Cameron Mackintosh’s hugely successful revival of Miss Saigon is today celebrating 12 nominations at the 15th annual WhatsOnStage Awards.
Marking what has undoubtedly been an incredible year for new musicals, today’s nominations also include 10 nods for the Beverley Knight-led Memphis The Musical and seven for Jamie Lloyd’s production of the cult Urinetown The Musical.
The three very different musicals, whose success was announced at the website awards’ launch party at Café de Paris by hosts Angela Griffin and Steve Furst, will face off against one another in the coveted Best New Musical category alongside fellow nominees Sunny Afternoon, Here Lies Love and Made In Dagenham.
Leading the way in the play categories is the Donmar Warehouse’s critically acclaimed production of Coriolanus. As well as nominations for his fellow cast members Hadley Fraser, Mark Gatiss (both Best Supporting Actor in a Play) and Deborah Findlay (Best Supporting Actress in a Play), Tom Hiddleston follows his win at this week’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards to collect a nomination in the Best Actor category.
Hiddleston will face stiff competition from a starry list of fellow nominees including David Tennant (Richard II), Mark Strong (A View From The Bridge), Richard Armitage (The Crucible) and Tom Bateman (Shakespeare In Love).
Similarly packed with well-known names, this year’s Best Actress category features nods for Great Britain star Billie Piper, Medea’s Helen McCrory, Good People’s Imelda Staunton, Bateman’s Shakespeare In Love co-star Lucy Briggs-Owen and A Streetcar Named Desire’s Gillian Anderson, who, like Hiddleston, has already collected an Evening Standard Theatre Award for her outstanding performance in the Young Vic production.
Joining the list of hotly contended prizes is the Best New Play Award, which will this year be competed for by Great Britain, King Charles III, The Nether, Shakespeare In Love and Wolf Hall. Equally anticipated will be the winner of the Best Direction Award, with the creative geniuses behind musicals including Memphis The Musical (Christopher Ashley), Urinetown The Musical (Jamie Lloyd) and Laurence Connor (Miss Saigon) facing competition from Richard II’s Gregory Doran and The Crucible’s Yaël Farber.
Held in aid of The Big Issue Foundation, 2015’s WhatsOnStage Awards will take place on 15 February at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Voted for entirely by the public, theatre fans have until 31 January to help determine who takes home the prizes on the night.
The awards join a busy season of theatrical prizes that will culminate in the Olivier Awards with MasterCard on 12 April. The most prestigious date in the theatre awards calendar will be held at the stunning Royal Opera House with full details of the evening’s line-up and nominees to be announced in the coming months.
Full list of 2015’s WhatsOnStage Awards nominees:
Best Actor in a Play sponsored by Radisson Blu Edwardian
David Tennant, Richard II
Mark Strong, A View From The Bridge
Richard Armitage, The Crucible
Tom Bateman, Shakespeare In Love
Tom Hiddleston, Coriolanus
Best Actress in a Play
Billie Piper, Great Britain
Gillian Anderson, A Streetcar Named Desire
Helen McCrory, Medea
Imelda Staunton, Good People
Lucy Briggs-Owen, Shakespeare In Love
Best Actor in a Musical
Alistair Brammer, Miss Saigon
Jon Jon Briones, Miss Saigon
Killian Donnelly, Memphis The Musical
Marti Pellow, Evita
Robert Lindsay, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical
Best Actress in a Musical
Beverley Knight, Memphis The Musical
Eva Noblezada, Miss Saigon
Gemma Arterton, Made In Dagenham
Jenna Russell, Urinetown The Musical
Madalena Alberto, Evita
Best Supporting Actor in a Play
Adrian Schiller, The Crucible
David Oakes, Shakespeare In Love
Hadley Fraser, Coriolanus
Mark Gatiss, Coriolanus
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall & Bring Up The Bodies
Best Supporting Actress in a Play
Anna Madeley, The Crucible
Deborah Findlay, Coriolanus
Nicola Walker, A View From The Bridge
Samantha Colley, The Crucible
Vanessa Kirby, A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical
Ben Forster, Evita
George Maguire, Sunny Afternoon
Hugh Maynard, Miss Saigon
Kwang-Ho Hong, Miss Saigon
Rolan Bell, Memphis The Musical
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical
Claire Machin, Memphis The Musical
Karis Jack, Urinetown The Musical
Katherine Kingsley, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical
Rachelle Ann Go, Miss Saigon
Samantha Bond, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical
Best New Play
Great Britain
King Charles III
The Nether
Shakespeare In Love
Wolf Hall
Best New Musical sponsored by Autograph
Here Lies Love
Made In Dagenham
Memphis the Musical
Sunny Afternoon
Urinetown The Musical
Best Play Revival
Blithe Spirit
Coriolanus
The Crucible
Richard II
A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Musical Revival sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe
Evita
Miss Saigon
The Pajama Game
Porgy And Bess
Sweeney Todd
Best Direction sponsored by Managed Networks
Christopher Ashley, Memphis The Musical
Gregory Doran, Richard II
Jamie Lloyd, Urinetown The Musical
Laurence Connor, Miss Saigon
Yaël Farber, The Crucible
Best Choreography sponsored by Capezio
Ann Yee, Urinetown The Musical
Bob Avian & Geoffrey Garratt, Miss Saigon
Drew McOnie, In The Heights
Jerry Mitchell, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical
Sergio Trujillo, Memphis The Musical
Best Set Design sponsored by Feast Creative
Bunny Christie, Made In Dagenham
David Gallo, Memphis The Musical
Nick Ormerod, Shakespeare In Love
Soutra Gilmour, Urinetown The Musical
Totie Driver & Matt Kinley, Miss Saigon
Best Lighting Design sponsored by White Light
Adam Silverman, Urinetown The Musical
Bruno Poet, Miss Saigon
Howell Binkley, Memphis The Musical
Jon Clark, Made In Dagenham
Mark Henderson, Coriolanus
Best Off-West End Production
Dogfight, Southwark Playhouse
Forbidden Broadway, Menier Chocolate Factory
In The Heights, Southwark Playhouse
Oh, The Humanity And Other Good Intentions, Tabard Theatre
Sweeney Todd, Twickenham Theatre
Best Regional Production sponsored by Travelzoo
Guys And Dolls, Chichester Festival Theatre
Gypsy, Chichester Festival Theatre
The Kite Runner, Nottingham Playhouse
Oliver!, Sheffield Crucible
Water Babies, Curve Leicester
Best Takeover in a Role sponsored by Equity
Craige Els, Matilda The Musical
David Hunter, Once
Jennifer DiNoia, Wicked
Kerry Ellis, Wicked
Michael Watson, Jersey Boys
Best West End Show
Les Misérables
Matilda The Musical
Memphis The Musical
Miss Saigon
Wicked