Wicked, Sound, Rock & Moon Lead WOS AwardsDate: 9 February 2007
Connie Fisher celebrates her second major prize in less than a fortnight by scooping London Newcomer of the Year in the seventh annual Whatsonstage.com
Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Awards, announced today (See
News, 1 Dec 2006). However, unlike in the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards (See
News, 30 Jan 2007), in which she shared the accolade of Most Promising Newcomer with
Andrew Garfield, Fisher is sole winner in the equivalent Whatsonstage.com category, carrying 46% of the public vote to beat off competition from Garfield and four other worthy nominees.
Meanwhile, theatregoers named How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, the BBC One reality TV casting programme that plucked Fisher from obscurity and turned her into a West End star, as the Theatre Event of the Year, while Andrew Lloyd Webber’s £3 million production of The Sound of Music, in which Fisher now stars as Maria von Trapp, was awarded Best Musical Revival.
Andrew Lloyd Webber said today: “When you try something new in theatre, there are always those who will criticise and How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? was no exception. But the whole experience has been so worthwhile. Not only have we achieved our goal of finding a new star for The Sound of Music, but so many of the finalists have gone on to secure their first professional roles in musical theatre, as a direct result of the show. I am hugely proud of the talent the show unearthed and of the fact that we showcased musical theatre in front of millions of TV viewers every week for twelve weeks.”
LiveNation chief executive David Ian, co-producer of The Sound of Music and one of the TV programme’s judges, added: "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? was one of those rare occasions when everything gelled together to create a true phenomenon - great for the TV industry, great for the theatre industry and truly wonderful for Connie Fisher, one of the most talented newcomers to be discovered in decades."
Fisher was also nominated for Best Actress in a Musical but lost out to the dominating Tony Award-winning performance of American Idina Menzel as the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked. The Broadway import is the biggest winner in this year’s Theatregoers’ Choice Awards. In addition to Menzel’s win, it has scooped Best Supporting Actress in a Musical (Miriam Margolyes), Best Set Designer (Eugene Lee) and, last but not least, the coveted SUPERBREAK Best New Musical prize (with just over half of the overall vote).
Wicked’s executive producer Michael McCabe said: “It is very exciting that Wicked has been honoured by the theatregoing public whose support of, and reaction to, the show has been so incredible from the outset. We are thrilled to have won four Theatregoers’ Choice Awards and particularly delighted to have been named Best New Musical by such an overwhelming percentage of the vote.”
Today’s accolades for Fisher, Menzel and their respective blockbuster shows are viewed by many theatregoers – over 12,000 of whom voted in this year’s awards – as retribution for their omissions from the 2007 Laurence Olivier Awards shortlists (announced on 18 January ahead of the Oliviers ceremony next Sunday, 18 February). In the Oliviers nominations, Wicked is not in the running for Best New Musical or any performance categories, while The Sound of Music merited only a single nomination, for Outstanding Musical Production.
Two other big-hitters ignored by the Olivier judges also scored major victories today. Though she’ll have to wait to find out whether she’ll grab an Oscar for her screen turn in Notes on a Scandal, Judi Dench celebrates another Best Actress win, for last summer’s stage role in Noël Coward’s Hay Fever. And for a second consecutive year (he won for Richard II in 2006), Kevin Spacey nabbed the Theatregoers’ Choice Best Actor prize, this time for his role in Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten, which opens in New York in April as the Old Vic’s first Broadway transfer since Spacey took over as artistic director in 2003.
Spacey commented today: “It’s very gratifying for me personally to receive this award, but even more so for us as a company because it represents an entire production…. And now we have the joy of taking A Moon for the Misbegotten to Broadway as the first Old Vic Company production on Broadway. It’s very exciting - and to receive this just before we set off for New York is just wonderful.”
Regarding her award, Dame Judi added: “Recently an American friend asked me, ‘Does the audience make a difference?’ I replied, ‘The audience makes ALL the difference. It is, after all, who we do it for.’ I’m delighted to win this award, particularly as it’s given by theatregoers.”
