NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 22ND ANNUAL WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS

NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE

22ND ANNUAL WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS

FROZEN LEADS THE MUSICAL CATEGORIES WITH 13 NOMINATIONS

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH LEADS THE STRAIGHT PLAY AWARDS WITH 5 NOMINATIONS

Gabrielle Brooks and James Graham today announced the nominations for the 22nd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards via WhatsOnStage’s social channels, the only major theatre prize-giving decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves. The announcement of the nominations marks the opening of the final voting stage (until 21 January 2022), with winners announced at the annual Awards Ceremony held on 27 February 2022 at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Coleman said today, “Given the events of the past 21 months, it’s truly wonderful to be able to celebrate the return of theatre and the vast array of excellence on our stages across the UK – and we look forward to coming together in February to present the WhatsOnStage Awards back at the Prince of Wales Theatre, with an evening showcasing incredible talent. These awards also celebrate the audiences who vote for them, whose support of our industry has been vital to getting us through this time and to reopening our stages. It’s truly heartening – and a positive to come out of this period – to see the emergence of productions outside of London featuring across a variety of categories due to the advances in streaming theatre, enabling shows with shorter runs greater impact, and the capacity to reach audiences globally.”

Leading the nominations this year is the new musical Frozen – currently running at Theatre Royal Drury Lane – with 13 nominations across acting and creative categories including nominations for Best New Musical, for both Samantha Barks and Stephanie McKeon in the Best Performer in a Female Identifying Role in a Musical category, with Oliver Ormson and Obioma Ugoala both nominated for Best Supporting Performer in a Male Identifying Role in a Musical. In addition, the production also receives nominations for Best Direction for Michael Grandage, and nominations for Best Set Design, Best Costume Design, Best Choreography, Best Musical Direction, Best Lighting, Best Video Design and Best Graphic Design.

In the musical categories, Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical receives 10 nominations, with Back to the Future the Musical revving up closely behind with 9 nominations. Even though still in previews, Cabaret makes its mark with 7 nominations, mirrored by Moulin Rouge! and Cinderella.

In Best Performer in a Female Identifying Role in a Musical, Barks and McKeon face stiff competition from Cabaret’s Jessie BuckleyAimie Atkinson for Pretty WomanBeverley Knight for The Drifters Girl and previous WhatsOnStage Award winner Carrie Hope Fletcher for Cinderella. For Best Performer in a Male Identifying Role in a Musical, Back to the Future’s Roger Bart and Olly Dobson go head to head against Ivano Turco for CinderellaArinzé Kene for Get Up, Stand Up!Eddie Redmayne for Cabaret, and Julian Ovenden in South Pacific.

In the musical supporting categories, Ormson and Ugoala face Hugh Coles and Cedric Neal both from Back to the Future the MusicalBlake Patrick Anderson from Be More Chill and Robert Lindsay from Anything Goes; and in the Best Supporting Performer in a Female Identifying Role, Cinderella’s Victoria Hamilton-Barritt and Rebecca Trehearn are both nominated, alongside Gabrielle Brooks for Get Up, Stand Up!Joanna Ampil for South Pacific and Millie O’Connell for Rent.

Leading the straight plays categories is Yaël Farber’s production of The Tragedy of Macbeth, which recently completed its run at the Almeida Theatre, receiving 5 nominations for Saoirse Ronan for Best Performer in a Female Identifying Role in a Play, Akiya Henry for Best Supporting Performer in a Female Identifying Role in a Play, Richard Rankin for Best Supporting Male Identifying Role in a Play, Best Direction and Best Play Revival.

Also performing well in the straight play categories are The Ocean at the End of the LaneMagic Goes Wrong2:22 A Ghost Story and Cyrano de Bergerac with 4 nominations each.

