There was free booze at the Melbourne event, but I wanted a night off (ok, I like my weekly dose of QandA indignation) and I can read the list of nominees; a list that always makes me go, "but what about (insert name of a much better show)".
I know I'm not alone in my confusion about the Helpies, especially regarding eligibility. You have to be a member of the LPA and/or pay a fee to be considered.
Sean Bryan was a part of the creative team who produced last year's (award-winning*) Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert. He's in London at the moment, but wrote a piece asking: So how do we get the Helpmanns to help Musical Theatre in Australia?
Read it here.
He asks the sort of questions we should all be asking when we congratulate a Helpman winner.
If King Kong wins an award from its previews, when shows like Flowerchildren don't get a look in (who may not have self-nominated, but it's still a better show), there's something wrong with the system.
*As a development work, they didn't nominate for the Helps, but it was still the BEST musical I saw in 2012.
UPDATE: Twitter tells me that Flowerchildren was registered. I have no idea how it could be overlooked.
