The winners of the 2019 Helen Hayes Awards, honoring both Equity and non-Equity productions on the Washington, D.C., stage were announced May 13. Among this year's victors were current Tony Award nominee Ephraim Sykes, who picked up an award for his performance as David Ruffin in Ain't Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations ahead of Broadway's biggest night.

The musical played D.C.'s Kennedy Center in summer 2018 as part of a series of pre-Broadway engagements.

Arena Stage led the pack with seven wins, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical for Corbin Bleu (currently on Broadway in Kiss Me, Kate) for his performance in Anything Goes, Eugene Lee (Broadway and Netflix's American Son) for Two Trains Running, and Outstanding Direction in a Musical and Play, respectively, for SpongeBob SquarePants Tony nominee Tina Landau (Dave) and Eric Rosen (Indecent).

Additional winners included Shakespeare Theatre Company's Camelot and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company's Gloria for Outstanding Production of a Musical and Play, Natascia Diaz for Signature Theatre's Passion, and Heather Raffo, who received the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding Original New Play or Musical for Noura (presented at Shakespeare Theatre Company).