In other play categories, Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll clocked up its third major Best New Play trophy (after wins at the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle ceremonies) and will be hoping to make it a full complement of four at next week’s Oliviers. Trevor Nunn was also named the Theatregoers’ Choice for Best Director for his work on Rock ‘n’ Roll as well as his musical adaptation of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.
Elsewhere in the Whatsonstage.com Awards, the Menier Chocolate Factory won Best Off-West End Production for a third year in a row for its staging of musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors, which is now transferring to the West End as its previous winning productions of Sunday in the Park with George and Fully Committed also did.
And another of the year’s mega Broadway musical imports, Spamalot, took prizes for two of its British stars: Tom Goodman-Hill won Best Supporting Actor in a Musical; and Tim Curry, who originated the role of King Arthur in the US as well as the West End, was voted Best Actor in a Musical. The Monty Python hit returned the Cheshire-born Curry to the London stage for the first time in 20 years.
Speaking from his home in Los Angeles, where he returned to last month, Tim Curry said he was particularly happy that his award was decided by “theatre geeks - in other words, people who have a genuine and ongoing, not to say obsessive, interest in the theatre itself, as I do.” He then recalled: “Phyllida Law (mother of Emma Thompson) came to see Spamalot and said that she had not seen an audience welcome an actor back home like that since Robert Donat came home after the war. I certainly felt highly blessed that you hadn’t forgotten me.”
Other big names that triumphed today include Patrick Stewart (Best Solo Performance for his adaptation of A Christmas Carol), Patrick Swayze (Best Takeover in a Role for Guys and Dolls), Colm Meaney (Best Supporting Actor for A Moon for the Misbegotten), the cast of Avenue Q (Best Ensemble Performance) and the Kathleen Turner-led production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Best Play Revival).
The Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Awards are unique in that they’re judged by the general public – this year, over 12,000 theatregoers decided the contenders and eventual winners in all 20+ categories. Nominations were announced and voting launched at a star-studded event held at Café de Paris on 1 December. Now, the UK’s best-loved celebrity magazine, is media partner for the 2007 Theatregoers’ Choice Awards. Other sponsors include: Superbreak, the market leader for short breaks throughout the UK; Nick Hern Books, the UK’s leading independent theatre publishers and performing rights licensors; celebrity hairdresser Stuart Phillips; Shakespeare4Kidz, the national Shakespeare company for children and young people; and Campo Viejo, the number one Spanish wine brand.
TO VIEW VOTING PERCENTAGES, ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES & SELECTED PHOTOS, VISIT OUR THEATREGOERS’ CHOICE AWARDS MICROSITE.
THE FULL LIST OF 2007 WINNERS & NOMINEES
Winners are denoted in bold at the top of each category.
BEST ACTRESS:
Judi Dench – Hay Fever at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Eve Best – A Moon for the Misbegotten at the Old Vic
Felicity Kendal – Amy’s View at the Garrick
Kathleen Turner – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Apollo
Rosamund Pike – Summer & Smoke at the Apollo
Sinead Cusack – Rock ‘n’ Roll at the Royal Court & Duke of York’s BEST ACTOR:
Kevin Spacey – A Moon for the Misbegotten at the Old Vic
Alan Cumming – Bent at Trafalgar Studios
David Haig – Donkeys’ Years at the Comedy
Iain Glen – The Crucible, RSC at the Gielgud
Michael Sheen & Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon at the Donmar Warehouse & Gielgud
Rufus Sewell – Rock ‘n’ Roll at the Royal Court & Duke of York’s
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Helen Schlesinger – The Crucible, RSC at the Gielgud
Adie Allen – The Lightning Play at the Almeida
Alice Eve – Rock ‘n’ Roll at the Royal Court & Duke of York’s
