Buddies in Bad Times Theatre was the big winner at the Dora Mavor Moore Awards on Jun 29 nabbing six Doras for Agokwe, Waawaate Fobister’s one-man play about a young two-spirited man whose love for another man on their northern Ontario reserve ends in tragedy. Agokwe won outstanding production, new play, performance by a male in a principal role (play) for Fobister, direction for Ed Roy, costume design for Erika Iserhoff and lighting design for Kimberly Purtell. Fobister also received $5,000 from the Bluma Appel Community Trust, the fourth year in a row this prize has been donated in Appel’s name to the winner of outstanding new play.
Also in the general division, the Mirvish presentation The Sound of Music won three awards: outstanding production of a musical, performance by a female in a principal role (musical) for Elicia MacKenzie and set design for Robert Jones.
The DanCap presentation of Jersey Boys nabbed two awards: outstanding direction of a musical for Des McAnuff and performance by a male in a principal role (musical) for Jeff Madden. The musical also won the audience choice award.
In the independent theatre division Crow’s Theatre’s Eternal Hydra was the big winner with four awards including outstanding production, direction for Chris Abraham and new play or musical for Anton Piatigorsky.
In the dance division the National Ballet of Canada swept all four awards for Innovation: Emergence. In the opera division the Canadian Opera Company/English National Opera production of War and Peace captured outstanding production and Paolo Gavanelli earned outstanding performance for the Canadian Opera Company presentation of the Royal Opera’s Simon Boccanegra.