marc Acito, Birds of a Feather, Hub Theatre
dog & pony dc, Beertown, dog & pony dc
Michael Hollinger, Aaron Posner, Cyrano, Folger Theatre
David Ives, Heir Apparent, Shakespeare Theatre Company
Helen Pafumi, Jason Lott, Wonderful Life, Hub Theatre
Duncan Macmillan, Lungs, Studio Theatre
Deb Margolin, Imagining Madoff, Theater J

The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play
Mitchell Hèbert, After the Fall, Theater J
Irakli Kavsadze, King Lear, Synetic Theater
James McMenamin, Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo, Arena Stage
Michael Russotto, A Bright New Boise, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Ted van Griethuysen, Habit of Art, Studio Theatre
Paxton Whitehead, Habit of Art, Studio Theatre