The 37th Helen Hayes Awards ceremony, arguably the biggest night of the year for the D.C.-area theater community, rocked The Anthem on Monday night with a program that was both joyful and solemn. Earlier in the day, GALA Hispanic Theatre announced its artistic director and co-founder, Hugo Medrano, had passed away at age 80.

“Like a family, we came together to support and cheer each other and in GALA’s case to seek comfort for our sudden loss of Hugo,” said Abel Lopez, the Associate Producing Director of GALA Hispanic Theatre.

Throughout the four-hour ceremony in Southwest D.C., as GALA racked up a total of 11 awards for its 2022 shows — the highest award count for any theater company this year — honorees thanked Medrano and his wife, Rebecca, for being luminaries in Latino theater. Some even said the Medranos gave them their first jobs in the U.S.

“Hugo was a beloved member of this community, he loved the Helen Hayes Awards, and he was the longest-serving artistic director of any theater in the Washington, D.C. region,” said Naomi Jacobson, one of the evening’s four hosts. “We will always remember him with deep gratitude and admiration.”

Jacobson added that Rebecca Medrano wanted the community to celebrate in Hugo’s honor. So, the roughly 1,600 theater makers and supporters in attendance did exactly that, reveling in person for the first time since 2019.

GALA’s On Your Feet, a Spanish-language musical about the life and music of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, won nine awards in categories for outstanding choreography, direction, overall production for a musical, and a new category for outstanding media and projections design.

Signature Theatre also won big, taking home four awards for its stirring version of The Color Purple and two for its musical She Loves Me. 

Theatre Washington, the nonprofit that produces the awards program, considered more than 130 eligible shows with a jury of 40 industry judges, who gave out awards in 41 categories. The awards are split into two categories: the “Helen” category representing shows with a smaller ratio of Actors’ Equity-contracted workers, and the “Hayes” category, which is reserved for shows with mostly equity-represented casts and crews. The awards are named after the legendary performer and Washington native who was considered the “First Lady of American Theatre.”

This year also marked the first time attendees got to celebrate new, gender-inclusive awards after the organization decided to do away with segregated “actor” and “actress” distinctions in 2020. Instead, there were 10 nominees for each gender-neutral “performer” category with two winners selected from each.

Lead performer Hayes awards went to January LaVoy for Theater J’s Fires in the Mirror and Justin Weaks for his performance as a sexual assault survivor in Woolly Mammoth’s There’s Always the Hudson. Billie Krishawn took home the outstanding supporting performer Hayes for her role as Till’s mother in The Ballad of Emmett Till at Mosaic Theater, and Hassiem Muhammad and Ryan Sellers took home a joint supporting performer for their intertwined rendition of the monster Caliban in Round House Theater’s The Tempest.

The categories weren’t the only things to change over the past three years. Theatre Washington, which supports at least 90 theaters across the region, underwent a restructuring and bias training to “prioritize anti-racist and anti-oppressive values.” The shift in focus mirrored a broader emphasis on equity work across the industry after George Floyd was killed. Last night, some awardees used their acceptance speeches to call attention to diversity and inclusion issues, such as the need for increased ASL training in local theaters, and to recognize the work of Black women in the industry.

The ceremony, written and directed by Will Gartshore, felt like a triumph in many ways. After three years apart, it was obvious that theater workers needed to reconnect when, after a brief intermission, it became difficult to hear the performance onstage over the ongoing laughter and chatter from people who clearly did not want to return to their seats.

But then, it was hard to look away from the ensemble of local artists, Quadry Brown, Carolyn Burke, Drake Leach, and Kanysha Williams, and special guest star Michael Urie (Shrinking; Ugly Betty, Spamalot), who repeatedly crashed the stage with his “emotional support terrier.” Some fought back tears as James Caverly delivered his acceptance speech in ASL for winning the outstanding lead performer Hayes award (Olney Theatre’s The Music Man) and dedicated it to his father, who passed last year. “This award is for you, Dad,” Caverly signed, with an interpreter at the mic.

There was hardly a dry eye during an “in memoriam” presentation, in which Medrano was honored. And when On Your Feet won the award for outstanding production of a musical in the Helen category, Medrano’s sons accepted on his behalf and directed the multi-tiered venue in singing “¡Que viva Hugo!,” honoring his wife’s wishes for the evening — to celebrate.

For a full list of winners, click here.