Helpmann Awards: Muriel’s Wedding blitz

The musical remake of Muriel’s Wedding has dominated this year’s Helpmann Award nominations | FULL LIST

Maggie McKenna in Muriel's Wedding the Musical for Sydney Theatre Company.

The raucous musical remake of Muriel’s Wedding has dominated this year’s Helpmann Award nominations, which also include the possibility of a prominent actor and his son each taking home trophies on consecutive nights.

Muriel’s Wedding the Musical received 11 nominations, including best musical, best direction in a musical (Simon Phillips, also nominated for Dream Lover) and best female actor in a musical for Maggie McKenna, who played Muriel.

Kate Miller-Heidke, who three years ago won a Helpmann award for The Rabbits, continues her dominance of Australian stages with an original music nomination, alongside husband Keir Nuttall, for Muriel’s Wedding.

The same production also is in the running for best new Australian work — a strong category that includes Brett Dean’s Hamlet, Stephen Page’s Bennelong and Nakkiah Lui’s Black is the New White.

Hamlet, the highlight of the Adelaide Festival in March, has seven nominations, including best opera and best director for Neil Armfield.

Barrie Kosky has been nominated in that directing category for The Nose, his surreal take on Shostakovich’s work for Opera Australia.

And Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, a production by Malthouse and Victorian Opera, has seven nominations including best opera, a category that also includes VO’s Cunning Little Vixen.

Two actors from the same family have been recognised for separate shows at the Sydney Theatre Company.

Harry Greenwood is nominated for best supporting male actor in a play for Cloud Nine.

His father, Hugo Weaving, will be hard to beat in the lead acting category for his performance in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, which received six nominations, including best play, best direction (Kip Williams), best supporting female actor (Anita Hegh) and best supporting male actor (Colin Moody and Peter Carroll). In addition to Arturo Ui, Williams, STC’s artistic director, has been nominated as best director for Cloud Nine.

Also nominated in that category are Sarah Goodes (The Children, Melbourne Theatre Com­pany) and Matthew Lutton (The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man, Malthouse). STC has received 27 nominations in total, ahead of 11 for Malthouse and eight for MTC.

Bennelong, a Bangarra production about the senior Aboriginal man who liaised with Arthur Phillip in the early days of Australian settlement, received eight nominations, including best dance work.

Adelaide Festival hit Hamlet is up for seven Helpmann awards. Picture: Tony Lewis.

There was also strong support for Tim Sharp’s Laser Beak Man, a Brisbane Festival production by La Boite and Dead Puppet Society: the visual theatre piece has been nominated in the categories of best new Australian work, best scenic design, best original score and best play.

One winner already has been announced: the best special event award will go to the Melbourne Festival’s production of Taylor Mac’s four-night extravaganza, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music.

The Helpmanns ceremony, which has been criticised regularly in recent years for its unwieldy length, will be split into two this year in a move that puts it on par with national awards for film (AACTA) and music (ARIA).

This means the creative, designer and supporting role awards will be handed out at Sydney Town Hall on July 15, with higher-profile categories announced at a more colourful event the next night at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre.

2018 Helpmann Awards nominations

BEST NEW AUSTRALIAN WORK
• Brett Dean and Matthew Jocelyn, Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival and Adelaide Festival in association with the State Opera of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
• Colin Lane & Frank Woodley, Lano & Woodley - Fly, Token Events
• Nakkiah Lui, Black is the New White, Sydney Theatre Company
• Nicholas Paine, David Morton, Tim Sharp and Sam Cromack, Laser Beak Man, Brisbane Festival, La Boite Theatre Company and Dead Puppet Society in association with PowerArts
• PJ Hogan, Kate Miller-Heidke & Keir Nuttall, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures
• Stephen Page, Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre

BEST PLAY
• Black is the New White, Sydney Theatre Company
• Laser Beak Man, Brisbane Festival, La Boite Theatre Company and Dead Puppet Society Brisbane Festival, La Boite Theatre Company and Dead Puppet Society in association with PowerArts
• The Children, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company
• The Irresistible, Side Pony Productions & The Last Great Hunt
• The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man, Malthouse Theatre
• The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Sydney Theatre Company

BEST OPERA
• Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Malthouse Theatre and Victorian Opera Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival
• Cunning Little Vixen, Victorian Opera
• H amlet, Glyndebourne Festival, Adelaide Festival, State Opera Of South Australia and The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
• The Nose, Opera Australia