For her stage debut in Anna X as part of Sonia Friedman’s RE:EMERGE season, Emma Corrin receives their first WhatsOnStage nomination for Best Performer in a Female Identifying Role in a Play, nominated alongside Gemma Arterton for Walden in the same season, Lily Allen for 2:22 A Ghost StoryPatsy Ferran for Camp SiegfriedSheila Atim for Constellations, alongside Saoirse Ronan. Best Performer in a Male Identifying Role in a Play nominees are Henry Lewis for Magic Goes WrongBen Daniels for The Normal HeartHadley Fraser for 2:22 A Ghost StoryRichard Armitage for Uncle Vanya and James McAvoy for Cyrano de Bergerac.

For Best Supporting Performer in a Female Identifying Role in a Play, the nominees are Nancy Zamit for Magic Goes WrongMichelle Fox for Shining CityPenny Layden for The Ocean at the End of the LaneIsobel McArthur for Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), Akiya Henry for The Tragedy of Macbeth and Aimee Lou Wood for Uncle Vanya. Best Supporting Performer in a Male Identifying Role in a Play nominees include Jake Wood for 2:22 A Ghost StoryRichard Rankin for The Tragedy of Macbeth and Jonathan Sayer for Magic Goes Wrong – all 3 plays receiving 3 acting nominations each, alongside Stephen K Amos for My Night with RegNathaniel Parker for The Mirror and the Light, and Dino Fetscher for The Normal Heart.

In the fiercely fought Best New Musical category, Frozen faces competition from Cinderella, Back to the Future the Musical, Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Pretty Woman the Musical and Moulin Rouge!; and in Best New Play, the nominees are Magic Goes Wrong, 2:22 A Ghost Story, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), J’Ouvert and this year’s Olivier Award winner Leopoldstadt.

Best Play Revival nominees are The Normal Heart, Constellations, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Uncle Vanya, My Night with Reg and Cyrano de Bergerac; and Best Musical Revival sees the recently opened Cabaret face off against Anything Goes, Rent, South Pacific, Carousel and West Side Story.

Best Direction sees a split between musical theatre with Frozen’s Michael Grandage nominated alongside Clint Dyer for Get Up, Stand Up!, and Rebecca Frecknall for Cabaret, and straight plays with The Tragedy of Macbeth’s Yaël FarberKaty Rudd for The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Jamie Lloyd for Cyrano de Bergerac completing the category.

South Pacific receives 6 nominations in total, having opened at Chichester Festival Theatre and been streamed, including Best Regional Production, where it faces competition from Rent – with 5 nominations, What’s New Pussycat?, West Side Story, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Bloody Elle; and for Best Off-West End Production, the nominees are My Son’s a Queer (but What Can You Do?), The Last Five Years, Pippin, Saving Britney, Old Bridge and Anything is Possible If You Think About It Hard Enough.

Mischief Theatre receives 5 nominations in total – 4 for Magic Goes Wrong, and also for The Play That Goes Wrong in the popular Best West End Show category. Other nominees in the Best West End Show category are Six the Musical, Wicked, Les Misérables, Come From Away and Hamilton.

Now in their 22nd year, the WhatsOnStage Awards are the only major theatre awards decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves. Voting opens today, closing on 21 January 2022, ahead of the winners being announced at the Awards concert on 27 February 2022 at Prince of Wales Theatre.

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THE NOMINEES IN FULL:

BEST PERFORMER IN A MALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A MUSICAL           

Roger Bart – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre

Olly Dobson – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre

Arinzé Kene – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

Julian Ovenden – South Pacific, Chichester Festival Theatre

Eddie Redmayne – Cabaret, Playhouse Theatre – Kit Kat Club

Ivano Turco – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre

BEST PERFORMER IN A FEMALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A MUSICAL           

Aimie Atkinson – Pretty Woman, Piccadilly Theatre & Savoy Theatre

Samantha Barks – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Jessie Buckley – Cabaret, Playhouse Theatre – Kit Kat Club

