Hairspray and Urinetown Top Dora Award Nominees

CanStage's production of Urinetown and a resident production of Hairspray led the nominees of this year's Dora Mavor Moore Awards--the Canadian arts awards that honor excellence in theatre, dance and opera.  The Doras, which place their eligibility year from June 1st to May 31st, will be held at the Winter Garden Theatre Centre on June 27th at 8 PM.

With 10 nods, Urinetown garnered the most nominations--Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Musical for John Rando, Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role - Musical for David Keeley, Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role - Musical for Frank Moore, Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role - Musical for Mary Ann McDonald, Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role - Musical for Jennifer Waiser, Outstanding Lighting Design for Brian MacDevitt, Outstanding Sound Design/Composition for Keith Handegord, Outstanding Musical Direction for Stephen Woodjetts and Outstanding Choreography in a Play or Musical for John Carrafa. 

The Canadian staging of Hairspray also did quite well for itself with 8 nominations--Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Musical for Jack O'Brien, Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role-Musical for Jay Brazeau, Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role-Musical for Vanessa Olivarez and Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role for Fran Jaye as well as Outstanding Musical Direction, Outstanding.

Unlike the Tonys, the Doras reward artistic excellence in five divisions: General Theatre, Independent Theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences, Dance and Opera.  The categories are aimed at fairly honoring productions of different sizes and budgets, as well as the two lively arts that aren't usually recognized in the same awards ceremony as theatre. 

This year, CanStage's 6 productions capped off the General Theatre division with a total of 22 nominations. Necessary Angel Theatre Company placed second, with 13 nominations for its two productions. Tarragon Theatre earned nine nominations.

Opera Atelier earned 7 nominations in the Opera division.  In the dance division, dancer/choreographer Susie Burpee picked up 3 nods, and Roseneath Theatre received the same amount of nominations in the Theatre for Young Audiences division.

Theatre Extasis and The Theatre Centre led the tally in the Independent Theatre division with 8 nominations for That Time.  The other Independent division nominees for Outstanding New Play or Musical are Erika Batdorf for Poetic License, T. Beagan for Thy Neighbour's Wife, Andy Massingham for Rough House, Gord Rand for Pond Life and Rick Roberts for Kite.  The New Play nominees in the General division are Claudia Dey for Trout Stanley, Keira Loughran for Little Dragon, Rick Miller & Daniel Brooks for Bigger Than Jesus, John Mighton for Half Life and David S. Young with the company for No Great Mischief.  New Musical nominees in the General division are David Finley for Aladdin and Guy Mignault for Autour de Kurt Weill. The New Works categories are considered the most important indicator of health in the resident Canadian theatre scene, and winners in the Independent Theatre division are gifted with a $1,000 cheque from Mrs. Bluma Appel.

For more information on the Doras, visit www.tapa.ca.

The complete list of Dora Mavor Moore Award nominees is as follows:

GENERAL THEATRE

Outstanding New Play
Claudia Dey Trout Stanley
Keira Loughran Little Dragon
Rick Miller & Daniel Brooks Bigger Than Jesus
John Mighton Half Life
David S. Young with the company No Great Mischief

Outstanding New Musical
David Finley Aladdin
Guy Mignault Autour de Kurt Weill

Outstanding Production of a Play
Bigger Than Jesus Necessary Angel Theatre Company in Association with Factory Theatre
Blue Planet Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People
Half Life Tarragon Theatre and Necessary Angel Theatre Company
Take Me Out CanStage
The Leisure Society Factory Theatre

Outstanding Production of a Musical
Aladdin Ross Petty Productions
Ain't Misbehavin' CanStage and Dancap Private Equity Inc.
Autour de Kurt Weill Le Théâtre français de Toronto
Hairspray David and Ed Mirvish / Margo Lion, Adam Epstein, The Baruch-Viertel-Routh-Frankel Group, James D. Stern/Douglas L. Meyer, Rick Steiner/Frederic H. Mayerson, SEL & GFO, New Line Cinema in association with Clear Channel Entertainment, A. Gordon/E. McAllister, D. Harris/M. Swinsky, JGB Osher
Urinetown CanStage

