Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park With George, two musical revivals in the locally-produced Sondheim Celebration were nominated for 2003 Helen Hayes Awards, announced March 10, and so were star names such as Brian Stokes Mitchell, John Barrowman and Christine Baranski, as well as hot property Raul Esparza.

But for fans of new work, the most important categories in the Hayes Awards are the Charles MacArthur Awards for new plays and musicals. Signifying the health of this major resident theatre town, six new plays and six new musicals have been nommed this season, with at least two titles (The Gospel According to Fishman (produced by Signature Theatre Company) and Recent Tragic Events (produced by Woolly Mammoth) expected to surface in stagings in New York City.

Topping the list for new musicals in the slate of nominees were (for the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Musical) The Christmas Carol Rag, conceived and adapted by Norman Allen, by Signature Theatre; The Gospel According to Fishman, music by Richard Oberacker, book and lyrics by Michael Lazar and Richard Oberacker, by Signature Theatre; Harlem Rose, A Love Song to Langston Hughes, conceived by Thomas W. Jones, II, for MetroStage; Mississippi Pinocchio, by Mary Hall Surface and David Maddox, Theater of the First Amendment; Polk County, by Zora Neale Hurston and Dorothy Waring, adapted by Kyle Donnelly and Cathy Madison, for Arena Stage; and Three Sistahs, story by Janet Pryceand Thomas W. Jones, II, book and lyrics by Thomas W. Jones, II, music by William Hubbard, for MetroStage.

The nominees for The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play are Church of the Open Mind, by Allyson Currin, Charter Theatre; The Diaries, by John Strand, Signature Theatre; Miklat, by Joshua Ford, Theater J; Recent Tragic Events, by Craig Wright, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Shakespeare, Moses and Joe Papp, by Ernie Joselovitz, Round House Theatre; The Taste of Fire, by Paul Donnelly, The Charter Theatre.

Hayes-nominated non-resident touring productions include Copenhagen, The Full Monty, Lypsinka! The Boxed Set, Mamma Mia! and Man of La Mancha. In order to be eligible for the Hayes, productions must have played at least 16 performances. In the 2002 Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration, only Company, Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park With George reached that number.

Here is the list of nominees for the 2003 Helen Hayes Awards. The awards ceremony will be held May 5 at the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall.

The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Musical
The Christmas Carol Rag, conceived & adapted by Norman Allen, Signature Theatre
The Gospel According to Fishman, music by Richard Oberacker book & lyrics by Michael Lazar and Richard Oberacker; Signature Theatre
Harlem Rose, A Love Song to Langston Hughes, conceived by Thomas W. Jones, II; MetroStage
Mississippi Pinocchio, by Mary Hall Surface & David Maddox, Theater of the First Amendment
Polk County, by Zora Neale Hurston & Dorothy Waring, adapted by Kyle Donnelly & Cathy Madison; Arena Stage
Three Sistahs, story by Janet Pryce & Thomas W. Jones, II, book & lyrics by Thomas W. Jones, II, music by William Hubbard; MetroStage

The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play
Church of the Open Mind, by Allyson Currin, Charter Theatre
The Diaries, by John Strand, Signature Theatre Miklat, by Joshua Ford, Theater J
Recent Tragic Events, by Craig Wright, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Shakespeare, Moses and Joe Papp, by Ernie Joselovitz, Round House Theatre
The Taste of Fire, by Paul Donnelly, The Charter Theatre

Outstanding Resident Play
Born Guilty, Theater J
Hamlet, Synetic Theater
Host and Guest, Synetic Theater
The Little Foxes, The Shakespeare Theatre
She Stoops to Conquer, Folger Theatre
The Weir, Round House Theatre

Outstanding Resident Musical
The Gospel According to Fishman, Signature Theatre
Jekyll & Hyde The Musical, Toby's Dinner Theatre
Polk County, Arena Stage
South Pacific, Arena Stage
Sunday in the Park With George, The Kennedy Center
Sweeney Todd, The Kennedy Center

Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Musical
John Barrowman, Company, The Kennedy Center
Raul Esparza, Sunday in the Park With George, The Kennedy Center
Rick Hammerly, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Signature Theatre
Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sweeney Todd, The Kennedy Center
Patrick O'Neill , Bat Boy: The Musical, The Studio Theatre Secondstage
Russell Sunday, Jekyll & Hyde The Musical, Toby's Dinner Theatre

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical
Kate Baldwin, South Pacific, Arena Stage
Christine Baranski, Sweeney Todd, The Kennedy Center
E. Faye Butler, The Gospel According to Fishman Signature Theatre
Melissa Errico, Sunday in the Park With George, The Kennedy Center
Harriett D. Foy, Polk County, Arena Stage
Janine Gulisano, Jekyll & Hyde The Musical, Toby's Dinner Theatre

Outstanding Director, Resident Musical
Christopher Ashley, Sweeney Todd, The Kennedy Center
Kyle Donnelly, Polk County, Arena Stage
Toby Orenstein, Jekyll & Hyde The Musical, Toby's Dinner Theatre
Eric Schaeffer, The Gospel According to Fishman, Signature Theatre
Eric Schaeffer, Sunday in the Park With George, The Kennedy Center
Molly Smith, South Pacific, Arena Stage

Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play
Gerry Bamman, Shakespeare, Moses, and Joe Papp, Round House Theatre
Doug Brown, Hambone, The Studio Theatre
Jon Cohn, The Taste of Fire, Charter Theatre
Rick Foucheux, Oleanna, Source Theatre
Ted Koch, True West, Arena Stage
Christopher Lane, The Swan, Rep Stage

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play
Kamilah Forbes, Chain, The African Continuum Theatre Company
Lee Mikeska Gardner, The Taste of Fire, Charter Theatre
Tana Hicken, The Belle of Amherst, Rep Stage
Kelly McGillis, The Duchess of Malfi Shakespeare Theatre
Holly Twyford, Oleanna, Source Theatre
Holly Twyford, The Shape of Things, Studio Theater
Nance Williamson, The Misanthrope, Arena Stage

Outstanding Director, Resident Play
Doug Hughes, The Little Foxes, The Shakespeare Theatre
Nick Olcott, The Weir, Round House Theatre
Paata Tsikurishvili, Hamlet, Synetic Theater
Paata Tsikurishvili, Host and Guest, Synetic Theater
John Vreeke, Born Guilty, Theater J
Joy Zinoman, Prometheus, The Studio Theatre

Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production
Cleavant Derricks, The Full Monty, The National Theatre
Kelli Fournier, Aida, The Kennedy Center
Mary Ellen Mahoney, Mamma Mia!, The National Theatre
Kenny Mellman, Kiki & Herb in Pardon Our Appearance, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Carol Woods, The Full Monty, The National Theatre

Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production
Justin Bond, Kiki & Herb in Pardon Our Appearance, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Len Cariou, Copenhagen, The Kennedy Center
John Epperson, Lypsinka! The Boxed Set, The Studio Theatre
Judd Hirsch, I'm Not Rappaport, Ford's Theatre
Brian Stokes Mitchell, Man of La Mancha, The National Theatre

Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Production
Barbara Cook, Mostly Sondheim, The Kennedy Center
Mariette Hartley, Copenhagen, The Kennedy Center
Paulette Ivory, Aida, The Kennedy Center
Sarah Jones, Surface Transit, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Alice Ripley, Tell Me on a Sunday, The Kennedy Center

Outstanding Non-Resident Production
Copenhagen, The Kennedy Center
The Full Monty, The National Theatre
Lypsinka! The Boxed Set, The Studio Theatre
Mamma Mia!, The National Theatre
Man of La Mancha, The National Theatre

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical
Brad Anderson, South Pacific, Arena Stage
Clinton Derricks-Carroll, Polk County Arena Stage
Ted L. Levy, Hot Mikado, Ford's Theatre
Mark Price, Sweeney Todd, The Kennedy Center
Lawrence Redmond, South Pacific, Arena Stage
J. Fred Shiffman, Privates on Parade, The Studio Theatre