Carrie Hope Fletcher – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre

Beverley Knight – The Drifters Girl, Garrick Theatre

Stephanie McKeon, Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A MALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A MUSICAL              

Blake Patrick Anderson – Be More Chill, The Other Palace & Shaftesbury Theatre

Hugh Coles – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre

Robert Lindsay – Anything Goes, Barbican Centre

Cedric Neal – Back to the Future the Musical – Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre

Oliver Ormson – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Obioma Ugoala – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A FEMALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A MUSICAL            – Sponsored by Newman Displays

Joanna Ampil – South Pacific, Chichester Festival Theatre

Gabrielle Brooks – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre

Carly Mercedes Dyer – Anything Goes, Barbican Centre

Millie O’Connell – Rent, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

Rebecca Trehearn – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre

BEST PERFORMER IN A MALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A PLAY    

Richard Armitage – Uncle Vanya, Harold Pinter Theatre

Ben Daniels – The Normal Heart, National Theatre

Omari Douglas – Constellations, Vaudeville Theatre

Hadley Fraser – 2:22 A Ghost Story, Noël Coward Theatre

Henry Lewis – Magic Goes Wrong, Vaudeville Theatre & Apollo Theatre

James McAvoy – Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre

BEST PERFORMER IN A FEMALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A PLAY    

Lily Allen – 2:22 A Ghost Story, Noël Coward Theatre

Gemma Arterton – Walden, Harold Pinter Theatre

Sheila Atim – Constellations, Vaudeville Theatre

Emma Corrin – Anna X, Harold Pinter Theatre, The Lowry, Salford

Patsy Ferran – Camp Siegfried, The Old Vic

Saoirse Ronan – The Tragedy of Macbeth, Almeida Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A MALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A PLAY       

Stephen K Amos – My Night with Reg, The Turbine Theatre

Dino Fetscher – The Normal Heart, National Theatre

Nathaniel Parker – The Mirror and the Light, Gielgud Theatre

Richard Rankin – The Tragedy of Macbeth, Almeida Theatre

Jonathan Sayer – Magic Goes Wrong, Vaudeville Theatre & Apollo Theatre

Jake Wood – 2:22 A Ghost Story, Noël Coward Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A FEMALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A PLAY   

Michelle Fox – Shining City, Theatre Royal Stratford East

Akiya Henry – The Tragedy of Macbeth, Almeida Theatre

Penny Layden – The Ocean at the End of the Lane, National Theatre & Duke of York’s Theatre

Isobel McArthur – Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), Criterion Theatre

Aimee Lou Wood – Uncle Vanya, Harold Pinter Theatre

Nancy Zamit – Magic Goes Wrong, Vaudeville Theatre & Apollo Theatre

BEST NEW MUSICAL – Sponsored by Travelzoo            

Back to the Future the Musical – Adelphi Theatre

Cinderella – Gillian Lynne Theatre

Frozen – Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical – Lyric Theatre

Pretty Woman the Musical – Piccadilly Theatre & Savoy Theatre

Moulin Rouge! – Piccadilly Theatre

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL – Sponsored by Concord Theatricals

Anything Goes – Barbican Centre

Cabaret – Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre

Carousel – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Rent – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

South Pacific – Chichester Festival Theatre

West Side Story – Curve, Leicester

BEST NEW PLAY – Sponsored by Ticketmaster

2:22 A Ghost Story – Noël Coward Theatre

J’ Ouvert – Harold Pinter Theatre, Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham

Leopoldstadt – Wyndham’s Theatre

Magic Goes Wrong – Vaudeville Theatre & Apollo Theatre

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) – Criterion Theatre

The Ocean at the End of the Lane – National Theatre & Duke of York’s Theatre

BEST PLAY REVIVAL                      

Constellations – Vaudeville Theatre

Cyrano de Bergerac – Playhouse Theatre

My Night with Reg – The Turbine Theatre

The Normal Heart – National Theatre

The Tragedy of Macbeth – Almeida Theatre

Uncle Vanya – Harold Pinter Theatre

BEST OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION – Sponsored by Les Misérables                    

Anything is Possible if You Think About it Hard Enough – Southwark Playhouse

My Son’s A Queer (But What Can You Do?) – The Turbine Theatre

Old Bridge – Bush Theatre

Pippin – Charing Cross Theatre

Saving Britney – Old Red Lion Theatre

The Last Five Years – Southwark Playhouse

BEST REGIONAL THEATRE PRODUCTION                             

Bedknobs and Broomsticks the Musical – UK tour

Bloody Elle – A Gig Musical – Manchester Royal Exchange

Rent – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

South Pacific – Chichester Festival Theatre

West Side Story – Curve, Leicester

What’s New Pussycat? – Birmingham Repertory Theatre

BEST WEST END SHOW – Sponsored by Dewynters         

Come From Away – Phoenix Theatre

Hamilton – Victoria Palace Theatre

Les Misérables – Sondheim Theatre

Six the Musical – Vaudeville Theatre

The Play That Goes Wrong – Duchess Theatre

Wicked – Apollo Victoria Theatre

BEST DIRECTION – Sponsored by LOVEtheatre

Clint Dyer – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

Yaël Farber – The Tragedy of Macbeth, Almeida Theatre

Rebecca Frecknall – Cabaret, Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre

Michael Grandage – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Jamie Lloyd – Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre

Katy Rudd – The Ocean at the End of the Lane, National Theatre & Duke of York’s Theatre

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY 

Rob Ashford – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Drew McOnie – Carousel, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Kathleen Marshall – Anything Goes, Barbican Centre

Shelley Maxwell – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

Sonya Tayeh – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre

Ann Yee – South Pacific, Chichester Festival Theatre

BEST SET DESIGN           

Fly Davis – The Ocean at the End of the Lane, National Theatre & Duke of York’s Theatre

Jamie Harrison – Bedknobs and Broomsticks the Musical, UK tour

Tim Hatley – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre

Derek McLane – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre

Christopher Oram – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Tom Scutt – Cabaret,  Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Lisa Duncan – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

Christopher Oram – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Tom Scutt – Cabaret,  Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre

Gabriella Slade – Bedknobs and Broomsticks the Musical, UK tour

Gabriela Tylesova – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre

Catherine Zuber – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN – Sponsored by White Light

Neil Austin – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Charles Balfour – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

Isabella Byrd – Cabaret, Playhouse Theatre, Kit Kat Club

Tim Lutkin – Back to the Future the Musical, Adelphi Theatre

Bruno Poet – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre

Justin Townsend – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre

BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION – Sponsored by AKA

Leo Munby – The Last Five Years, Vaudeville Theatre

Tom Deering – Carousel, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Sean Green – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

Justin Levine – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre

Stephen Oremus – Frozen – Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Katy Richardson – Rent, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

BEST SOUND DESIGN – Sponsored by Stage & Sound Services

Adam Cork – Leopoldstadt, Wyndham’s Theatre

Adam Fisher – The Last Five Years, Southwark Playhouse & Vaudeville Theatre

Paul Groothuis – South Pacific, Chichester Festival Theatre

Peter Hylenski – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre

Gareth Owen – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre

Ben and Max Ringham – Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre

BEST VIDEO DESIGN      

Nina Dunn – The Shark is Broken, Ambassadors Theatre

Akhila Krishnan – What’s New Pussycat?, Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Mikaela Liakata and Tal Yarden – Anna X, Harold Pinter Theatre & The Lowry, Salford

Finn Ross – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre

Finn Ross – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Tal Yarden – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN – Sponsored by Hexagon Print

Christopher D Clegg – The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

Feast Creative – Romeo and Juliet, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Feast Creative – Rent, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

Bob King Creative – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Muse Creative Communications – RE:EMERGE Season, Harold Pinter Theatre

Michael Nash Associates- Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre


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