At a ceremony held today at London’s Café de Paris, Aladdin’s Trevor Dion Nicholas announced the nominees for the 18th annual WhatsOnStage Awards, the only major theatre awards decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves.
The announcement of the nominations marks the opening of the final voting stage which closes 31 January, with the winners announced at the annual awards ceremony held on 25 February 2018 at the Prince of Wales Theatre.
WhatsOnStage’s chief operating officer, Sita McIntosh, said: “How wonderful to see such a range of shows in this year’s nominations, shows which have inspired and continue to inspire audiences up and down the country. It’s truly fantastic that in this robust year for superb musical revivals and exciting new British musicals, productions such as Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Bat Out of Hell, 42nd Street and Follies all have such strong standing on the nominations list.
“Isn’t it also fabulous to see work originating outside London getting a strong place on the list too – The Band, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Cilla the Musical, Young Frankenstein, are just some of the shows recognised which began outside the capital.”
This year is a stand-out year for musicals with 42nd Street and Bat Out of Hell securing eight nominations each, leading the Best Musical Revival category and Best New Musical respectively.
It is also a strong year for the National Theatre securing 19 nominations with Angels in America and Follies both scooping up seven, including Best Direction, where they will face The Ferryman, Bat Out of Hell and Hamlet.
Nominated – 42nd Street at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Picture: Roy Tan
Hair also makes the shortlist for Best Off-West End Production, up against La Ronde, The Wild Party, Working the Musical and Yank the Musical; The Band hopes to ‘Take That’ prize for Best Regional Production up against Our House, Sunset Boulevard, The Hypocrite and The Addams Family.
Two new categories have been introduced this year – Best Original Cast Recording will see Hamilton pitted against long-running fan favourite Les Misérables and newcomer to the West End stage Dreamgirls as well as Dear Evan Hansen and Girl from the North Country.
Reflecting the often unsung work that goes into creating a successful brand for a production, Best Show Poster sees last year’s heavyweight Harry Potter and the Cursed Child return to take on iconic productions including Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked and Hamilton.
Performances at the event included The Feeling’s front man Dan Gillespie Sells singing the title song from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie which is currently running at the Apollo Theatre until April 2018.
The WhatsOnStage Awards are proud to support Mousetrap Theatre Projects, a charity which takes children and young people who are disadvantaged or have special needs to see London’s outstanding theatre (www.mousetrap.org.uk).
Bat Out of Hell receives eight nominations. Picture: Roy Tan
THE 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards nominees in full:
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
- Andrew Polec, Bat Out of Hell
- Danny Mac, Sunset Boulevard
- Hadley Fraser, Young Frankenstein
- John McCrea, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
- Tom Lister, 42nd Street
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
- Carrie Hope Fletcher, The Addams Family
- Christina Bennington, Bat Out of Hell
- Janie Dee, Follies
- Josie Walker, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
- Ria Jones, Sunset Boulevard
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
- Chris Howell, 42nd Street
- Dex Lee, Five Guys Named Moe
- George Sampson, Our House
- Rob Fowler, Bat Out of Hell
- Ross Noble, Young Frankenstein
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
- Clare Halse, 42nd Street
- Danielle Steers, Bat Out of Hell
- Lucie Shorthouse, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
- Tracie Bennett, Follies
- Zoe Rainey, An American in Paris
BEST NEW MUSICAL
- Bat Out of Hell
- Cilla the Musical
- Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
- The Band
- Young Frankenstein
Nominated – Five Guys Named Moe. Picture: Roy Tan
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
- 42nd Street
- Fiddler on the Roof
- Five Guys Named Moe
- Follies
- Hair
BEST DIRECTION
- Dominic Cooke, Follies
- Jay Scheib, Bat Out of Hell
- Marianne Elliott, Angels in America
- Robert Icke, Hamlet
- Sam Mendes, The Ferryman
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
- Andrew Wright, Five Guys Named Moe
- Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
- Drew McOnie, On the Town
- Fabian Aloise, Our House
- Randy Skinner, 42nd Street
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
- Gary McCann, La Cage Aux Folles
- Peter McKintosh, On the Town
- Roger Kirk, 42nd Street
- Vicki Mortimer, Follies
BEST SET DESIGN
- Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
- Bunny Christie, Ink
- Douglas W. Schmidt, 42nd Street
- Jon Bausor, Bat Out of Hell
- Vicki Mortimer, Follies
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
- Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
- Patrick Woodroffe, Bat Out of Hell
- Paule Constable, Angels in America
- Paule Constable, Follies
- Peter Mumford, 42nd Street
Nominated – An American in Paris
BEST VIDEO DESIGN
- 59 Productions, An American in Paris
- Duncan McLean, Big Fish
- Duncan McLean, Labour of Love
- Tal Yarden, Hamlet
- Tal Yarden, Network
BEST OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION
- Hair
- La Ronde
- The Wild Party
- Working the Musical
- Yank the Musical
BEST REGIONAL PRODUCTION
- Our House
- Sunset Boulevard
- The Addams Family
- The Band
- The Hypocrite
BEST ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING
- Dear Evan Hansen
- Dreamgirls
- Girl from the North Country
- Hamilton
- Les Misérables
BEST SHOW POSTER
- Cats
- Hamilton
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- The Phantom of the Opera
- Wicked
BEST WEST END SHOW
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- Kinky Boots
- Les Misérables
- The Phantom of the Opera
- Wicked
Nominated – the National Theatre’s Follies. Picture: Johan Persson
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
- Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
- Andrew Scott, Hamlet
- Bryan Cranston, Network
- David Tennant, Don Juan in Soho
- Martin Freeman, Labour of Love
BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
- Eve Best, Love in Idleness
- Imelda Staunton, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- Olivia Colman, Mosquitoes
- Natalie Dormer, Venus in Fur
- Tamsin Greig, Labour of Love
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
- Adrian Scarborough, Don Juan in Soho
- Fra Fee, The Ferryman
- Nathan Lane, Angels in America
- Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Angels in America
- Peter Polycarpou, Oslo
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Denise Gough, Angels in America
- Imogen Poots, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- Jessica Brown Findlay, Hamlet
- Juliet Stevenson, Hamlet
- Sheila Atim, Girl from the North Country
BEST NEW PLAY
- Gloria
- Ink
- Labour of Love
- Oslo
- The Ferryman
BEST PLAY REVIVAL
- Angels in America
- Don Juan in Soho
- Hamlet
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- Witness for the Prosecution
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