Advertisement

Culture Stage

The Doras

The Dora Mavor Moore Awards nominees for the best in local theatre, opera and dance were announced on Tuesday (see full list at tapa.ca/doras/). The nominees are all generally deserving – with several of my predictions from last week showing up.

But as usual, there were many interesting omissions and trends on the list. (Speaking of The List, where is the Nightwood/Canadian Stage production? Kelly Thornton’s directing? Allegra Fulton’s performance? Denyse Karn’s set? Kimberly Purtell’s lighting?) Anyhow, here’s a group of “awards” you won’t see handed out during the big show itself, which happens on June 27.

The “Year of Magical Oversights” award:

Strange that multiple Dora winner Seana McKenna didn’t get an acting nomination for her understated and moving performance in The Year Of Magical Thinking at the Tarragon.

The “Does Marshall Pynkoski have enemies on the jury?” award:

It’s hard to believe the extroverted artistic director of Opera Atelier could upset anyone, but how else to explain his company’s lack of love in the opera categories? Nothing for La Clemenza Di Tito? No design nods? Still, the Canadian Opera Company had a fantastic season and it’s reflected in their sweep of all the opera nominations save one (for the Luminato production of Prima Donna).

The “Sex, violence and out of Africa” award:

Many of the year’s most-nominated shows dealt with sex (S), violence (V), Africa (A), or a combination of them. Here’s a sample: Blasted (S, V) Ruined (S, V, A) Peggy Picket Sees The Face Of God – The Africa Trilogy (A) Brothel #9 (S, V) paper SERIES (V, S) Madhouse Variations (S, V) Nohayquiensepa (No One Knows) (V). But then again, A Year With Frog And Toad did well, too, and I can’t see a trend happening there.

The “family that plays (and gets nominated) together stays together” award:

There won’t be any “I’m better than you – so do the dishes!” arguments at the households of Richard Lee and Nina Lee Aquino (both nominated for paper SERIES – he for sound, she for direction) Lindsay Anne Black (set design, The Atomic Weight Of Happiness) and Michelle Ramsay (lighting design, The Atomic Weight and paper SERIES) and Kyra Harper (performance by a female in principal role for Vincent River) and David Ferry (performance by a male in a principal role for Blasted). Ferry, however, also received the Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award for advocating and being an ambassador for the arts in Canada (and gave a terrific speech during the nomination ceremony before zooming back to Stratford), so I think Harper should serve him breakfast in bed this weekend, or something.

The “You may know them from somewhere else” award:

Eclectic musicians Rufus Wainwright and Gord Downie got Dora award nominations for, respectively, Prima Donna (outstanding musical/opera) and Beside Each Other (outstanding sound design/composition, dance division). But will they show up at the awards – and maybe even play?

The “Well I played clarinet in grade school” award:

The “outstanding musical direction” category is among the strangest at the Doras, raising the question of whether jurors are qualified to judge a conductor’s skills and a musical arrangement, or whether there should be a separate, more qualified jury for that. (Hey, just a suggestion.)

The “Do you have a thing against kids?” award:

Alas, the four quadruple-threat (singing, ballet dancing, acting, perfecting a North England accent) kids who played Billy Elliot The Musical didn’t receive a group nomination for best actor in a musical, as per their colleagues when the Broadway production opened. On a related note: the always-young-looking Michael Therriault didn’t get a nomination either for Parade (although Darren A. Herbert did).

The anti-bike award (sponsored by Mayor Rob Ford, maybe):

What a shame that Evalyn Perry’s SPIN was shut out of the nominations. I was pretty sure Beth Kates’s set comprised of bicycles and bike paraphernalia would get acknowledged. Anna Friz and Brad Hart, meanwhile, made music from bike-related instruments – talk about taking their art in a new “outstanding musical direction.”

The “The Doras are great and all, but what can I still see?” award:

If the Dora noms have made you eager to see the shows, don’t worry. You can still get to see the following: Billy Elliot The Musical The Railway Children (Re)Birth: E. E. Cummings In Song (as part of Soulpepper’s Double Bill).

And finally…

Voting has now begun for the NOW Audience Choice Award!

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.