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34-400: The Roberts Mainstage seats 429 patrons, with a small theatre lab added in 1999. As of November 2023, Olney Theatre Center has won 28 Helen Hayes Awards since the award's founding in 1985 and received 208 nominations. It is one of only two theaters in the country to operate under an Actors' Equity Association Council of Stock Theaters (COST) contract. In 1938, Olney Theatre was founded as

68-619: A "major arts organization", making it the only arts institution outside of Baltimore to hold such status at the time. The theater was producing five three-week productions per season, primarily from May to September. In 1991, Olney Theatre began a capital campaign to match a $ 625,000 state grant. The money was to be used for much needed improvements to the facilities and to realize Father Hartke's goal of operating year-round. Olney Theatre added two shows to its 1993 season, and it began production in April and ending around late October. A scene shop and

102-474: A Heart , had its first performance on July 25, 1938. The play was about a butler who was elected to the parliament of Hungary on a modified New Deal platform . The first show was sold out. Elissa Landi and Leslie Denison starred, along with Gordon Richards, Howard Ferguson, and Zoyla Talma. Olney Theatre had a rustic feel, with inverted peach baskets serving as chandeliers and an open-air lobby with an oak tree growing in it. Olney Theatre advertised itself as

136-589: A Mockingbird Tour 65: Shakespeare 's Macbeth and Comedy of Errors ; an adaptation of Homer 's Odyssey The National Players have received accolades from Walter Kerr , drama critic emeritus of The New York Times ; Patrick Hayes, founder and managing director of the Washington Performing Arts Society; and the late Helen Hayes . Players' alumni include John Heard , Laurence Luckinbill , Gino Conforti , John Slattery , Daniel Hugh Kelly , Stan Wojewodski (former Dean of

170-562: A Musical Helen Hayes Award. The Meredith Willson production of The Music Man in Olney Theatre was well known for its unique performance in English with ASL and English supertitles which was an essential part of the experience for hearing audiences. The show was praised by The Washington Post , DC Theater Arts , MD Theatre Guide and Talkin' Broadway . The Music Man was nominated for nine Helen Hayes Awards, winning three, including

204-653: A Special Opportunities Initiative grant of $ 1 million. The next year, Olney Theatre Center acquired an additional 5 acres (20,000 m) for its cultural campus. In 2005, Olney Theatre Center opened its new amphitheater, the Root Family Stage at Will's Place, which gave a permanent home to its Summer Shakespeare Festival. Olney Theatre Center held the grand opening of its Mainstage theater, a 429-seat facility with stadium seating and advanced technical capabilities. Olney Theatre Center expanded its mainstage season to eight plays and introduced its New Play Initiative with

238-667: A costume shop were added to the mainstage building. Prior sets were built outside, and costumes were built on the Crawford House porch. Jim Petosa was appointed artistic director of the newly renamed Olney Theatre Center in 1994. Petosa renewed emphasis on 20th-century American classics, musical theater, new works, and area premieres. From 1998 to 1999, Olney Theatre Center celebrated the 50th consecutive touring year of National Players . During these 50 years, National Players had reached 2,400,000 audience members, traveled 1,760,000 miles (2,830,000 km), including ten tours outside

272-410: A meeting where he was asked to take over the theater. The two negotiated, and Father Hartke took over management of the property under his nonprofit touring company's umbrella. Stephens agreed not to charge Players, Inc. rent, and to reimburse them up to a $ 10,000 loss. Father Hartke then moved Players, Inc. to Olney to establish a summer theater. After losses in 1953 and 1954, which Stephens underwrote,

306-650: A plan for strengthening and cultivating theatre in her home city, Washington, D.C., to the first lady of the American theatre and native Washingtonian, Helen Hayes , who embraced the idea. The Washington Theatre Awards Society was founded to recognize and encourage excellence in professional theatre in the Washington region through the presentation of the Helen Hayes Awards. The organization launched education and communication programs. The early success of

340-537: A six-week tour of Japan and Korea to entertain GIs, and have been to 5 White House receptions in appreciation for outstanding service. National Players was founded in 1949 by Father Gilbert V. Hartke , OP, a prominent arts educator and head of the drama department at Catholic University of America . His mission—to stimulate young people’s higher thinking skills and imaginations by presenting classical plays in surprisingly accessible ways—is as urgent and vital today as it