Outstanding Direction of a Play
Daniel Brooks Bigger Than Jesus
Daniel Brooks Half Life
Ken Gass The Leisure Society
Allen MacInnis Blue Planet
Joseph Ziegler Hamlet

Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Marion J. Caffey Ain't Misbehavin'
Ted Dykstra Aladdin
Guy Mignault Autour de Kurt Weill
Jack O'Brien Hairspray
John Rando Urinetown

Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role - Play
Stuart Hughes The Dumb Waiter / The Zoo Story
Daniel MacIvor Cul-De-Sac
Rick Miller Bigger Than Jesus
Eric Peterson Half Life
Paul Soles Trying

Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role - Play
Marie-Hélène Fontaine Le Collier d'Hélène
Carolyn Hetherington Half Life
Melody Johnson Trout Stanley
Irene Poole The Leisure Society
Alison Sealy-Smith Cast Iron

Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role - Musical
Jay Brazeau Hairspray
David Keeley Urinetown
David Lopez Ain't Misbehavin'
Derek McGrath Aladdin
Frank Moore Urinetown

Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role - Musical
Divine Brown Ain't Misbehavin'
Mary Ann McDonald Urinetown
Mary Ann McDonald Side by Side by Sondheim
Vanessa Olivarez Hairspray
Jennifer Waiser Urinetown

Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role in a Play or Musical
Oliver Dennis Waiting for Godot
Barbara Gordon Half Life
Fran Jaye Hairspray
Richard Lee Little Dragon
Mike Shara Take Me Out
Michael Simpson Translations

Outstanding Set Design
Judith Bowden Blue Planet
Beth Kates and Ben Chaisson Bigger Than Jesus
Ken MacDonald Take Me Out
Francis O'Connor Translations
Marian Wihak The Leisure Society

Outstanding Costume Design
Sarah Balleux Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
Judith Bowden Blue Planet
William Ivey Long Hairspray
Astrid Janson and Julie Renton The Red River Rebellion
Francis O'Connor Translations

Outstanding Lighting Design
Beth Kates Bigger Than Jesus
Kevin Lamotte Translations
Glen Charles Landry Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
Brian MacDevitt Urinetown
Kimberly Purtell The Leisure Society
Graeme S. Thomson No Great Mischief

Outstanding Sound Design/Composition
Ben Chaisson Bigger Than Jesus
Richard Feren Cul-De-Sac
Keith Handegord Urinetown
Wayne Kelso The Leisure Society
Lyon Smith Little Dragon
Ernie Tollar and Maryem Hassan Tollar Le Collier d'Hélène

Outstanding Musical Direction
Bob Foster Hairspray
William Foster McDaniel Ain't Misbehavin'
Marek Norman Dream in High Park - As You Like It
Mike Ross No Great Mischief
David Warrack Aladdin
Stephen Woodjetts Urinetown

Outstanding Choreography in a Play or Musical
Marion J. Caffey Ain't Misbehavin'
John Carrafa Urinetown
Tracey Flye Aladdin
Sven Johansson Blue Planet
Jerry Mitchell Hairspray

Outstanding Touring Production
Bombshells , Harbourfront Centre - World Stage Festival and Associated Artists
Dream Machine, Theatre Passe Muraille and One Yellow Rabbit
Est-ce qu'on ne pourrait pas s'aimer un peu?, Le Théâtre français de Toronto and Théâtre Loyal de Trac de Bruxelles, Belgique
Lili, Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People and Dynamo Théâtre
Past Half Remembered, Harbourfront Centre - Milk International Children's Festival of the Arts and New International Theatre Encounter (Czechoslovakia/Norway/France/UK co-production)

INDEPENDENT THEATRE

Outstanding New Play or Musical
Erika Batdorf Poetic License
T. Beagan Thy Neighbour's Wife
Andy Massingham Rough House
Gord Rand Pond Life
Rick Roberts Kite

