Nominations for Helen Hayes Awards were announced last week, and Arlington theaters filled 17 slots, with Shirlington’s Signature Theatre taking the lion’s share.
Smaller companies American Century and Le Neon also got a nod from the awards organization’s nominations committee, giving Arlington the most nominations for any area outside of the District.
The directors of those theaters said they were happy to be nominated: For smaller companies, the nominations process is an important part of their publicity, they said, giving them a leg up on productions at some prominent larger local theaters.
But the nominations also have extra advantages for bigger theaters. "It helps for publicity, but it also helps in grant writing," said Eric Schaeffer, Signature’s artistic director, a 14-time nominee and three-time Hayes winner. "It lets corporations and foundations see what we’re doing."
That in turn means growth in the Washington theater community, he said. "It tells us we’re doing what we should be doing," he said, "presenting new plays, and getting local playwrights’ work presented."
<b>SIGNATURE NOMINEES CAME</b> from four productions last year: "Grand Hotel," "Putting It Together," "Gypsy" and "In the Garden."
"Grand Hotel," presented last fall, netted a supporting actor in a musical nomination for Michael Sharp, a lead actor in a musical nomination for Will Gartshore, and a musical direction nomination for Jon Kalbfleisch.
Kalbfleisch will be competing in part against himself, with another musical direction nomination for the Stephen Sondheim musical, "Putting It Together," performed last spring.
Signature’s production of the musical, which offered a revue of Sondheim songs in new settings, snared nominations for Jason Gilbert, as lead actor in a musical, and Jane Pesci-Townsend as lead actress in a musical.
Schaeffer also received a directing nomination for the Sondheim revue, a revival for him of his 2000 Broadway debut, and the revue snared a Helen Hayes nomination for outstanding musical as well.
Signature’s production of the Sondheim’s "Gypsy" also got attention from Hayes nominators, netting a supporting actress in a musical nomination for Deanna Harris, and a lead actress in a musical nomination for Donna Migliaccio.
"In the Garden," a play commissioned and premiered by Signature, won a nomination for best set design, for James Kronzer. The play, written by local playwright Norman Allen, was also nominated for the Hayes’ MacArthur award for best new play.
Schaeffer said he was happy to see Signature’s dozen nominations, but he was also pleased with the other nominees this year. "It’s great to see a whole mix of people nominated," he said,
<b>AT LE NEON,</b> Arlington’s French-American theater company, the Hayes nominations brought a sense of déjà vu.
Le Neon’s nomination came in the category of sound design for play or musical, with Daniel Portaix winning a slot for his work on "Les Cloisons (Partitions)." The first time the company was nominated for a theater award was also for sound design, six years ago, said Didier Rosselet, one of Le Neon’s artistic directors.
It makes sense that the sound design was nominated, Rosselet said: a lot of care went into it. In the play, a man and woman in adjacent rooms communicate without ever seeing each other, so the sound was crucial, he said.
"Sound was really a character in this play. We called it love at first sound," Rosselet said.
The play was written by Jacques Languirand, a French-Canadian radio personality on Radio Canada, and was written with a radioman’s sensibility, Rosselet said. "We talked to [Languirand], and he said, ‘you need a good soundtrack.’"
But the nomination for Les Cloisons also came at an opportune moment. "We were thinking about doing a new run, and this is a reason to try to do that," Rosselet said.
<b>LAST WEEK BROUGHT</b> a string of honors for American Century Theatre. On Monday, the North Arlington theater company was nominated for four Hayes awards, split evenly between productions "The Andersonville Trial" and "Danny & Sylvia: A Musical Love Story."
Only four days before the awards, US Rep. Thomas Davis (R-11th) praised American Century from the floor of the House of Representatives. The company fills a broad niche, he said, ensuring that there was a home for under-produced older American plays.
"The plays do not contain offensive language or graphic sexual behavior, and they frequently deal with current social issues," Davis said, "making them suitable for the entire family. The Theater has also shown itself to be non-partisan and apolitical."
Davis’ praise was much appreciated, as were the Hayes nominations, Jack Marshall said.
Marshall, American Century’s artistic director, said the production of "The Andersonville Trial," based on a post-Civil War war crimes trial, may have attracted that kind of federal attention.
Davis speech called attention to the fact that American Century tries to bring "artistic statements and ideas and thoughts from past playwrights," Marshall said. The "Andersonville" production, dovetailing as it did with recent controversies over prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and the trial of Slobodan Milosevic, proved that older, nearly forgotten plays can still be relevant, he said.
<b>AMERICAN CENTURY’S PRODUCTION</b> of "The Andersonville Trial" is also a contender for outstanding play, and Bruce Alan Rauscher was nominated for a slot as best lead actor in a play, for his role in "The Andersonville Trial."
"Danny & Sylvia" stars Brian Childers and Janine Gulisano were nominated for Hayes awards for best lead actor and actress.
Marshall, American Century’s artistic director, said both the nominations and Davis’ speech were great boons, for publicity purposes.
"It’s a way of getting our name out, getting recognition," he said. American Century, like Le Neon, can be hampered in Washington theater by being small, Marshall said, and so are easily overlooked. "Someone took notice of us, and decided to get something noticed," he said.
The difficulty for small theaters comes in getting nominations, because judges can often be swayed by a theater company’s home stage. For American Century, that can mean Theater on the Run, or it can mean Thomas Jefferson Community Theater.
But nominations, or the lack thereof, are not the point. "It doesn’t change our feelings about our work," Marshall said. "But there are a long, deep and diverse group of theaters in Washington, and it’s important to encourage them. The Hayes awards go a long way toward doing that."