June Watson – Smaller at the Lyric
Nancy Carroll – The Voysey Inheritance at the NT Lyttelton
Sinead Matthews – The Wild Duck at the Donmar Warehouse
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Colm Meaney – A Moon for the Misbegotten at the Old Vic
Andrew Woodall – The Voysey Inheritance at the NT Lyttelton
Con O’Neill – Southwark Fair at the NT Cottesloe
Mark Hadfield – Thérèse Raquin at the NT Lyttelton
Paterson Joseph – The Royal Hunt of the Sun at the NT Olivier
Tony Bell – A Man for All Seasons at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:
Idina Menzel – Wicked at the Apollo Victoria
Connie Fisher – The Sound of Music at the London Palladium
Elena Roger – Evita at the Adelphi
Hannah Waddingham – Spamalot at the Palace
Jenna Russell – Sunday in the Park with George at Wyndham’s
Tonya Pinkins – Caroline, or Change at the NT Lyttelton
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:
Tim Curry – Spamalot at the Palace
Alexander Hanson – The Sound of Music at the London Palladium
Clarke Peters – The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess at the Savoy
Daniel Evans – Sunday in the Park with George at Wyndham’s
James Dreyfus – Cabaret at the Lyric
Philip Quast – Evita at the Adelphi
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:
Miriam Margolyes – Wicked at the Apollo Victoria
Anna Francolini – Caroline, or Change at the NT Lyttelton
Lesley Garrett – The Sound of Music at the London Palladium
Nadia Coote – Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych
Sheila Hancock – Cabaret at the Lyric
Summer Strallen – The Boy Friend at the Open Air
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:
Tom Goodman-Hill – Spamalot at the Palace
Clive Rowe – Caroline, or Change at the NT Lyttelton
Harvey – Daddy Cool at the Shaftesbury
Ian Gelder – The Sound of Music at the London Palladium
Jay Webb – Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Matt Rawle – Evita at the Adelphi
BEST SOLO PERFORMANCE:
Patrick Stewart – A Christmas Carol at the Albery
Greg Hicks – Missing Persons at Trafalgar Studios
Harold Pinter – Krapp’s Last Tape at the Royal Court Upstairs
Michael Gambon – Eh Joe at the Duke of York’s
Robert Lepage – The Andersen Project at the Barbican
Will Adamsdale – Notes from Underground at Trafalgar Studios
BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE:
Avenue Q – at the Noel Coward
Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship – at the NT Cottesloe
Market Boy – at the NT Olivier
The 39 Steps – at the Tricycle & Criterion
The Canterbury Tales – RSC at the Gielgud
The Seafarer – at the NT Cottesloe
BEST TAKEOVER IN A ROLE:
Patrick Swayze – Guys & Dolls at the Piccadilly
Darius Danesh – Chicago at the Adelphi
Nigel Harman – Guys & Dolls at the Piccadilly
Reece Shearsmith – The Producers at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Sally Dexter – Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace
Scarlet Strallen – Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward
NICK HERN BOOKS BEST NEW PLAY:
Rock ‘n’ Roll by Tom Stoppard – at the Royal Court & Duke of York’s
Blackbird by David Harrower – at the Albery
Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan – at the Donmar Warehouse & Gielgud
In Extremis by Howard Brenton – at Shakespeare’s Globe
The Overwhelming by JT Rogers – at the NT Cottesloe
The Seafarer by Conor McPherson – at the NT Cottesloe
BEST NEW COMEDY:
The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow – at the Tricycle & Criterion
Piano/Forte by Terry Johnson – at the Royal Court
Smaller by Carmel Morgan – at the Lyric
Southwark Fair by Samuel Adamson – at the NT Cottesloe
The Lightning Play by Charlotte Jones – at the Almeida
Whipping It Up by Steve Thompson – at the Bush
SUPERBREAK BEST NEW MUSICAL:
Wicked by Stephen Schwartz & Winnie Holzman – at the Apollo Victoria
Avenue Q by Jeff Marx & Robert Lopez – at the Noël Coward
Caroline, or Change by Tony Kushner & Jeanine Tesori – at the NT Lyttelton
Daddy Cool by Stephen Plaice & Amani Naphtali – at the Shaftesbury
Dirty Dancing by Eleanor Bergstein – at the Aldwych
Spamalot by Eric Idle & John Du Prez – at the Palace
