Sugarpuss, Hillybilly up for Montreal theatre awards

Fringe production Miss Sugarpuss Must Die and a remount of the successful Haunted Hillbilly have each earned four nominations for Montreal's annual theatre prizes.

Nominees for the Montreal English Critics Circle Awards (MECCA) were released Tuesday.

Miss Sugarpuss Must Die, the Tappyco production about a burlesque dancer at war with her alter ego, won best English-language production at the 2010 Fringe Festival. It is nominated for best production, lighting and costume design, and Holly Gauthier-Frankel, who plays Miss Sugarpuss, received a nod for best actress.

Haunted Hillbilly was first mounted in 2008 by fledgling theatre company SideMart at the Segal Centre for the Performing Arts. Written by Graham Cuthbertson with music by Matthew Barber, it strikes a balance between humour and weirdness with a story about a country singer who has sold his soul to a blood-sucking vampire.

SideMart remounted a full-scale production in Montreal this year, with new songs and costumes, as well as taking the camp musical to Toronto's Summerworks Festival. Haunted Hillbilly is nominated for best production, with best actor nominations for Daniel Brochu and best director for Andrew Shaver.

Susana Vera has a double nod for her costumes — for both Haunted Hillbilly and Inherit the Wind.

The other best production nominees are Rabbit, Rabbit from Infinitheatre and Sexy béton II: Justice by Porte Parole.

A Line in the Sand by five-year-old independent theatre company Tableau D'Hote Theatre also racked up four nominations, but was overlooked for best production. Glenda Braganza and Chip Chuipka were recognized for their performances and Mike Payette for direction for the drama set against Operation Desert Shield.

Billy Twinkle, Requiem for a Golden Boy, by Alberta puppeteer Ronnie Burkett has a nomination for best visiting production, along with The Age I'm In by Australian dance-theatrical troupe Force Majeure.

The awards will be handed out Nov. 29 in Montreal.