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Dora Mavor Moore Awards 2011

Blasted blew much of the competition away at the 32nd Dora Mavor Moore Awards, presented last night (June 27) at the Bluma Appel Theatre.

At the annual ceremony, celebrating the best in Toronto theatre, dance and opera and named for the teacher and director who helped establish Canadian professional theatre in the 30s and 40s, the Buddies in Bad Times production of Sarah Kane’s physically and emotionally searing play walked away with five awards in the general theatre division: outstanding production, director Brendan Healy, set designer Julie Fox, lighting designer Kimberly Purtell and sound designer Richard Feren.

Other awards in the general theatre included performance awards to Joseph Ziegler for Death Of A Salesman and Jane Spidell for Doc (both Soulpepper shows, Ziegler for male in a principal role and Spidell for featured role/ensemble) and Yanna McIntosh for Obsidian’s Ruined (female in a principal role).

Given the way Soulpepper’s been bringing back its hit productions, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a revival of Salesman down the road.

Anusree Roy picked up the outstanding new play award for Brothel #9, along with a $5,000 cheque from a foundation set up by the late arts supporter Bluma Appel.

Mirvish Productions left with a number of awards for its musical presentations, including costume design (Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner for Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical) and choreography (Peter Darling for Billy Elliot The Musical). The company also snagged the two musical performance awards, Tony Sheldon for Priscilla and Kate Hennig for Billy Eliot. Hennig, receiving one of the warmest receptions of the evening, talked about the exciting past two years of her 30-year career, which included a stint on Broadway in Billy Elliot, and expressed her pleasure at performing eight times a week in a subtly subversive musical that’s nevertheless drawing “the Mamma Mia! crowd.”

The outstanding touring production award went to Robert Lepage’s Ex Machina for The Andersen Project, presented by Canadian Stage.

Harry Bicket’s conducting of the Canadian Opera Company’s Orfeo Et Euridice won the outstanding musical direction award the show was also named outstanding production in the opera division. The COC also took home an award for Alan Oke’s performance in Death In Venice, while Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna was chosen as outstanding new musical/opera in the musical theatre division.

In the dance division, Dora statuettes were split among four productions: Roberto Campanella and Robert Glumbek for ProArteDanza’s…in between… (choreography), Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage presentation of Alain Platel/Les Ballets C. de la B.’s Out Of Context – For Pina (production), Joan Ogalla in Espejo De Oro/Mirror Of Gold, presented by Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company (performance) and Joby Talbot for the National Ballet of Canada’s Chroma (sound design/composition).

Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young Audiences – which reverts to its original name, Young People’s Theatre, on July 1 – garnered two awards, one in the theatre for young audiences division for Concrete Theatre’s Routes (production) and the other in the musical theatre division for A Year With Frog And Toad (production). The other theatre for young audiences nod went to John Cleland for his performance in Edward The “Crazy Man.” Cleland also started the evening’s mini-trend- paperless acceptance speeches, read on an iPhone, but he admitted partway through, “oh shit, this is not the easiest thing to read.” Hennig went one better with her own paperless method, counting the thanks she made on her fingers.

In the independent theatre division, whose 10 winners each received $1,000 from Bluma Appel’s foundation – acting awards went to The New Electric Ballroom’s Christopher Stanton (featured/ensemble performance) and Blood’s Sandy Duarte (female in a principal role). Melanie McNeill won costume design for Madhouse Variations, with Trevor Schwellnus picking up lighting design for Nohayquiensepa (No One Knows).

Three other productions scooped up the other six awards: The Situationists (Sky Gilbert for outstanding new play and Gavin Crawford for principal performance by a male), Through The Leaves (production and John Thompson’s set design) and paper SERIES (Nina Lee Aquino for direction and Richard Lee for sound design).

The separate appearances by husband-and-wife Aquino and Lee proved two of the show’s most emotional moments, not just because of the loud applause from the audience but also for the pair’s public acknowledgment of the personal and professional importance they have in each other’s lives.

The iconic Michael Hollingsworth, with a 40-year history in Toronto theatre that includes writing and directing the epic History Of The Village Of The Small Huts, received the Silver Ticket Award for his outstanding contribution to the development of Canadian theatre.

Winner of the Pauline McGibbon Award, sound and projection designer Ben Chaisson, began by apologizing for having broken the news of his winning on Facebook it was to have been a secret until the Doras. After speaking of his intention to help organize an award for projection design at next year’s Doras, he reminded everyone in the auditorium to thank their high school drama teachers for setting them on a path in the arts.

There were equally passionate speeches about the importance of the arts by Stanton and Aquino.

The most moving speech was director Brendan Healy’s, as he recounted the late Gina Wilkinson’s support in his own battle with cancer.

The funniest? Veteran performer Gordon Pinsent reading reviews by the daily critics. No one makes better use of the pregnant pause for comic effect than Pinsent.

The audience choice award, sponsored by NOW and Yonge-Dundas Square, went to The Railway Children.

Presiding over the evening were Craig Lauzon and Michaela Washburn, the first pair of aboriginal artists to host the Doras. Their backgrounds in improv comedy was apparent in the evening’s ad libs and also a film at the show’s start, where Lauzon played a stiff, robotic Stephen Harper being shown around Factory Theatre by artist Washburn, whose name Harper kept getting wrong.

And yes, there was at least one Rob Ford quip.

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