Tysons’ 1st Stage Theatre Takes Home Five D.C.-Area Theater Awards

Tysons’ 1st Stage Theatre won five Helen Hayes Awards at last night’s ceremony — scoring four of its wins for its “Fly by Night” production last spring.

The theater’s production of the rock-fable “Fly by Night” racked up nine nominations, while the father-son story “Swimming With Whales” and Aaron Sorkin’s “The Farnsworth Invention” each earned six nods. One nomination for “A Civil War Christmas” brought 1st Stage up to a total of 22 nominations — the second most for any theater, trailing Arena Stage’s 25.

Named after the “First Lady of American Theatre” Helen Hayes, the awards recognize excellence in professional theatre in the D.C. area and are split into two main categories: the “Hayes” for productions featuring a majority of theater union members and the “Helen” for productions with fewer union members.

Here is 1st Stage Theatre’s full list of wins:

• Outstanding Direction in a Musical (Helen): Kathryn Chase Bryer for “Fly by Night”
• Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical (Helen): “Fly by Night”
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical (Helen): Caroline Wolfson in “Fly by Night”
• Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play (Helen): Matthew Wilson in “Swimming With Whales” (also shared with Josh Adams in Theater Alliance’s “The Events”).
• Outstanding Production in a Musical (Helen): “Fly by Night”

Yesterday’s awards ceremony boosted the theater in nominations and wins from last year.

In 2018, 1st Stage won two of its 10 nominations. Frank Britton took home the Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play (Helen) for 1st Stage’s production of “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train.” Also, Jose Guzman received the James MacArthur Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play (Helen) for the same show.

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