Lord of the Rings wins big at Toronto performing arts awards

TORONTO : It has received mixed reviews since it opened in Toronto in March, but The Lord of the Rings took home top honours Monday at the Dora Mavor Moore Awards.

The musical, based on the famed books by J.R.R Tolkien, won seven awards, far more than any other production in the general theatre category. In addition to Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus winning outstanding new musical - they provided the book and music - actor Michael Therriault won for his portrayal of the stealthy antagonist Gollum and garnered the most applause at the ceremony.

"It takes Frodo six months to get to Mount Doom. It's taken us four years," Warchus said of the enormous work that went into the production.

The Rings also won several awards for its big-budget staging: production of a musical, direction of a musical, costume design, lighting design and choreography.

The Doras, which honour Toronto's performing arts community with categories for theatre, dance and opera, were handed out in a ceremony hosted by actor David Gale at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre.

Blood.claat, the story of a Jamaican immigrant to Canada, won for outstanding new play and best actress in a lead role for D'bi.young, who also wrote the play.

She very humbly and quietly accepted the award for the play, thanking her ancestors, mother and Toronto.

Then when she returned to the stage to accept the acting award, she declared, "OK, let's cut the shy game now . . . Believe in what we do. The storytellers here are for real."

Our Town, from the Soulpepper Theatre Company, won for best production of a play, and Shawn Doyle won for best actor in a lead role for A Number.

In the independent theatre division, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot won five awards including outstanding production, direction (David Ferry) and performance by a male (Diego Matamoros).

The play Bombay Black took four, including outstanding new play or musical.

When Anosh Irani accepted the best new musical or play award for Bombay Black, he had the audience in stitches.

He said a lot of people say a play is a labour of love.

"But I think it's more like being in labour," he said, "a lot of pain and confusion."

Peter Chin won for new choreography for Stupa, and June Anderson was honoured for outstanding performance in the opera Norma.

The Silver Ticket Award, recognizing contribution to the development of Canadian theatre, went to Ahdri Zhina Mandiela, the founder and director of B Current which has an extensive training program for young performing artists.

The Pauline McGibbon Award for an emerging theatre artist was given to Jennifer Tarver, who has established her own theatre company, Theatre Extasis.