The Helen Hayes marquee.

Looks like actors, companies and productions may be sharing the wealth a bit more than usual at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards. At least when it comes to musicals.

The nominations were announced last night and demonstrated a bit more variety than usual when it came to recognized work. For once, Signature Theater didn’t totally dominate every musical-related category. Small company Keegan Theater made a splash with its local production of Rent. And the often-overlooked Gala Hispanic Theater made an appearance in one of the award’s most illustrious categories: The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical (Momia en el closet: The Return of Eva Peron). That said, the awards were not without a slew of multiple nominees, from Synetic’s thrice-nominated Irina Tsikurishvili to the tripe threat actress Holly Twyford.

Among the most celebrated works this year, garnering six to eight nods each, were Synetic’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kennedy Center’s Ragtime, Shakespeare’s King Lear, Folger’s Arcadia, Forum’s Angels in America and Kennedy’s visiting A Streetcar Named Desire, as well as its August: Osage County.

The ever-growing Helen Hayes Awards have added a new category to the mix: Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences. Bethesda’s Imagination Stage drew three out of five nominations in the new category, while Kennedy Center Family Theatre and Synetic Family Theater were also recognized.

Tysons Corner’s 1st Stage will receive the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company.

The Helen Hayes also announced a new branding initiative. Curious if you should trust the reviews you’re seeing about the latest play? The organization plans to decree certain performances as “Helen Hayes Recommended”, based on its judges’ endorsements throughout the year, which theaters can use to help promote a show.

We’ll share more about some of the shows we’re rooting for this year when the awards draw closer. In the meantime, a full list of nominations is available here. The awards will be held April 5.