D.C. area native Nora Palka won the Helen Hayes Award for “Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical” during a virtual awards announcement ceremonies Monday night, beating a broad Washington, D.C. Metro area-wide field for her role as Flora Conrad in the May 2019 production of “On Air” at Falls Church’s Creative Cauldron theater.

The production was an original creation of the Cauldron’s esteemed team of Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith, part of the venue’s “Bold New Works for Intimate Stages series.”