BEST MUSICAL
• Beautiful: the Carole King Musical, Michael Cassel In Association With Paul Blake & Sony/Atv Music Publishing & Mike Bosner
• Dream Lover, John Frost And Gilbert Theatrical
• Mamma mia! the musical, Michael Coppel, Louise Withers & Linda Bewick
• Muriel’s Wedding the Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures

BEST DANCE PRODUCTION
• Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre
• In timate space, Restless Dance Theatre, Restless Dance Theatre in association with Bleach* Festival and Festival 2018
• Mozart A irborne, Expressions Dance Company, Opera Queensland and QPAC
• One Flat Thing, Reproduced, Strut dance

BEST BALLET
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Australian Ballet
• The Great Gatsby, West Australian Ballet
• The Winter’s Tale, The Royal Ballet & QPAC
• Woolf Works, the Royal Ballet & QPAC

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
• Kip Williams, Cloud Nine, Sydney Theatre Company
• Kip Williams, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Sydney Theatre Company
• Matthew Lutton, The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man, Malthouse Theatre
• Sarah Goodes, The Children, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company

BEST DIRECTION OF AN OPERA
• Barrie Kosky, The Nose, Opera Australia
• Matthew Lutton, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival
• Neil Armfield, Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival and Adelaide Festival in association with the State Opera of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
• Stuart Maunder, Cunning Little Vixen, Victorian Opera

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
• Dean Bryant, Assassins, Hayes Theatre Co
• Marc Bruni, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Michael Cassel in association with Paul Blake & Sony/ATV Music Publishing & Mike Bosner
• Simon Phillips, Dream Lover, John Frost and Gilbert Theatrical
• Simon Phillips, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
• Esther Hannaford, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Michael Cassel in association with Paul Blake & Sony/ATV Music Publishing & Mike Bosner
• Maggie McKenna, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures
• Marina Prior, Dream Lover, John Frost and Gilbert Theatrical
• Natalie O’Donnell, Mamma Mia! The Musical, Michael Coppel, Louise Withers & Linda Bewick

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
• David Campbell, Assassins, Hayes Theatre Co
• David Campbell, Dream Lover, John Frost and Gilbert Theatrical
• David Harris, Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The Musical, Michael Cassel Group and Nullarbor Productions in association with MGM on Stage
• Euan Doidge, Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The Musical, Michael Cassel Group and Nullarbor Productions in association with MGM on Stage
• Ian Stenlake, Mamma Mia! The Musical, Michael Coppel, Louise Withers & Linda Bewick

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
• Helen Morse, Memorial, Brink Productions and Adelaide Festival in association with Adelaide Festival Centre, Brisbane Festival and Melbourne Festival through the Major Festival’s Initiative, the 1418 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, UK, and the Barbican
• Miranda Daughtry, A Doll’s House, State Theatre Company South Australia
• Pamela Rabe, The Children, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company
• Sarah Peirse, The Children. Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
• Daniel Monks, The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man, Malthouse Theatre
• Hugo Weaving, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Sydney Theatre Company
• John Bell, The Father, Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company
• Toby Schmitz, Thyestes, A Belvoir production, originally created by The Hayloft Project

BEST COMEDY PERFORMER
• Anne Edmonds, Helen Bidou - Enter the Spinnaker Lounge, Token Events
• Celia Pacquola, All Talk, Token Events
• Colin Lane & Frank Woodley, Lano & Woodley - Fly, Token Events
• Julia Morris, Lift and Separate Golden Jubilee, Live Nation
• Rhys Nicholson, Seminal, Century
• Urzila Carlson, Studies Have Shown, Live Nation
• Zoe Coombs Marr, Bossy Bottom, Token Events

BEST CABARET PERFORMER
• Briefs Ensemble, Briefs: Close Encounters, Briefs Factory
• Queenie van de Zandt, BLUE: The Songs of Joni Mitchell, Neil Gooding Productions & Queenie van de Zandt
• Reuben Kaye, Journey to the Centre of Attention, Adelaide Festival Centre’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival
• Taylor Mac, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, Melbourne International Arts Festival

BEST FEMALE DANCER IN A BALLET, DANCE OR PHYSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
• Ako Kondo, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Australian Ballet
• Elise May, Behind Closed Doors, Expressions Dance Company and QPAC
• Melissa Boniface, The Great Gatsby, West Australian Ballet
• Vivienne Wong, Infra, The Australian Ballet