BEST PLAY REVIVAL:
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – at the Apollo
A Moon for the Misbegotten – at the Old Vic
A Voyage Round My Father – at the Donmar Warehouse & Wyndham’s
Donkeys’ Years – at the Comedy
See How They Run – at the Duchess
The Crucible – RSC at the Gielgud
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL:
The Sound of Music – at the London Palladium
Cabaret – at the Lyric
Evita – at the Adelphi
The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess – at the Savoy
Sunday in the Park with George – at Wyndham’s
The Boy Friend – at the Open Air
SHAKESPEARE 4 KIDZ BEST SHAKESPEAREAN PRODUCTION:
As You Like It – RSC at the Novello
Hamlet – English Touring Theatre at the New Ambassadors
King Lear – Maly Drama of St Petersburg at the Barbican
The Comedy of Errors – at the Globe
The Taming of the Shrew – at the Open Air
Titus Andronicus – at the Globe
BEST DIRECTOR:
Trevor Nunn – Porgy & Bess at the Savoy & Rock ‘n’ Roll at the Royal Court & Duke of York’s
Declan Donnellan – The Changeling, Cheek by Jowl at the Barbican
Dominic Cooke – The Crucible, RSC at the Gielgud
Jeremy Sams – Donkeys’ Years at the Comedy, Little Britain Live at the Apollo Hammersmith & The Sound of Music at the London Palladium
Michael Grandage – The Wild Duck at the Donmar Warehouse, Evita at the Adelphi & Frost/Nixon at the Donmar Warehouse & Gielgud
Rufus Norris – Tintin at the Barbican, Market Boy at the NT Olivier & Cabaret at the Lyric
BEST SET DESIGNER:
Eugene Lee – Wicked at the Apollo Victoria
Christopher Oram – Evita at the Adelphi & Frost/Nixon at the Donmar Warehouse & Gielgud
David Farley & Timothy Bird – Sunday in the Park with George at Wyndham’s
Hildegard Bechtler – Thérèse Raquin at the NT Lyttelton & The Crucible, RSC at the Gielgud
Katrina Lindsay – Market Boy at the NT Olivier & Cabaret at the Lyric
Robert Jones – The Sound of Music at the London Palladium
BEST CHOREOGRAPHER:
Rob Ashford – Evita at the Adelphi
Javier de Frutos – Cabaret at the Lyric
Karen Bruce – Footloose at the Novello
Kate Champion – Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych
Sean Cheeseman & Lizzi Gee – Daddy Cool at the Shaftesbury
Twyla Tharp – Movin’ Out at the Apollo Victoria
STUART PHILLIPS LONDON NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:
Connie Fisher - The Sound of Music at the London Palladium
Andrew Garfield – The Overwhelming & Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship at the NT Cottesloe & Beautiful Thing at the Sound
Chris New – Bent at Trafalgar Studios
Derek Hough – Footloose at the Novello
Nina Raine (playwright) – Rabbit at the Old Red Lion & Trafalgar Studios
Pippa Bennett-Warner – Caroline, or Change at the NT Lyttelton
BEST OFF WEST END PRODUCTION:
Little Shop of Horrors – at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Amadeus – at Wilton’s Music Hall
Beautiful Thing – at the Sound
Gladiator Games – at Theatre Royal Stratford East
Metamorphosis – at the Lyric Hammersmith
The Exonerated – at Riverside Studios
BEST REGIONAL OR TOURING PRODUCTION:
Me & My Girl – on tour
A Number – at Sheffield Crucible
Black Watch – National Theatre of Scotland
Follies – at Northampton Theatre Royal
Nicholas Nickleby – at Chichester Festival Theatre
Unprotected – at Liverpool Everyman
NOW THEATRE EVENT OF THE YEAR:
BBC One’s How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, resulting in the West End’s first leading role to be cast by nationwide TV vote
The reopening of the Young Vic “on time and on budget”
The including its tribute night to John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s year-long Complete Works Festival
The Sultan’s Elephant transforming the streets of London
The year of the musical – 20+ arrivals in 12 months Special mentions:
The History Boys conquering Broadway and the big screen
The “flash mob” in Trafalgar Square as part of the National Youth Theatre’s 50th anniversary celebrations
The reopening of the Roundhouse with Fuerzabruta
TO VIEW VOTING PERCENTAGES, ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES & SELECTED PHOTOS, VISIT OUR THEATREGOERS’ CHOICE AWARDS MICROSITE.
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