Last night (1 March 2020) saw the 20th annual WhatsOnStage Awards at the Prince of Wales theatre. These awards are unique as members of the public nominate and vote for their favourite plays and musicals across the UK and in the West End.
This year was the biggest ever awards and also broadcast for the first time ever on BBC Radio 2. The big accolades went to Come From Away, which won Best New Musical, & Juliet, Six The Musical and Dear Evan Hansen.
The evening was packed full of performances from West End stars with Lucy Jones delivering a beautiful performance of She Used to be Mine from Waitress the musical which amazingly didn’t win any awards despite eight nominations.
Miriam-Teak Lee: Best Actress in a Musical
The night belonged to one of Luxuriate’s favourite musicals & Juliet which won six awards including best actress in a musical (Miriam-Teak Lee). The gong for best new musical went to Come From Away, which tells the true story of something good that came out of the 9/11 terror attacks when planes from across the world were grounded in a tiny Newfoundland community that helped all the ‘come from aways.’
Six the Musical winners
The winner of the first BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best West End Musical (shortlisted shows must have run for longer than a year in the West End) was Six the Musical which continues its run at the Arts Theatre.
The Equity Award for Services to Theatre was awarded to ERA 50:50, an organisation set up by actors Lizzie Berrington and Polly Kemp that campaigns to see women better represented on screen, television and theatre in equal numbers to men.
The celebrity studded evening ended in an after party at Cafe de Paris where stars from the shows (and the odd sprinkling of TV personalities) let their hair down on their night off.
For more information on the awards, visit: awards.whatsonstage.com
The cast of award winning & Juliet
A full list of winners (in bold) and nominees are below:
The Equity Award for Services to Theatre
ERA 50:50
The BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical
Six the Musical
Best Actor in a Play, sponsored by Edwardian Hotels
Tom Hiddleston – Betrayal – Harold Pinter Theatre
Andrew Scott – Present Laughter – The Old Vic
Matt Smith – Lungs – The Old Vic
Wendell Pierce – Death of a Salesman – Young Vic / Piccadilly Theatre
Laurie Kynaston – The Son – Kiln Theatre / Duke of York’s Theatre
Best Actress in a Play, sponsored by Tonic Theatre
Claire Foy – Lungs – The Old Vic
Zawe Ashton – Betrayal – Harold Pinter Theatre
Hayley Atwell – Rosmersholm – Duke of York’s Theatre
Sharon D Clarke – Death of a Salesman – Young Vic / Piccadilly Theatre
Juliet Stevenson – The Doctor – Almeida Theatre
Best Supporting Actor in a Play
Alexander Vlahos – Peter Pan – Park Theatre
Charlie Cox – Betrayal – Harold Pinter Theatre
Hareet Deol – My Beautiful Laundrette – A Curve Leicester, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham and Leeds Playhouse co-production
Hammed Animashaun – A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Bridge Theatre
Giles Terera – Rosmersholm – Duke of York’s Theatre
Best Supporting Actress in a Play
Ria Zmitrowicz – The Doctor – Almeida Theatre
Isabella Pappas – Appropriate – Donmar Warehouse
Monica Dolan – All About Eve – Noël Coward Theatre
Sophie Thompson – Present Laughter – The Old Vic
Indira Varma – Present Laughter – The Old Vic
Best Actor in a Musical, sponsored by Dewynters
David Hunter – Waitress – Adelphi Theatre
Sam Tutty – Dear Evan Hansen – Noël Coward Theatre
Jac Yarrow – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – The London Palladium
Oliver Tompsett – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Charlie Stemp – Mary Poppins – Prince Edward Theatre
Best Actress in a Musical, sponsored by Café de Paris
Lucie Jones – Waitress – Adelphi Theatre
Katharine McPhee – Waitress – Adelphi Theatre
Miriam-Teak Lee – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Tracie Bennett – Mame – Hope Mill Theatre
Zizi Strallen – Mary Poppins – Prince Edward Theatre
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical
Joe Sugg – Waitress – Adelphi Theatre
Jack Loxton – Dear Evan Hansen – Noël Coward Theatre
Jordan Luke Gage – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Oscar Conlon-Morrey – Only Fools and Horses the Musical – Theatre Royal Haymarket
Jason Donovan – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – The London Palladium
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, sponsored by Newman Displays
Laura Baldwin – Waitress – Adelphi Theatre
Marisha Wallace – Waitress – Adelphi Theatre
Cassidy Janson – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Melanie La Barrie – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Rachel Tucker – Come From Away – Phoenix Theatre