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical
Ta'rea Campbell, The Gospel According to Fishman, Signature Theatre
Lori Tan Chinn, South Pacific, Arena Stage
Mariani Ebert, Brasil: as coisas do samba, Gala Hispanic Theatre
Perri Gaffney, Polk County, Arena Stage
Lauri Kraft, Bat Boy: The Musical, The Studio Theatre Secondstage
Alice Ripley, Company, The Kennedy Center

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play
Donald Carrier, The Duchess of Malfi, The Shakespeare Theatre
Michael Ray Escamilla, Recent Tragic Events, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Robert Hogan, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Arena Stage
Andrew Long, The Duchess of Malfi, The Shakespeare Theatre
Bruce Nelson, Faith Healer, Rep Stage
David Sabin, The Little Foxes, The Shakespeare Theatre

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play
Menchu Esteban, La Verdad Sospechosa, Gala Hispanic Theatre
Catherine Flye, She Stoops to Conquer, Folger Theatre
Tana Hicken, The Winter's Tale, The Shakespeare Theatre
Dori Legg, Recent Tragic Events, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Susan Lynskey, The Laramie Project, Olney Theatre Center for the Arts
Nancy Robinette, The Little Foxes, The Shakespeare Theatre

Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production
Mark Anduss, Tiny Alice, Washington Shakespeare Company
Scott Burgess, Knoyugogh, Little Globe Theater
Scott Burgess, Othello, Folger Theatre
David McKeever, The After-Dinner Joke and Scotland Road, Potomac Theatre Project and Olney Theatre Center for the Arts
Paata Tsikurishvili, Host and Guest, Synetic Theater
Adam Wernick, The Diaries, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production
Alessandra D'Ovidio and Mariana Fernandez, La Verdad Sospechosa, Gala Hispanic Theatre
Deborah M. Dryden, The Misanthrope, Arena Stage
Robert Perdziola, The Duchess of Malfi, The Shakespeare Theatre
Jelena Vukmirovic and Marie Schneggenberger, Mississippi Pinocchio, Theater of the First Amendment
Catherine Zuber, Much Ado about Nothing, The Shakespeare Theatre
Catherine Zuber, The Winter's Tale, The Shakespeare Theatre

Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Play Or Musical
Amy Appleyard, The Duchess of Malfi, The Shakespeare Theatre
Howell Binkley, Sunday in the Park With George, The Kennedy Center
Howell Binkley, Sweeney Todd, The Kennedy Center
Jonathan Blandin, The Weir, Round House Theatre
Chris Lee, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Signature Theatre
Daniel MacLean Wagner, The Gospel According to Fishman, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Set Design, Resident Play Or Musical
Loy Arcenas, True West, Arena Stage
Debra Booth, Hambone, The Studio Theatre
James Kronzer, Shakespeare, Moses, and Joe Papp, Round House Theatre
Hugh Landwehr, The Little Foxes, The Shakespeare Theatre
Jos. B. Musumeci, Jr., The Weir, Round House Theatre
Walt Spangler, The Duchess of Malfi, The Shakespeare Theatre

Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production
Sam Elmore and Kelly Parsley, Tales from Ovid, The Theater Alliance
Ilona Kessell, The Jazz Singer, Toby's Dinner Theatre
Baayork Lee, South Pacific, Arena Stage
Mark Minnick, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, West End Dinner Theatre
Irina Tsikurishvili, Hamlet, Synetic Theater
Irina Tsikurishvili, Host and Guest, Synetic Theater

Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production
Rob Berman, Sunday in the Park With George, The Kennedy Center
Larry Blank, Sweeney Todd, The Kennedy Center
George Fulginiti-Shakar, South Pacific, Arena Stage
Paul Raiman, The Gospel According to Fishman, Signature Theatre
Daniel Sticco, Bat Boy: The Musical, The Studio Theatre Secondstage
Jonathan Tunick, Company, The Kennedy Center
Stephen Wade, Polk County, Arena Stage