374-916: A stage adaptation of Jules Verne 's Around the World in 80 Days , and Arthur Miller's The Crucible . Tour 69: Shakespeare 's Othello , a stage adaptation of Lewis Carroll 's Alice in Wonderland , and an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby . Tour 68: Shakespeare 's Hamlet , a stage adaptation of John Steinbeck 's The Grapes of Wrath , and an adaptation by Eric Coble of Lois Lowry's The Giver . Tour 67: Shakespeare 's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Julius Caesar ; Benjamin Kingsland 's adaptation of Charles Dickens ' novel A Tale of Two Cities Tour 66: Shakespeare 's As You Like It and The Tempest ; Christopher Sergel 's adaptation of Harper Lee 's novel To Kill

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408-538: A summer theater and restaurant by Stephen E. Cochran, attorney and judge Harold C. Smith, and theater manager Leonard B. McLaughlin. Olney Theatre was built on the Woodlawn Lodge estate, which was the site of a former roller skating rink in what was then rural Montgomery County. Olney Theatre is situated on unceded land that is the ancestral home of the Piscataway Conoy Tribe . Stephen Cochran

442-537: A win for Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical. (FIGHT & MOVEMENT CHOREOGRAPHER), CHRISTOPHER D'AMBOISE (CHOREOGRAPHER) HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES HAYES Helen Hayes Award The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes , who

476-716: Is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They are presented by Theatre Washington (formerly known as the Helen Hayes Awards organization), sponsored by TodayTix , a ticketing company, and supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities , The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, The Share Fund, Prince Charitable Trust, and Craig Pascal and Victor Shargai. In 1983, together with producing partner Arthur Cantor and Washington Post critic emeritus Richard L. Coe , Broadway producer Bonnie Nelson Schwartz presented

510-476: Is the longest-running classical touring company in the United States. After 70 consecutive seasons of touring, this acting company has given approximately 6,600 performances and workshops on plays by Shakespeare , O'Neill , Molière , Shaw , Kafka , Sophocles , Aeschylus , Aristophanes , Stoppard and Peter Shaffer . Currently a program of Olney Theatre Center , National Players has performed for

544-584: The "one size fits all" philosophy of the awards, in September 2013 theatreWashington announced that, effective with the 2015 awards, the awards would be split into These awards would be at the production level, not at the company level. With 183 theaters in the larger Washington metropolitan area , the city is second only to New York for the number of productions each year. The awards for acting, directing, design, choreography, productions, and more include: National Players The National Players

578-634: The 2015 Helen Hayes Awards . Due to the Covid-19 pandemic , Olney Theater had to postpone all its current and upcoming in person productions at that time, and moved to online programing. One of the productions was The Humans by Stephen Karam . New York Times critic Jesse Green called the Zoom-produced video, "a blistering virtual production". After the Covid-19 pandemic, Olney Theatre Center resumed in-person performances. Disney's Beauty and

612-609: The Beast became a holiday production, the director of the production was Marsha Milgrom Dodge. This production was notable for casting the actress Jade Jones, a queer and a plus size actor, as Belle . The actor cast as the Beast , Evan Ruggiero, lost a leg to cancer. Tracy Lynn Olivera was nominated for the Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical Helen Hayes Award. Following the success of Beauty and

646-637: The Beast , Olney Theatre Center produced the world-premiere of the new musical A.D. 16 . The book was by This Is Us writer and producer Bekah Brunstetter and the music and lyrics were written by Cinco Paul , who is known for his contributions to the Despicable Me franchise. The play was well received by the Washington Post . It won the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award and Outstanding Choreography in

680-435: The Helen Hayes Awards suggested that the organization do business under the name of its most visible program. Eventually, at the input of the theatre community and a wide range of stakeholders, the organization aimed to become more robust, and adopted the name "theatreWashington" to better reflect the breadth and geographic scope of its realigned activities. In 2021 it changed its name to Theatre Washington. Due to criticism of

714-644: The Olney Theatre Center in 1973 under the direction of Jim Waring. The show later on ran on Broadway and received four Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Play in 1978 . Originally produced by Jim Waring for the Catholic University of America , producer Susan Rose saw the production at Olney and, along with Gail Berman , raised $ 150,000 to remount the show at Ford's Theatre in downtown Washington, D.C. The success of

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748-497: The South's first professional summer theater. C. Y. Stephens, an owner of High's Dairy Stores , purchased property and remodeled it to become better suited for theater in 1940. In 1946, Olney Theater was under the joint management of Glenn Taylor, Redge Allen, and Evelyn Freyman. It presented summer theater where shows featured well-known stars such as Jessica Tandy , Hume Cronyn , Tallulah Bankhead , and Helen Hayes . The theater

