Crowds outside the Helen Hayes awards.

Plays featuring British royalty, French satire and American optimism dominated this year’s Helen Hayes nominations, with works such as Folger’s ambitious Henry VIII, Shakespeare Theatre’s Candide and Arena’s revisioned Oklahoma! scoring the most nods.

D.C.’s powerhouse theaters including Arena Stage (23 nominations), the Kennedy Center (23 nominations, many in the non-resident production categories) and Shakespeare Theatre Co. (22 nominations) dominated many of the categories, with companies including Signature and Synetic garnering numerous nods as well. Several of Synetic’s dance-centered productions, including its splashy King Arthur and Othello, brought in choreography and performance kudos, while Signature’s musical dominance (surprisingly grabbing only two nods for its rocking Chess) was challenged by traditional companies’ forays into musical theater.

Small theater groups tend to struggle to get noticed among the major players, and this year was no exception. Solas Nua received an Outstanding Choreography nomination for its fun-filled Improbable Frequency, and a Sound Design nomination for Johnny Meister and the Stitch. Theater J was awarded several acting nominations, while Constellation Theater Company’s epic The Ramayana was recognized for its sound design. Rep Stage and MetroStage each got a nomination as well.