The 2013 Helen Hayes Awards nominees are here! [Theatre Washington]

Toby’s Dinner Theatre racked up eight nominations for its production of The Color Purple; Signature’s Dreamgirls, Woolly’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, and Folger’s The Taming of the Shrew also fared well. [Post]

The Washington Performing Arts Society hires a new president: Stanford Live director Jenny Bilfield [Post]

… and she’s friends with the Post‘s classical music critic, Anne Midgette. Well, that might complicate things. [Post]

Howard University might be better known for its medical and law schools, but it’s also an “incubator for cinematographers,” writes Anne Hornaday [Post]

Gallery owner Randall Scott on why he chose to open up shop on H Street NE [East City Art]

Local ensemble Misun drops another track, “Battlefields” [Soundcloud]

Barnes & Noble aims to close up to one third of its stores nationwide. No word yet on whether D.C. area stores will be affected. [Washington Business Journal]

Illustration: cleaning the Hillwood Museum [Washingtonian]