Helpmann Award Winners 2013

Recipients of the 13th annual Helpmann Awards were announced at the Sydney Opera House this evening in a ceremony co-hosted by Eddie Perfect and Christie Whelan-Browne.

With special performances throughout the evening from Perfect and Whelan-Browne, Tim Minchin, the casts of Grease and Hot Shoe Shuffle, the event celebrated Australia’s Live Performance Industry with spunk and pizazz.

43 awards were announced by a host of presenters including Baz Lurhmann, Sharon Millerchip, Rob Mills and Erika Heynatz and a full list of the winners is detailed below!

The big winners this year were were:

Secret River (STC) – 6 awards
Legally Blonde – 5 awards
King Kong – 5 awards
Salome – 4 awards

Best Regional Touring Production

CIRCA
Toured by Performing Lines for Road Work

Best Male Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera

José Carbó
Die Tote Stadt
Opera Australia

Best Female Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera

Jacqueline Dark
Salome
Opera Australia

Best Chamber & / or Instrumental Ensemble Concert

Jordi Savall & Andrew Lawrence King
Melbourne Recital Centre

Best Scenic Design

Peter England
King Kong

Best Costume Design

Roger Kirk
King Kong
Global Creatures

King Kong Melbourne. Image by Belinda Strodder

Best Presentation for Children

School Dance
Windmill Theatre

Best Individual Classical Music Performance

Simone Young Conducting The Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner (concert performance) & Symphony No. 2 in C Minor Resurrection by Gustav Mahler, Soloists from the Hamburg State Opera with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Queensland Performing Arts Centre & Events Queensland

Best Choreography in a Musical

Jerry Mitchell
Legally Blonde The Musical
Howard Panter for The Ambassador Theatre Group & John Frost for Gordon Frost Organisation

Best Lighting Design

Peter Mumford
King Kong

Best Choreography in a Dance or Physical Theatre Production

Antony Hamilton
Black Project 1 & 2
Arts House & Antony Hamilton Projects

Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production

S
Circa

Best Sound Design

Peter Hylenski
King Kong

Best Special Event

White Night Melbourne
Victorian Major Events Company on behalf of the State Government of Victoria

Best Music Direction

Iain Grandage
The Secret River

Best International Contemporary Concert

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Wrecking Ball 2013
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band & Frontier Touring Company in association with Jacobsen International

Best Cabaret Performer

Robyn Archer AO
Robyn Archer in Concert: QUE RESTE-T-IL? at the Famous Spiegel Garden and Toulouse-Lautrec
Cabaret and Curator Dinner at The National Gallery of Australia
Robyn Archer, Michael Morley (Piano), George Butrumlis (Accordian)

Best Direction of an Opera

Alex Ollé
Un Ballo in Maschera
Opera Australia

Best Direction of a Play

Neil Armfield
The Secret River

Best Direction of a Musical

Jerry Mitchell
Legally Blonde The Musical

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Russell Dykstra
The Addams Family

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Helen Dallimore
Legally Blonde The Musical

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play

Colin Moody
The Secret River

 

The Secret River won big this year with 6 gongs.
Image – Heidrun Lohr

 

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play

Amber McMahon
School Dance

Best Australian Contemporary Concert

Neil Finn & Paul Kelly
Neil Finn, Paul Kelly & Live Nation Australasia by arrangement with Artist Voice

Best Original Score

Iain Grandage
The Secret River

Best Contemporary Music Festival

The 24th Annual Bluesfest Byron Bay
Bluesfest Touring

Best New Australian Work

Kate Grenville, adapted for the stage by Andrew Bovell
The Secret River

Best Comedy Performer

Julia Morris
Julia Morris – No Judgement
Fox in the Snow

Outstanding Theatrical Achievement

Awarded to King Kong’s creators and puppeteers for the design, creation and operation of King Kong, The Creature

Best Male Dancer in a Dance or Physical Theatre Production

Alisdair Macindoe
Dual

Best Female Dancer in a Dance or Physical Theatre Production

Deborah Brown
TERRAIN
Bangarra Dance Theatre

Best Ballet or Dance Work

TERRAIN
Bangarra Dance Theatre

Best Male Performer in an Opera

John Wegner
Salome
Opera Australia

Best Female Performer in an Opera

Cheryl Barker
Salome
Opera Australia

Best Symphony Orchestra Concert

Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner (concert performance), The Hamburg State Opera with The Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Queensland Performing Arts Centre & Events Queensland

Best Male Actor in a Musical

Geoffrey Rush
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Best Female Actor in a Musical

Lucy Durack
Legally Blonde The Musical

Best Male Actor in a Play

Colin Friels
Death of a Salesman

Best Female Actor in a Play

Alison Bell
Hedda Gabler
State Theatre Company of South Australia

Best Opera

Salome
Opera Australia

Best Play

The Secret River
Sydney Theatre Company in association with The Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals, Sydney Festival, The Centenary of Canberra, Perth International Arts Festival

Best Musical

Legally Blonde The Musical
Howard Panter for The Ambassador Theatre Group & John Frost for Gordon Frost Organisation