The Company B version also received strong reviews, with a writer in Brisbane's "Courier-Mail" describing it as "brilliantly satirical" and a reviewer in Melbourne's "Age" awarding it the top rating of five stars. However Paul Sheehan, writing for the "Sydney Morning Herald", criticised the musical's pro-Keating bias, calling the script "preachy and safe" and an insult to those who voted for Howard. In 2007 it won the Helpmann Award for Best Musical, as well as the awards for best direction for Armfield and best actor in a supporting role for Serio. The following year it won another Helpmann for best regional touring production. By the end of its 2007 Sydney season, it had taken $500,000 in box office earnings, and by its final show in 2008 its total audience had reached over 223,000 people across Australia.