‘Make a Scene’: Maryland theaters celebrate art as political resistance at 2026 Helen Hayes Awards

In politically tumultuous times, the capital region’s theater scene spent its biggest night of the year celebrating the arts as acts of resistance.

The Helen Hayes Awards Monday night also highlighted the strengths of Montgomery County theater. Local theaters and a Chevy Chase philanthropist took home trophies honoring the best in the Washington metropolitan area.

The evening, at The Anthem, repeatedly referenced current political turmoil, from this year’s theme and original opening number (“Make a Scene”) to speeches from award recipients, including Adrienne Arsht, who received the inaugural Transformative Cultural Impact Award for her decades-spanning contributions to the arts in the area and around the country.

“The show must go on, and when I say that to all of you in this room, you understand,” Arsht said. “It’s not only that the arts are a great uniter, they are a vehicle for resilience. ... Given the significant divides and challenges we seem to be facing today, I can think of nothing more important than investing in something that brings us together.”

Bethesda’s Round House Theatre collected the second-largest number of awards with six wins, including outstanding production of a play and outstanding lead performer in a play (David Gow), both for “The Inheritance: Parts One and Two.”

“We have such a large theater community here that I think it is impossible for us to actually all see each other on a regular basis,” said Ryan Rilette, artistic director of Round House Theatre. ”So for me ... I always think of it as just a big fun night for us all to celebrate together.”

Glen Echo’s Adventure Theatre MTC also took home five awards, including outstanding production in theater for young audiences for “Not Your Mother’s Goose!” The Olney Theatre Center also took home one for outstanding choreography in a play, awarded to Siani Nicole for “Red Pitch.”

Presented by Theatre Washington, the Helen Hayes Awards are named after the D.C.-native actress nicknamed “The First Lady of American Theatre,” who became the first woman and second person to win the EGOT (one of all four major performing awards: Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and Tonys).

All Helen Hayes Award categories are split into two: “Helen” productions, which feature no more than three equity actors, and “Hayes” productions, which feature more than three. Theatre Washington made that change more than a decade ago after criticism that the awards unfairly favored theater companies with larger budgets — and therefore a greater ability to pay actors.

Other Maryland theaters that were nominated but did not win include Bethesda’s Imagination Stage, The Puppet Co. at Glen Echo Park and Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia.