HOSTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 23RD ANNUAL WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS

HOSTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE

23RD ANNUAL WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS

WhatsOnStage today announce that Courtney BowmanLaurie Kynaston and Billy Luke Nevers will host the 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards on 12 February 2023 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Bowman, herself a nominee for last year’s smash-hit Legally Blonde, will team up with Kynaston who starred in the heavily nominated 2021 revival of Spring Awakening, and her Legally Blonde co-star and current & Juliet cast member Nevers. The annual Awards ceremony is the only major theatre prize-giving decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves. Further details of the ceremony, including the performances at the event, will be announced shortly. Voting for this year’s awards closes tomorrow, 10 January.

Courtney Bowman: “The talent is already oozing! It’s gonna be a nice celebration of theatre, as always. I’m getting a great vibe from my co-hosts – they’re very, very silly – and we’ve got each other for support as well.”

Laurie Kynaston: “The fact that the Awards are publicly voted for shows the power that audiences hold… without them we wouldn’t be here at all! It’s also going to be gorgeous to be back in a room packed with the cream of British theatre royalty, having a right old knees up. What can you expect? The unexpected! Costume changes? Surprise guest appearances? Me forgetting my lines? Who knows! It’s going to be great fun, and it’s an awards ceremony for all of us. See you there on the 12th!”

Billy Luke Nevers: “I am so excited to be presenting the WhatsOnStage Awards this year and celebrate all the achievements of this year in the UK theatre industry with two wonderful people. This year is going to be a bit different to what the awards will have seen before…. You’ll have to come and find out why!”

Leading this year is My Neighbour Totoro with 9 nominations – Mei Mac for Best Performer in a Play, Best New Play, Best Direction for Phelim McDermott, Best Musical Direction/Supervision, Best Lighting Design, Best Set Design, Best Sound Design, Best Video Design and Best Graphic Design. The next best nominated straight play is Good with 5 nominations, including 3 acting nominations for David TennantSharon Small and Elliot Levey.

The critically acclaimed Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!,  which transfers to the West End in February, leads the musical categories, with 8 nominations – Best Supporting Performer in a Musical for Marisha Wallace, Best Musical Revival, Best Director for Daniel Fish and Jordan Fein, Best Musical Direction/Supervision, Best Casting Direction, Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design and Best Video Design. Other top nominees in the musical categories were both Almeida Theatre productions, directed by the company’s Artistic Director Rupert Goold – Spring Awakening with 6 nominations, and Tammy Faye, the most nominated new musical, with 5 nominations.

THE NOMINATIONS IN FULL:

BEST PERFORMER IN A MUSICAL sponsored by TICKX                                  

Courtney Bowman, Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Katie Brayben, Tammy Faye, Almeida Theatre

Divina De Campo, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Leeds Playhouse and HOME Manchester

Jordan Luke Gage, Bonnie & Clyde the Musical, Arts Theatre

Frances Mayli McCann, Bonnie & Clyde the Musical, Arts Theatre

Charlie Stemp, Crazy for You, Chichester Festival Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A MUSICAL sponsored by NEWMAN DISPLAYS                         

Jocasta Almgill, Grease, Dominion Theatre

Lauren Drew, Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Paul French, Grease, Dominion Theatre

Natalie McQueen, Bonnie & Clyde the Musical, Arts Theatre

John Owen-Jones, The Great British Bake Off Musical, Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

Marisha Wallace, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Young Vic

BEST PERFORMER IN A PLAY sponsored by SINE DIGITAL                                           

Jonathan Bailey, Cock, Ambassadors Theatre

Jodie Comer, Prima Facie, Harold Pinter Theatre

Carrie Hope Fletcher, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Rose Theatre Kingston

Mei Mac, My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre

Rafe Spall, To Kill a Mockingbird, Gielgud Theatre

David Tennant, Good, Harold Pinter Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A PLAY sponsored by EDWARDIAN HOTELS LONDON (Official Hotel Partner) 

Jade Anouka, Cock, Ambassadors Theatre

Gwyneth Keyworth, To Kill a Mockingbird, Gielgud Theatre

Elliot Levey, Good, Harold Pinter Theatre

Natasha Magigi, The Clothes They Stood Up In, Nottingham Playhouse

Sharon Small, Good, Harold Pinter Theatre

Greg Tannahill, Good Luck, Studio, Mercury Theatre, Salisbury Playhouse and Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

BEST TAKEOVER PERFORMANCE sponsored by TANDEM MARKETING                                                 

Lauren Byrne, Matilda The Musical, Cambridge Theatre

Erin Caldwell, Heathers: The Musical, The Other Palace

Joel Harper-Jackson, Cock, Ambassadors Theatre

Lucie Jones, Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre

Reuben Joseph, Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre

Ben Joyce, Back to the Future: The Musical, Adelphi Theatre

BEST PROFESSIONAL DEBUT PERFORMANCE sponsored by AKA                              

Tomisin Ajani, The Play That Goes Wrong, Duchess Theatre

Joe Locke, The Trials, Donmar Warehouse

Oliver Nicholas, Back to the Future: The Musical, Adelphi Theatre

Aharon Rayner, The Great British Bake Off Musical, Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

Nadine Shah, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare North Playhouse

Djavan van de Fliert, Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

BEST NEW MUSICAL sponsored by TRAVELZOO                              

Bonnie & Clyde the Musical, Arts Theatre

The Great British Bake Off Musical, Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham 

Identical, Nottingham Playhouse and The Lowry Salford

Tammy Faye, Almeida Theatre

The Band’s Visit, Donmar Warehouse

The Osmonds: A New Musical, UK tour

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL sponsored by CONCORD THEATRICALS                              

Billy Elliot, Curve, Leicester

Grease, Dominion Theatre

Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

My Fair Lady, London Coliseum and tour

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Young Vic

Spring Awakening, Almeida Theatre

BEST NEW PLAY sponsored by TICKETMASTER                                

A Different Stage, Duke of York’s Theatre and tour

Best of Enemies , Young Vic and Noël Coward Theatre

Eureka Day, The Old Vic

My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre

Prima Facie, Harold Pinter Theatre

To Kill a Mockingbird, Gielgud Theatre

BEST PLAY REVIVAL sponsored by AUDIENCEVIEW                                                      

Blues for an Alabama Sky, National Theatre

Cock, Ambassadors Theatre

Good, Harold Pinter Theatre

The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Rose Theatre, Kingston

The Crucible, National Theatre

The Seagull, Harold Pinter Theatre

BEST WEST END SHOW sponsored by DEWYNTERS                                       

Back to the Future: The Musical, Adelphi Theatre

Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre

Les Misérables, Sondheim Theatre

SIX, Vaudeville Theatre

The Phantom of the Opera, Her Majesty’s Theatre

Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre

BEST REGIONAL PRODUCTION sponsored by MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL                               

Billy Elliot, Curve, Leicester

Crazy for You, Chichester Festival Theatre

The Great British Bake Off Musical, Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Hope Mill Theatre

The Book Thief, Octagon Theatre, Bolton

The Osmonds: A New Musical, UK tour

BEST OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION                                                     

Anyone Can Whistle, Southwark Playhouse

But I’m A Cheerleader: The Musical, The Turbine Theatre

DIVA: Live from Hell!, The Turbine Theatre

Millennials, The Other Palace Studio

RIDE – A New Musical, Charing Cross Theatre

Ruckus, Southwark Playhouse

BEST CONCERT EVENT                                               

Chess, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Jeremy Jordan, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

SIX in Concert, Hampton Court Palace

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, Sondheim Theatre

The Witches of Eastwick, Sondheim Theatre

Treason , Theatre Royal Drury Lane

BEST DIRECTION sponsored by LOVETHEATRE                                 

Dominic Cooke, Good, Harold Pinter Theatre

Daniel Fish and Jordan Fein, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Young Vic

Nikolai Foster, Billy Elliot, Curve Leicester

Rupert Goold, Spring Awakening, Almeida Theatre

Phelim McDermott, My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre

Indhu Rubasingham, The Father and the Assassin, National Theatre

BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION/SUPERVISION                                                         

Daniel Kluger, Nathan Koci and Tom Brady, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Young Vic

Nigel Lilley and Tarek Merchant, The Band’s Visit, Donmar Warehouse

Stuart Morley, Georgie Francis and Elliot Mackenzie, Whistle Down the Wind, Watermill Theatre

Bruce O’Neil and Matt Smith, My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre

Ted Sperling and Gareth Valentine, My Fair Lady, London Coliseum and tour

Sarah Travis, Steve Sidwell and the company, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, UK tour

BEST CASTING DIRECTION                         

Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher, Spring Awakening, Almeida Theatre

Stuart Burt, The Seagull, Harold Pinter Theatre

Anji Carroll, Marvellous, New Vic Theatre, @sohoplace

Natalie Gallacher for Poppa Ailion Casting, Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Jacob Sparrow, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Young Vic

Anne Vosser and Jo Hawes, Identical, Nottingham Playhouse and The Lowry, Salford

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY                                

Fabian Aloise, Bring It On: The Musical, Southbank Centre

Maxine Doyle, The Burnt City, Woolwich Works

Ellen Kane, A Chorus Line, Curve Leicester

Lynne Page, Spring Awakening, Almeida Theatre

Susan Stroman, Crazy for You, Chichester Festival Theatre

Arlene Phillips, Grease, Dominion Theatre

BEST COSTUME DESIGN                                            

Evie Gurney and Richard Mawbey, The 47th, The Old Vic

William Ivey Long, Crazy for You , Chichester Festival Theatre

Katrina Lindsay, Tammy Faye, Almeida Theatre

Melissa Simon-Hartman, Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Gabriella Slade, The Cher Show, UK tour

Catherine Zuber, My Fair Lady, London Coliseum and UK tour

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN sponsored by WHITE LIGHT                                     

Neil Austin, Tammy Faye, Almeida Theatre

Nic Farman, The Book Thief, Octagon Theatre, Bolton

Jessica Hung Han Yun, My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre

Jack Knowles, Spring Awakening, Almeida Theatre

Tim Lutkin, The Crucible, National Theatre

Scott Zielinski, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Young Vic

BEST SET DESIGN sponsored by PREEVUE                                          

Jon Bausor, Into the Woods, Theatre Royal Bath

Es Devlin, The Crucible, National Theatre

Robert Jones, Murder on the Orient Express, Chichester Festival Theatre

Morgan Large, Sister Act, Eventim Apollo Hammersmith and tour

Tom Pye and Basil Twist, My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre

Ben Stones, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Leeds Playhouse and HOME Manchester

BEST SOUND DESIGN sponsored by STAGE SOUND SERVICES                                   

Neil Bettles, Blood Harmony, Traverse Theatre

Annie May Fletcher, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Leeds Playhouse and HOME Manchester

Tony Gayle, My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre

Paul Groothuis, Into the Woods, Theatre Royal Bath

Adam Fisher, The Band’s Visit, Donmar Warehouse

Drew Levy, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Young Vic

BEST VIDEO DESIGN                                                   

Luke Halls and Zakk Hein, The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, Bridge Theatre

Douglas O’Connell, Identical, Nottingham Playhouse and The Lowry, Salford

Finn Ross, Spring Awakening, Almeida Theatre

Finn Ross and Andrea Scott, My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre

Joshua Thorson, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Young Vic

Max Spielbichler, Best of Enemies, Young Vic and Noël Coward Theatre

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN sponsored by HEXAGON PRINT                               

AKA, Tammy Faye, Almeida Theatre

Bob King Creative, My Fair Lady, London Coliseum and tour

Felicity McCabe and National Theatre Graphic Design Studio, The Crucible, National Theatre

Muse Creative Communications, The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, Bridge Theatre

Studio Doug, Prima Facie, Harold Pinter Theatre

Toshio Suzuki and Dewynters, My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre

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