Adelaide Theatre Guide's 2008-2009 Curtain Call Awards

The Adelaide Theatre Guide's 2008-2009 Curtain Call Awards Night were celebrated in fine style at the Gala Dinner at the Adelaide Festival Centre Banquet Room on August 8.

Matt Byrne reports.

Emcee and comedian Claire Hooper kept the evening on track but still found time to shower the crowd with golden tales of life on the road.

Big winners in the Professional field were Flying Penguin Productions' True West and State Theatre Company's Metro Street.

True West won Best Drama and Best Male Performance for Renato Musolino, while Metro Street won Best Musical and Best Female Performance for Verity Hunt Ballard.

Felicity Arts proved a popular choice as Best Comedy show with Attack of the 40 Foot Wedge, Accidental Productions won Best Ensemble for World's End and Geoff Cobham's Lighting won Best Technical for Attempts On Her Life.

The runaway winner in the Amateur Awards was Company of Muses for its Fringe production of the Cagebirds.

They took out Best Drama, Best Ensemble and Best Costumes for Emma Brockliss.

The Hills Musical Company's Urinetown The Musical won Best Musical and Adelaide Univeristy Theatre Guild won Best Comedy for The Underpants.

Isabella Norton won Best Female Performance for Matt Byrne Media's acclaimed Driving Miss Daisy, while Will Cox won Best Male Performance for Independent Theatre's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The evening paid tribute to ATG reviewer Simon Slade who tragically lost this battle with cancer last year.

Simon Slade Memorial Awards went to Jethro Pidd, Kate Fraser, Claire McEvoy and Peter Howie to encourage emerging talent in the amateur theatre world.

There were live performances by the cast of Therry's 2010 musical Curtains, cabaret performers Felicity Adams and Amity Dry, and a far flung malteasering finale from Paul Rodda from Matt Byrne Media's forthcoming Sept-October production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Sponsors for the evening included Actors Ink and TAFE SA's Adelaide Centre for the ARTS, and other generous donors, like Eastside Music with great credit to Matt Curtis and Rodney Hutton for sound, and Larraine Wheeler for Lighting.

Award List

PROFESSIONAL

# Best Show - Musical: Metro Street (State Theatre Company of South Australia, Arts Asia Pacific & Power Arts)

Best Show - Drama:
# True West (Flying Penguin Productions)

Best Show – Comedy:
# Attack of the 40 Foot Wedge (Felicity Arts)

Best Male Performance:
# Renato Musolino (True West, Flying Penguin Productions)

Best Female Performance:
# Verity Hunt Ballard (Metro Street, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Arts Asia Pacific & Power Arts)

Best Ensemble:
# Worlds End (Accidental Productions)

Best Technical:
# Geoff Cobham, Lighting Design (Attempts on her Life, State Theatre Company of South Australia)

AMATEUR

Best Show - Musical:
# Urinetown, the Musical (Hills Musical Company)

Best Show - Drama:
# The Cagebirds (Company of Muses)

Best Show - Comedy:
# The Underpants (University of Adelaide Theatre Guild)

Best Male Performances:
# Will Cox (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Independent Theatre Company)

Best Female Performances:
# Isabella Norton (Driving Miss Daisy, Matt Byrne Media)

Best Ensemble:
# The Cagebirds (Company of Muses)

Best Technical:
# Emma Brockliss, Costume Design (The Cagebirds, Company of Muses)

The Simon Slade Memorial Award recipients were:

* Jethro Pidd
* Kate Fraser
* Claire McEvoy
* Peter Howie