Sandra Oh, Rick Mercer among those honoured at 2019 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards

Some of Canada’s biggest and brightest stars in the entertainment industry were honoured on Saturday night (April 27) at the 2019 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. This year’s recipients included (L-R): actor <strong>Colm Feore</strong>, <em>Killing Eve</em> star <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/sandra-oh"><strong>Sandra Oh</a></strong>, ballet veteran <strong>Mavis Staines</strong>, Québécois actor, director, producer and playwright <strong>Lorraine Pintal</strong>, pianist <strong>Louise Bessette</strong> and comedy legend <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/rick-mercer"><strong>Rick Mercer</a></strong>. <p>There were also several surprise appearances at this year’s gala, which was full of plenty of star power in the seats and on stage! <p><strong>Click through the gallery to see some of the best moments from this year’s show!</strong> <p>Photo: &copy; George Pimentel/Getty Images
<i>Killing Eve</i> is one of the hottest shows on TV right now, and star Sandra Oh has received a whopping five different awards for her performance as Eve Polastri, a nerdy, quirky MI6 agent who soon finds herself in a game of cat-and-mouse with a female assassin with the code name Villainelle (Jodie Comer) who she’s tasked with catching. On Saturday, Sandra was given a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for her role, and she clearly had a blast in the stands! <p>Photo: &copy; George Pimentel/Getty Images
Here’s one of the reasons Sandra was so excited! In the middle of the show, <strong>Metric</strong> singer <strong>Emily Haines</strong> appeared on stage and dedicated a song to Sandra! The indie rock darling launched into a cover of <strong>Pshycotic Beats</strong>’s “Killer Shangri-Lah” and was accompanied by Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra as she performed the tune, which is featured prominently in episodes of <i>Killing Eve</i>. <p>Photo: &copy; George Pimentel/Getty Images
But the surprises weren’t done there! Canadian singer/songwriter and all-round funny human being <strong><a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/jann-arden">Jann Arden</a></strong> then walked on stage and declared Rick Mercer would be honoured in an entirely unique and Canadian way. But she wouldn’t be doing it and was only there to introduce Rick’s musical tribute guest. <p>Photo: &copy; George Pimentel/Getty Images
That was ‘80s Can-rockers <strong>The Pursuit of Happiness</strong>, who were hilariously all wearing shirts with Rick’s face on them! The band didn’t perform any of their hits, and opted to run through a rendition of <strong>Trooper</strong>’s “Raise a Little Hell” instead, while backed up by the orchestra and a high school dance group. <p>Photo: &copy; George Pimentel/Getty Images
Rick looked pretty thrilled throughout the entire show, and also seemed tickled pink to be posing next to two of the Governor General’s Foot Guards – not to be confused with the Queen’s Grenadier Guards at Buckingham Palace! <p>Photo: &copy; George Pimentel/Getty Images
Acting maverick <strong>Colm Feore</strong> was tickled pink by his tribute. According to the <I><a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/local-arts/ggs-performing-arts-awards-jann-arden-emily-haines-tpoh-surprise-guests">Ottawa Citizen</a></i>, each laureate received a speech from friends and colleagues and a short film done by the National Film Board, in addition to their aforementioned musical tributes.
Mavis Staines received a fitting tribute: <strong>Karen Kain</strong>, herself a Canadian ballet legend and the current artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, brought two dancers on stage to perform a number set to music composed by indie rock legend and Polaris Music Prize winner <strong>Owen Pallett</strong>. <p>Photo: &copy; George Pimentel/Getty Images
CBC News anchor <strong>Heather Hiscox</strong> was the master of ceremonies for the entire event. <p>Photo: &copy; George Pimentel/Getty Images
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