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Delivering the Dora Awards

The golden boy at last night’s Dora Mavor Moore Awards – Toronto’s annual celebration of theatre, dance and opera – was Waawaate Fobister, whose play Agokwe took home six Doras in the general theatre division.

Agokwe, the season opener at Buddies in Bad Times, won audiences with its gay teen love story Fobister played all the characters in the solo show.

The recognition – which included outstanding production, new play, Fobister’s performance, Ed Roy’s direction and design awards for Erika Iserhoff (costumes) and Kimberly Purtell (lighting) – proves the importance of what Buddies has been doing this season: putting its young artists front and centre.

Buddies’ artistic director David Oiye, on his last day in the job, emphasized the point in his acceptance speech for the production award, while earlier the excited Fobister gave plenty of thanks to those who supported him in his first work on a big stage.

It was the 30th anniversary for the Doras, presented by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA). For the occasion, TAPA printed a book in which winning artists from every year offered their memories of the occasion. On sale at TheatreBooks, the commemorative work is a celebration of three decades of Toronto’s performing arts community.

No other company received as many nods as Buddies, though two cleaned up in their respective divisions: Theatre Direct’s Walking The Tightrope, a play about loss aimed at youngsters, copped the two prizes in the theatre for young audiences division (Wayne Robson’s performance and production), and the National Ballet’s premiere of Crystal Pite’s Innovation: Emergence grabbed the four dance division awards (production, new choreography, Owen Belton’s sound design and the performance by the ensemble). It marked the first time in 13 years, noted the company head Karen Kain, that the National has won a Dora.

In the independent theatre division, Crow’s Theatre production of Anton Piatigorsky’s Eternal Hydra was the big winner, with nods for script, production, Chris Abraham’s direction and John Thompson’s lighting.

Hydra, one of the strongest productions of the past season, garnered some of the best word of mouth around town last May. It had too short a run, though, and I hope it’ll be remounted soon.

The season’s two big musicals, The Sound of Music and Jersey Boys, also hit some high notes. Music won for production, Elicia MacKenzie’s performance and Robert Jones’s sets Jersey Boys copped prizes for Des McAnuff’s direction and Jeff Madden’s performance. The latter also won the audience choice award, co-sponsored by NOW and Yonge/Dundas Square.

An exuberant Madden had one of the best speeches of the evening, thanking the casting people for not hiring Zac Efron for the role of Frankie Valli. He also admitted to being a science guy who got caught up with musical theatre and encouraged others with a similar non-theatre bent by telling them they could make it in show biz.

The evening, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, offered some other highlights. Raven Dauda, resplendent in a vivid red, pumped out excitement when she picked up her featured-actor Dora for Miss Julie: Freedom Summer she was up against herself for Doubt: A Parable. Hamlets from three decades – RH Thomson, Tom McCamus and Raoul Bhaneja – collectively announced several of the awards, while presenter Richard Lee, onstage with his wife Nina Lee Aquino, demonstrated the interconnectedness of the Toronto scene.

How? Though he was a nominee for best performance in a musical, up against four of the guys from Jersey Boys, he wore a red Jersey Boys t-shirt and proudly pointed it out to the audience. Earlier in the evening, he told me how much fun he’d had when he went to their show.

Solid director Brendan Healy, winner of this year’s Pauline McGibbon Award, also touched on that note of artist solidarity, echoing Jacob Zimmer’s phrase that independent theatre in Toronto is really interdependent theatre.

The Silver Ticket Award, presented for outstanding contribution to the development of Canadian theatre, went to producer Marlene Smith, who reminisced about her first job, group salesperson for Hair in the 70s. Because she had mother four kids under six, Mirvish Productions set up a box-office line in her home.

Gillian Gallow, a surprised double winner for Appetite’s set and costumes, remembered that several weeks ago a friend, hearing of Gallow’s nominations, cushioned her for the fact that she might not go home with a Dora by telling the designer that the right person never wins. “So what do I make of this?” mused Gallow with a touch of seriousness.

Now let’s give this talented woman more work in Toronto.

Picking up a statue for her performance in Soulpepper’s A Raisin In The Sun, Alison Sealy-Smith confided to us that initially she wasn’t sure whether she wanted the role. The clincher? Discovering that Weyni Mengesha was directing.

Best audience response? Every mention of lady in the red dress, The Gladstone Variations and The Forbidden Phoenix drew loud cheers from the house.

Most heartfelt laughter of the evening? Presenter Jackie Richardson, who gives her heart to the audience every time she’s onstage, giggling uproariously at the “sillylicious” subtitle for Cinderella. You can’t hear Richardson laugh and not join in.

For a complete list of winners, see tapa.ca/doras. [rssbreak]

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