BEST MALE DANCER IN A BALLET, DANCE OR PHYSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
• Beau Dean Riley Smith, Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre
• Joshua Thomson, Tide, Bleach* Festival, The Farm and City of Gold Coast
• Kevin Jackson, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Australian Ballet
• Nelson Earl, Ocho, Sydney Dance Company

BEST VISUAL OR PHYSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
• Carrion, Justin Shoulder
• Lim bo Unhinged, Strut & Fret Production House
• Tide, BLEACH* Festival & The Farm
• White Spirit, Zaman Production & Galerie Itinerrance In Collaboration with the Musée Du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac and Perth Festival

BEST FEMALE PERFORMER IN AN OPERA
• Dimity Shepherd, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival
• Helen Sherman, Coronation of Poppea, Pinchgut Opera
• Nicole Car, La Traviata, Opera Australia
• Taryn Fiebig, Triple Bill, Pinchgut Opera

BEST MALE PERFORMER IN AN OPERA
• Allan Clayton, Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival and Adelaide Festival in association with the State Opera of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
• Barry Ryan, Cunning Little Vixen, Victorian Opera
• Ferruccio Furlanetto, Don Quichotte, Opera Australia
• Kanen Breen, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival

BEST INDIVIDUAL CLASSICAL MUSIC PERFORMANCE
• Emanuel Ax, A Mozart Celebration: Emanuel Ax with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra
• Jonas Kaufmann, Parsifal, Opera Australia
• Kwangchul Youn, Parsifal, Opera Australia
• Pieter Wispelwey, Pieter Wispelwey plays the Bach Cello Suites, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra

BEST INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY CONCERT
• Cécile Mclorin Salvant and Adelaide Festival, Cécile McLorin Salvant
• Ed Sheeran & Frontier Touring, ÷ World Tour 2018
• Paul McCartney, Frontier Touring, MPL & Marshall Arts, Paul McCartney – One On One World Tour 2017
• Underworld and Sydney Opera House presents, Underworld

BEST CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL
• Chugg Entertainment and Robb Potts Entertainment Edge, CMC Rocks QLD 2018
• Lunatic Entertainment & Laneway presents St. Jeromes Laneway Festival 2018
• Museum of Old and New Art (mona), MONA FOMA
• Womadelaide Foundation, WOMADelaide 2018

BEST AUSTRALIAN CONTEMPORARY CONCERT
• Armand van Helden, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Frontier Touring and Arts Centre Melbourne, Symphonica with Armand van Helden
• Gang of Youths and Live Nation, Gang of Youths, Australia 2017
• Gotye presented by Sydney Festival & MONA FOMA, Gotye Presents a Tribute to Jean-Jacques Perrey
• Midnight Oil & Frontier Touring, The Great Circle World Tour 2017

BEST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT
• Beethoven and Bruckner: Simone Young conducts, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra
• Bluebeard’s Castle: with Bach and Brahms, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra
• Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with Rachel Podger, Musica Viva Australia
• Wagner and Beyond: Inspiring Wagner, West Australian Symphony Orchestra

BEST CHAMBER AND/OR INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE CONCERT
• Human requiem, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Adelaide Festival
• Jordi Savall with Hesperion XXI & Tembembe Ensamble Continuo, Perth Festival, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Centre & QPAC
• Pieter Wispelwey: Beethoven, Bach, Brahms with Caroline Almonte, Pieter Wispelwey & Caroline Almonte and Melbourne Recital Centre
• Takacs Quartet, Musica Viva Australia

BEST FEMALE PERFORMER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN AN OPERA
• Antoinette Halloran, Cunning Little Vixen, Victorian Opera
• Lorina Gore, Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival and Adelaide Festival in association with the State Opera of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
• Meow Meow, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival
• Natalie Christie Peluso, Coronation of Poppea, Pinchgut Opera

BEST MALE PERFORMER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN AN OPERA
• Jud Arthur, Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival and Adelaide Festival in association with the State Opera of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
• Kanen Breen, Coronation of Poppea, Pinchgut Opera
• Kim Begley, Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival and Adelaide Festival in association with the State Opera of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
• Warwick Fyfe, Don Quichotte, Opera Australia

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A PLAY
• Anita Hegh, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Sydney Theatre Company
• Elaine Crombie, An Octoroon, Queensland Theatre and Brisbane Festival
• Jane Montgomery-Griffiths, Macbeth, Melbourne Theatre Company
• Kate Box, Top Girls, Sydney Theatre Company