782-495: The United States and five receptions at the White House, and gave over 6,000 performances. Olney Theatre Center began year-round performances with a seven-show mainstage season. The Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab was built in 1999 as the first step towards a new master campus plan. A year later, Olney Theatre Center began a capital campaign for a $ 10.5 million expansion. In 2003, The Kresge Foundation awarded Olney Theatre Center

816-441: The country with his acting skills. The play, which was written by playwright Bernie DeLeo, world premiered at Olney Theater Center and ran for four weeks. Written by Lauren Gunderson , I and You received its rolling world premiere at Olney. It later received a West End run in 2018 with Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams . The play was nominated for The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding Original New Play or Musical at

850-445: The decision was made to produce only five plays in 1955. Despite much critical success, Olney still sustained a loss of $ 3,495.61 in 1955. Consequently, Father Hartke asked William H. Graham, Sr. to serve as Olney Theatre's general manager. His work, combined with the directorial talents of Robert Moore , Leo Brady , and Jim Waring drew large audiences, favorable reviews, and resulted in a profit of nearly $ 7,000 in 1956. In 1960, after

884-455: The new artistic director in 2013. In 2016, Olney Theatre had a mortgage of $ 4.8 million, down from $ 6 million in 2013. The operating budget for the 2016 season was a little less than $ 6 million. Since the theater was founded in 1938 it has produced many works that have gone on to later acclaim. Among them are: This memory play by Irish playwright Hugh Leonard was part of Olney's ongoing collaboration with him. Da had its world premiere at

918-538: The production of Rashomon , directed by Robert Moore, Stephens told Father Hartke that he had decided to give him the theater. Stephens gradually transferred all of the property's stock to Players. Father Hartke became the corporation's president, a position he held for 33 years. Governor Blair Lee recognized Olney Theatre as the official State Summer Theater of Maryland in July 1978. Father Hartke died in 1986. The next year, Maryland State Arts Council designated Olney

952-646: The public in 41 states, reaching young audiences in areas that are isolated geographically or economically – audiences that would otherwise never see live performances of classic plays. In response to invitations from the Department of Defense and the State Department , Players have toured Europe , Asia , and the Middle East performing for American military. During the Korean War , they made

986-456: The show led to a Broadway production which received seven Tony Award nominations, including a nomination for Best Musical in 1982 . A solo show by the English actor Ian McKellen . This play was praised by the Washington Post . McKellen later helped to raise money for the 1938 Original Theatre's dressing rooms refurbishment. John Riggins , a well-known former American football player, starred in this play and surprised fans from all over

1020-440: The tradition of traveling players, the troupe arrives a few hours before the scheduled performance to prepare the stage: raise the set, hang and focus the lights, check sound equipment and props, and arrange dressing rooms, before donning costumes and make-up. When the final curtain falls, they do everything in reverse. National Players is now in its 70th year of touring. This year's productions are Shakespeare 's Twelfth Night ,

1054-565: The world premiere of In the Mood in 2006. Olney Theatre Center also held its first Gala Celebration in over twenty years. In 2007, Olney Theatre Center added a family entertainment series and formed Olney Theatre Institute, which reinforced its education initiative. After 19 years with Olney Theatre, Petosa resigned as artistic director in 2012. Martin Platt was hired as the new artistic director. Platt resigned after six months. Jason Loewith became

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1088-534: Was a five-show summer stock theater on the straw-hat circuit, along with 238 other theaters around the country. Players, Inc. (subsequently known as the National Players) was Olney Theatre Center's touring company. It was created by Father Gilbert V. Hartke in 1949. It brought live theater and educational programming to students and public audiences across the United States and overseas. In 1952, C.Y. Stephens invited Father Hartke to come to Olney for

1122-420: Was sixty-four years ago. A single twin-bill truck-and-station-wagon company, traveling under the banner of "Players, Incorporated," "University Players, " "Players," and finally "National Players," has continued to bring classic productions across the country from September to May. A nationwide search of graduates of college and university theater programs leads to the casting of members of the touring company. In

1156-401: Was the first managing director and actress Ethel Barrymore was the first associate director. The National Academy of Stage Training, a professional school of drama that had been founded by Cochran in 1932, moved to the Olney Theatre and began its first summer course there on June 20, 1938. The class was taught by Dorothy Martin and George Vivian. Olney Theatre's first production, The Lady Has

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