Best New Play, sponsored by Ticketmaster
The Doctor – Robert Icke – Almeida Theatre
The Son – Florian Zeller – Kiln Theatre / Duke of York’s Theatre
My Beautiful Laundrette – Hanif Kureishi – A Curve Leicester, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham and Leeds Playhouse co-production
Life of Pi – Lolita Chakrabarti – Sheffield Theatres
Appropriate – Branden Jacobs-Jenkins – Donmar Warehouse
Best Play Revival, sponsored by JHI Marketing
Betrayal – Harold Pinter Theatre
Death of a Salesman – Young Vic / Piccadilly Theatre
Present Laughter– The Old Vic
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Bridge Theatre
Lungs – The Old Vic
Best New Musical, sponsored by h Club London
Waitress – Adelphi Theatre
& Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre and Opera House, Manchester
Dear Evan Hansen – Noël Coward Theatre
Come From Away – Phoenix Theatre
Only Fools and Horses the Musical – Theatre Royal Haymarket
Best Musical Revival, sponsored by Concord Theatricals
Mary Poppins – Prince Edward Theatre
Evita – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – The London Palladium
Mame – Hope Mill Theatre
9 to 5 the Musical – Savoy Theatre
Best Off-West End Production, sponsored by Les Misérables
Fiver – Southwark Playhouse
The View UpStairs – Soho Theatre
High Fidelity – The Turbine Theatre
Preludes – Southwark Playhouse
Falsettos – The Other Palace
Best Regional Production, sponsored by MTI Europe
Mame – Hope Mill Theatre
The Color Purple – A Curve Leicester and Birmingham Hippodrome co-production
Life of Pi – Sheffield Theatres
My Beautiful Laundrette – A Curve Leicester, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham and Leeds Playhouse co-production
West Side Story – Royal Exchange, Manchester
Best Choreography
Fabian Aloise – Evita – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Matthew Bourne – Romeo and Juliet – UK tour
Kelly Devine – Come From Away – Phoenix Theatre
Jennifer Weber – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Nick Winston – Mame – Hope Mill Theatre
Best Costume Design
Lez Brotherston – Romeo and Juliet – UK tour
Katrina Lindsay – Small Island – National Theatre
Rob Howell – Present Laughter – The Old Vic
Philip Witcomb – Mame – Hope Mill Theatre
Paloma Young – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Best Direction, sponsored by LOVEtheatre
Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell – Death of a Salesman – Young Vic / Piccadilly Theatre
Robert Icke – The Doctor – Almeida Theatre
Jamie Lloyd – Evita – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Matthew Warchus – Lungs – The Old Vic
Matthew Warchus – Present Laughter – The Old Vic
Best Graphic Direction, sponsored by Hexagon Print
& Juliet – Dewynters
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Muse Creative Communications
Equus – Feast Creative
Evita – Feast Creative
Rosmersholm – Bob King Creative
Best Lighting Design, sponsored by White Light
Jon Clark – Evita – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Ben Cracknell – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – The London Palladium
Howard Hudson – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Jessica Hung Han Yun – Equus – UK tour
Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone – Present Laughter – The Old Vic
Best Musical Direction, sponsored by AKA
Ian Eisendrath, Alan Berry and team – Come From Away – Phoenix Theatre
Kimberly Grigsby – The Light in the Piazza – Southbank Centre
Alex Parker – Mame – Hope Mill Theatre
John Rigby – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – The London Palladium
Alan Williams – Evita – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Best Set Design, sponsored by Sine Digital
Soutra Gilmour – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Soutra Gilmour – Evita – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Rob Howell – Present Laughter – The Old Vic
Robert Jones – The Light in the Piazza – Southbank Centre
Rae Smith – The Night of the Iguana – Noël Coward Theatre
Best Sound Design, sponsored by Stage Sound Services
Ben Harrison – Mame – Hope Mill Theatre
Nick Lidster – Evita – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Gareth Owen – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
Gareth Owen – Come From Away – Phoenix Theatre
Mick Potter – The Light in the Piazza – Southbank Centre
Best Video Design, sponsored by PRG
Jon Driscoll – Small Island – National Theatre
Will Duke – Grief is the Thing With Feathers – Barbican Theatre
Andrzej Goulding – & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
P J McEvoy – Falsettos – The Other Palace
Ewan Jones Morris – A Very Expensive Poison – The Old Vic