On Tuesday June 11th, Melbourne’s iconic Princess Theatre, currently housing the local production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II, pulled double duty by also playing host to the Helpmann Awards Nomination ceremony, ahead of the Awards ceremony itself, to be held at Melbourne’s Arts Centre on July 14th and 15th.

Minister for Creative Industries, the Hon. Martin Foley, introduced the proceedings and MC for the night was theatre veteran Mike McLeish, while on hand to read out the nominees were Gillian Cosgriff and Tony Briggs, both pictured below.

Leading the way with eight nominations is the juggernaut that is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II, matched in that number by the Sydney Festival production Counting & Cracking. The hit musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical also made a splash picking up six nominations.

A full list of the nominees can be found at http://www.helpmannawards.com.au/, but listed below are the nominees in some of the major categories:

Best Choreography in a Musical

• In The Heights
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical
• Saturday Night Fever
• Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: West Side Story

Best Direction of a Musical

• In The Heights
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical
• Evita
• Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: West Side Story

Best Female Actor in a Musical

• Luisa Scrofani (In The Heights)
• Ursula Yovich (Barbara and the Camp Dogs)
• Tina Arena (Evita)
• Natalie Abbott (Muriel’s Wedding The Musical)

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• Lucy Maunder (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical)
• Elaine Crombie (Barbara and the Camp Dogs)
• Pippa Grandison (Muriel’s Wedding The Musical)
• Karli Dinardo (Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: West Side Story)

Best Male Actor in a Musical

• Paul Slade Smith (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical)
• Brent Hill (School of Rock The Musical)
• Alexander Lewis (Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: West Side Story)
• Blake Bowden (The Book of Mormon)

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• Marty Alix (In The Heights)
• Tony Sheldon (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical)
• Mark Hill (Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: West Side Story)
• Joel Granger (The Book of Mormon)

Best Musical

• In The Heights
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical
• Barbara And The Camp Dogs
• Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: West Side Story

Best Direction of a Play

• Counting & Cracking
• Blackie Blackie Brown: The Traditional Owner Of Death
• Saint Joan
• The Harp in the South: Part One and Part Two

Best Female Actor in a Play

• Kate Mulvany (Every Brilliant Thing)
• Helen Thomson (Mary Stuart)
• Sarah Snook (Saint Joan)
• Melita Jurisic (Arbus & West)
• Paula Arundell (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part I and II)

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play

• Vaishnavi Suryaprakash (Counting & Cracking)
• Helen Thomson (The Harp in the South: Part One and Part Two)
• Maude Davey (Melancholia)
• Zoe Terakes (A View From the Bridge)

Best Male Actor in a Play

• Wayne Blair (The Long Forgotten Dream)
• Kelton Pell (Summer of the Seventeenth Doll)
• Prakash Belawadi (Counting & Cracking)
• Amer Hlehel (TAHA)

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play

• Paul Blackwell (Faith Healer)
• Ash Flanders (Blackie Blackie Brown: The Traditional Owner Of Death)
• Antonythasan Jesuthasan (Counting & Cracking)
• William McKenna (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part I and II)

Best Production of a Play

• Counting & Cracking
• Blackie Blackie Brown: The Traditional Owner Of Death
• The Harp in the South: Part One and Part Two
• Song for a Weary Throat
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part I and II
• The Second Woman

The Helpmann Awards will be awarded over two nights on the 14th and 15th of July, at Melbourne’s Art Centre. Tickets for night two of the awards are on sale now and available at this link: https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/the-19th-annual-helpmann-awards-act-ii-melbourne-15-07-2019/event/130056A7A6AE4D93