2nd Helpmann Awards

The 2nd Helpmann Awards ceremony was presented by the Australian Entertainment Industry Association (AEIA) (currently known by its trade name, Live Performance Australia (LPA)), for achievements in disciplines of Australia's live performance sectors. The ceremony took place on 6 May 2002 at the Star City Show Room in Sydney and was hosted by Simon Burke for the second year in a row. During the ceremony, the AEIA handed out awards in twelve categories for achievements in theatre, musicals, opera, ballet, dance and concerts.

The ceremony received criticism for its rules and voting procedures, and was compared to the previous ceremony's "polished awards night".

Winners and nominees

In the following tables, winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Production

Best Play	Best Musical
Cloudstreet – Company B Belvoir / Black Swan Theatre Master Class – International Concert Attractions The Tempest – Melbourne Theatre Company in association with Melbourne Festival Three Sisters – Sydney Theatre Company	Mamma Mia! – Littlestar in association with Universal and Dainty Consolidated Entertainment Singin' in the Rain – David Atkins Enterprises / IMG Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Opera Australia The Wizard of Oz – SEL / GFO / Macks Entertainment
Best Opera	Best Ballet or Dance Work
Batavia – Opera Australia in association with Melbourne Festival L'elisir d'amore – Opera Australia Parsifal – State Opera of South Australia The Fiery Angel (The Kirov Opera) – Melbourne Festival	Requiem – The Australian Ballet and State Opera of South Australia Corroboree – Bangarra Dance Theatre Eidos:Telos (Ballett Frankfurt) – Melbourne Festival Tivoli – The Australian Ballet and Sydney Dance Company
Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production	Best Presentation for Children
Same, Same But Different – Performing Lines in association with Sydney Festival Circus Oz (Sydney season) – Circus Oz Puppetry of the Penis – Ross Mollison Productions Stringraphy Ensemble – Melbourne Festival in association with Victorian Arts Centre	Hi-5 Alive – International Concert Attractions, Kids Like Us and Channel 9 Mad, Bad and Spooky – Sydney Festival and Theatre of Image Mice – A Cheesy Little Musical – Barking Gecko Theatre Company The Sign of the Seahorse – Playbox and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Best Special Event or Performance	Best Live Music Presentation
Buena Vista Social Club - Inaugural Steps of Sydney Opera House paid performance – International Concert Attractions in association with Hocking & Vigo and Sydney Opera House Carmen (12 September [2000] Performance, New York City) – International Concert Attractions and Hocking & Vigo The Alfred Deakin Lectures – Melbourne Festival The Celestial Bells (Transe Express) – Sydney Festival	Capsis vs Capsis – Sydney Opera House Mahler Symphony No. 8 – Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Testimony – Sydney Opera House and Sydney Festival in association with Melbourne Festival Tim Draxl in Concert – Spirit Entertainment
Best New Australian Work
Batavia – Richard Mills & Peter Goldsworthy (Opera Australia in association with Melbourne Festival) A Man with Five Children – Nick Enright (Sydney Theatre Company) Corroboree – Stephen Page (Bangarra Dance Theatre) Mavis Goes to Timor – Angela Chaplin, Katherine Thomson & Kavisha Mazzella (Deckchair Theatre)

Direction and choreography

Best Direction of a Play	Best Direction of a Musical
Neil Armfield – Cloudstreet Benedict Andrews – Three Sisters Rodney Fisher – Master Class Simon Phillips – The Tempest	Gale Edwards – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street David Atkins – Singin' in the Rain Phyllida Lloyd – Mamma Mia! Graeme Murphy – Tivoli
Best Direction of an Opera	Best Choreography in a Musical
Lindy Hume – Batavia Stephen Medcalf – Going Into Shadows Elke Neidhardt – Parsifal Simon Phillips – L'elisir d'amore	David Atkins – Singin' in the Rain Tony Bartuccio – The Pirates of Penzance Kim Gavin – Oh! What a Night Anthony Van Laast – Mamma Mia!
Best Choreography in a Ballet or Dance Work
Stephen Page – Corroboree Stephen Baynes – Requiem William Forsythe – Eidos:Telos François Klaus – Don Quixote

Performance

Best Male Actor in a Play	Best Female Actor in a Play
John Bell – Richard III Peter Carroll – The Christian Brothers Willem Dafoe – The Hairy Ape John Stanton – The Tempest	Amanda Muggleton – Master Class Essie Davis – The School for Scandal Kris McQuade – Cloudstreet Caroline O'Connor – Bombshells
Best Male Actor in a Musical	Best Female Actor in a Musical
Peter Coleman-Wright – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Martin Crewes – Oh! What a Night Robert Grubb – Mamma Mia! Wayne Scott Kermond – Singin' in the Rain	Judi Connelli – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Deborah Conway – Always … Patsy Cline Lara Mulcahy – Mamma Mia! Pamela Rabe – The Wizard of Oz
Best Male Performer in an Opera	Best Female Performer in an Opera
Jonathan Summers – Parsifal Bruce Martin – Batavia Glenn Winslade – Lohengrin Angus Wood – The Gypsy Princess	Lisa Gasteen – Tristan und Isolde Kate Ladner – The Marriage of Figaro Margaret Medlyn – Parsifal Elizabeth Whitehouse – Andrea Chénier
Best Male Dancer in a Ballet or Dance Work	Best Female Dancer in a Ballet or Dance Work
Steven Heathcote – Giselle Daryl Brandwood – Beyond Tears Joshua Horner – Tivoli David McAllister – Giselle	Kate Champion – About Face Tracey Carrodus – Tivoli Miranda Coney – Requiem Sheree da Costa – Singin' in the Rain

Industry

Best Original Score	Best Musical Direction
Iain Grandage – Cloudstreet David Chisholm – The Shrinking Ledge Ian McDonald – The Tempest Richard Mills – Batavia	Simone Young – Andrea Chénier Robert Gavin – Always … Patsy Cline Jeffrey Tate – Parsifal Simone Young – Tristan und Isolde
Best Costume Design	Best Scenic Design
Kristian Fredrikson – The School for Scandal Roger Kirk – The Gypsy Princess Paula Ryan – Singin' in the Rain Gabriela Tylesova – L'elisir d'amore	Peter England – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Michael Anania and Eamon D'Arcy – Singin' in the Rain Dale Ferguson – The Seagull Michael Scott-Mitchell – L'elisir d'amore
Best Lighting Design	Best Sound Design
Mark Howett – Cloudstreet Nigel Levings – The Old Masters John Rayment – Up for Grabs Nick Schlieper – Parsifal	The Wooster Group – The Hairy Ape Max Lyandvert – Three Sisters Wyn Milsom and Michael Waters – Singin' in the Rain David Page and Steve Francis – Corroboree