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A PLAY
• Colin Moody, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Sydney Theatre Company
• Harry Greenwood, Cloud Nine, Sydney Theatre Company
• Mitchell Butel, Mr Burns, A Post-Electric Play, Belvoir and State Theatre Company South Australia
• Peter Carroll, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Sydney Theatre Company

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
• Amy Lehpamer, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Michael Cassel in association with Paul Blake & Sony/ATV Music Publishing & Mike Bosner
• Christie Whelan Browne, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures
• Jemma Rix, The Wizard of Oz, John Frost and Suzanne Jones by arrangement with The Production Company
• Madeleine Jones, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
• Bobby Fox, Assassins, Hayes Theatre Co
• Martin Crewes, Dream Lover, John Frost and Gilbert Theatrical
• Mat Verevis, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Michael Cassel in association with Paul Blake & Sony/ATV Music Publishing & Mike Bosner
• Robert Grubb, Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The Musical, Michael Cassel Group and Nullarbor Productions in association with MGM on Stage

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
• Gabriela Tylesova, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures
• Jennifer Irwin, Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre
• Jonathon Oxlade, Mr Burns, A Post-Electric Play, Belvoir and State Theatre Company South Australia
• Zoë Atkinson, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival

BEST SCENIC DESIGN
• Bob Crowley, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Australian Ballet
• Bunny Christie, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, National Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company and Arts Centre Melbourne
• David Morton, Jonathon Oxlade and Justin Harrison, Laser Beak Man, Brisbane Festival, La Boite Theatre Company and Dead Puppet Society in association with PowerArts
• Jacob Nash, Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
• Damien Cooper, You Animal, You, Force Majeure, Sydney Festival and Carriageworks
• Geoff Cobham, Emil and the Detectives, Slingsby
• Nick Schlieper, Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre
• Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, National Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company and Arts Centre Melbourne

BEST SOUND DESIGN
• Byron J. Scullin, Tom Supple and Hannah Fox, Siren Song, Byron J. Scullin & Supple Fox and Perth Festival
• Ian Dickinson for Autograph, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, National Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company and Arts Centre Melbourne
• Michael Waters, Dream Lover, John Frost and Gilbert Theatrical
• Michael Waters, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures

BEST MUSIC DIRECTION
• Brian Ritchie, The Spirit of Churaki, Bleach* Festival and Banaam
• Isaac Hayward, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures
• Nicolette Fraillon, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Australian Ballet
• Phoebe Briggs, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
• Kate Miller-Heidke & Keir Nuttal, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures
• Max Richter, Woolf Works, The Royal Ballet & QPAC
• Sam Cromack, Laser Beak Man, Brisbane Festival, La Boite Theatre Company and Dead Puppet Society in association with PowerArts
• Steve Francis, Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre

BEST SPECIAL EVENT
• Taylor Mac: a 24-decade History of Popular Music, Melbourne International Arts Festival

BEST PRESENTATION FOR CHILDREN
• Emil and the Detectives, Slingsby
• Junk, Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne
• Tetris, DreamBIG Children’s Festival 2017 at Adelaide Festival Centre
• The Secret life of Suitcases, Arts Centre Melbourne, Ailie Cohen Puppet Maker and The Unicorn Theatre London

BEST REGIONAL TOURING PRODUCTION
• Hello, Goodbye and Happy Birthday, Roslyn Oades and Performing Lines Oddysea, Sensorium Theatre and Performing Lines WA
• Our Land People Stories, Bangarra Dance Theatre
• Saltbush, Insite Arts, Compagnia TPO and Performing Lines/Blak Lines

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A BALLET, DANCE OR PHYSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
• Christopher Wheeldon, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The Australian Ballet
• Phillip Adams, Ever, Phillip Adams BalletLab in association with Melbourne Festival
• Stephen Page, Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre
• Wayne McGregor, Woolf Works, The Royal Ballet & QPAC

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A MUSICAL
• Andrew Hallsworth, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures
• Josh Prince, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Michael Cassel in association with Paul Blake & Sony/ATV Music Publishing & Mike Bosner
• Karen Bruce, The Bodyguard, John Frost, Michael Harrison and David Ian with Michael Watt, Brian Fenty, Tulchin/Bartner, BB Group/Freddy Burger, Elizabeth Williams and Jeanne and Ed Arnold
• Tom Hodgson, Mamma Mia! The Musical, Michael Coppel, Louise Withers & Linda Bewick