Outstanding Production
A Whistle in the Dark The Company Theatre
Rough House Nightswimming
That Time Theatre Extasis and The Theatre Centre
The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine Theatre Columbus
The Strange & Eerie Memoirs of Billy Wuthergloom Alianak Theatre Productions in association with VideoCabaret and Eldritch Theatre

Outstanding Direction
Leah Simone Bowen Thy Neighbour's Wife
Leah Cherniak The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine
Todd Hammond Poetic License
Brian Quirt Rough House
Rick Roberts Kite
Jennifer Tarver That Time

Outstanding Performance by a Male
Paul Fauteux That Time
Andy Massingham Rough House
Rick Roberts The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine
Eric Woolfe The Strange & Eerie Memoirs of Billy Wuthergloom
Joseph Ziegler A Whistle in the Dark

Outstanding Performance by a Female
Erika Batdorf Poetic License
Tara Beagan Thy Neighbour's Wife
Barbara Gordon That Time
Yanna McIntosh Hedda Gabler
Jenny Young The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine

Outstanding Set Design
Glenn Davidson The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine
Joanne Dente That Time
David Duclos and Steve Lucas I Know and Feel That Fate is Harsh But I am so Loath to Accept This
Emma Polimac The Romance of Magno Rubio
Teresa Przybylski Hedda Gabler

Outstanding Costume Design
Joanne Dente That Time
Shawn Kerwin St. Christopher
Camellia Koo The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Heather McCrimmon The Hollow
Teresa Przybylski Hedda Gabler

Outstanding Lighting Design
Bonnie Beecher Hedda Gabler
Rebecca Picherack and Sandra Marcroft I Know and Feel That Fate is Harsh But I am so Loath to Accept This
Rebecca Picherack and Michelle Ramsay Rough House
Kimberly Purtell Pond Life
Michelle Ramsay That Time

Outstanding Sound Design/Composition
Romeo Candido Banana Boys
Morgan Doctor and Todd Hunter Between Us Goddesses
Marc Downing The Strange & Eerie Memoirs of Billy Wuthergloom
Ian Lefeuvre Macbeth
E.C. Woodley That Time

THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

Outstanding Production
And by the Way Miss... Theatre Direct Canada
Bed and Breakfast Puppetmongers Theatre
Bird's Eye View Cliffhanger Productions and Theatre LMNOP
Dib and Dob and The Journey Home Roseneath Theatre
Where the Wild Things Are Carousel Players in Association with Manitoba Theatre for Young People

Outstanding Performance
Andrew Craig Smokescreen
Ensemble And by the Way Miss...
Ensemble The Triple Truth
Ensemble Dib and Dob and The Journey Home
Blair Keyzer Where the Wild Things Are

OPERA

Outstanding Production
Actéon Opera Atelier
Constantinople Tapestry New Opera Works and the Gryphon Trio in association with Music Toronto, The Banff Centre and Ex Machina
Dido and Aeneas Opera Atelier
Don Giovanni Opera Atelier

Outstanding Performance
Peggy Kriha-Dye Don Giovanni
Nathalie Paulin Dido and Aeneas
Laura Pudwell Dido and Aeneas
Maryem Hassan Tollar Constantinople
Monica Whicher Dido and Aeneas

DANCE

Outstanding New Choreography
Susie Burpee Mischance & Fair Fortune
Dominique Dumais Fading Shadows / Returning Echoes
Emio Greco and Pieter C. Sholten Rimasto Orfano
Matjash Mrozewski Break Open Play
Heidi Strauss At Last
Kinya "Zulu" Tsuruyama HA-SU - breath of lotus flower

Outstanding Performance
Susie Burpee Countess of Main Events
Susie Burpee Mischance & Fair Fortune
Ensemble Rustling Shadows
Ensemble HA-SU - breath of lotus flower
Andrea Nann Source
Yvonne Ng Fading Shadows / Returning Echoes