Glen Howard, theatreWashington board member, arts supporter, and host of the webcast of the 30th Annual Helen Hayes Nominations Announcement.

theatreWashington asked longtime theatre supporter and host of the upcoming Helen Hayes Nominations Announcement webcast three questions about theatre. Here are his responses. 

theatreWashington: What does theatre mean to you? 

Glen Howard:  Theatre gives me opportunities to see the world through others’ eyes—to experience people and circumstances I’d never be able to experience otherwise—and in some cases wouldn't want to!  Theatre helps me better understand and appreciate people who aren’t like me, facing situations that are sometimes quite similar to and sometimes quite different from what I face.  

I love all kinds of theatre and, as a musician, am especially drawn to musicals since I think so many additional dimensions can be conveyed through music.  I’ve often joked that all wisdom can be found in the lyrics of the American musical— for example, 1776 offers surprising insights into even current U.S. politics.  In fact, I recommend that politicians go see more theatre (and appropriate more funds for it too)!

tW: Why should people support theatre?

GH: Theatre deserves our support for two very different reasons.  First, for its intrinsic value as an art form that can provide transformational experiences, teach us, lift us up, disturb us, and connect us with our humanity and others’ as well.  Second, we should invest in theatre because of its instrumental value as a strong, but underappreciated, economic engine for our community, as a proven tool for educational achievement, and as an essential ingredient in making our region an even more attractive place to live and work.  

tW: Name one play that has had a profound effect on you and why?

GH: Parade at Ford’s Theater (2011) conveyed, through both powerful dialogue and emotionally-compelling music, a wrenching time in the South.  The show dealt honestly with issues of racism and anti-Semitism and taught the next generation some important lessons about how we tend to treat “outsiders” in our community, even if they’re our neighbors.  And it was a hell of an entertaining evening.

Glen Howard chairs the board of the Cultural Data Project, a national not-for-profit organization that strengthens the arts and cultural sector by collecting and disseminating comprehensive, high-quality data to support fact-based decision-making, fundraising, and advocacy. He serves also on the boards of directors of Americans for the Arts, Goodwill of Greater Washington (Vice Chair), theatreWashington, and the Americans for the Arts Foundation, and he is a member of the Community Advisory Board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A veteran concert performer, Mr. Howard is a longtime member (and past President) of the 180-voice Choral Arts Society of Washington, as well as the Washington Performing Arts Society’s Men and Women of the Gospel Choir. He sings regularly with the National Symphony Orchestra and has performed more than 400 concerts at the Kennedy Center, on 12 CDs (including a Grammy® Award winner), and on many network television and radio broadcasts. He has performed in the Sponsor Salute in the past six Helen Hayes Awards shows.

Howard received his B.A. degree cum laude from Harvard University and his J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor of the law review.

Login to post comments

Printer-friendly version