Features

The ultimate guide to this year's WhatsOnStage Awards

Everything you need to know about the big day

When and where?

On Sunday 19 February, we'll be kicking The Book of Mormon out of the Prince of Wales Theatre for the evening to hold our annual awards concert. The theatre is right next to Leicester Square in the capital, and the red carpet will open at 6pm, with the concert starting at 7pm. Tickets for this year's event are now sold out.


How can I follow on the day?

Lucie Jones
Lucie Jones will present a Facebook Live
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage

Facebook – We'll be live from the red carpet on Facebook, with our deputy editor Ben Hewis and star of the Rent UK tour (and the UK's Eurovision hopeful) Lucie Jones. They'll be chatting to guests as they arrive on the red carpet.

The stream will begin between 6 and 6.30pm, and you can watch it on the day by clicking here.

Towards the end of the evening, you'll be able to watch our highlights video with clips from the night's performances and interviews with the big winners. Click here to see highlights from last year's concert which included performances from Pixie Lott, Matt Henry and the casts of In the Heights and Les Miserables.

Twitter – Twitter will be the place to find out who's won what. We'll be live-tweeting throughout the event, and you can get involved by using #WOSAwards.

We'll also be bringing you a glimpse behind the scenes of the awards throughout the day.

Instagram – We'll be taking photos behind the scenes and on the red carpet throughout the evening on Instagram. If you take any yourself, don't forget to use #WOSAwards.


Who's presenting the awards?

Simon Lipkin and Vikki Stone
Hosts Simon Lipkin and Vikki Stone
(© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage)

We've got some great hosts for this year's ceremony. Hilarious comedian and actor Vikki Stone may be best known for "The Philip Schofield Song", which she performed for the silver fox himself live on This Morning. She's got a bit of a soft spot for physicist Brian Cox, too.

Joining her will be West End actor Simon Lipkin. He recently appeared in the West End run of Guys and Dolls at the Phoenix Theatre alongside Rebel Wilson. Lipkin was nominated for a WOS Award himself in 2012 – Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for Rock of Ages – but is probably best known for his various roles in Avenue Q.


Who's performing at the concert?

Amber Riley and Liisi LaFontaine
Amber Riley and Liisi LaFontaine
© Brinkhoff – Moegenburg

Amber Riley and Liisi LaFontaine will perform "Listen" from Dreamgirls. The musical, nominated five times at this year's awards, earned Glee star Riley a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

Charlie Stemp and the cast of Half a Sixpence will perform "Flash, Bang, Wallop". Stiles and Drewe's show is nominated for Best New Musical, with leading man Stemp up for Best Actor in a Musical.

Gary Barlow and Joanna Riding will perform the song "Scarborough" from Barlow's musical The Girls. The show opens at the Phoenix Theatre on 21 February, and is nominated for Best Regional Production following earlier runs in Salford and Leeds.

Dean John-Wilson and Trevor Dion Nicolas from Aladdin will perform "Somebody's Got Your Back". Disney's musical is up for seven awards, with Nicholas up for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his role as the Genie.

Charlie Stemp
Half a Sixpence's Charlie Stemp
© Manuel Harlan

•Star of the Sunset Boulevard UK tour Ria Jones will perform "As If We Never Said Goodbye". Jones understudied Glenn Close in the ENO's production last year, and workshopped the song with the musical's composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in its early stages.

Tyrone Huntley will perform "Heaven on Their Minds" from Jesus Christ Superstar. Huntley won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for his role as Judas, but it's not yet been announced if he will reprise the role when the production is revived at the Open Air Theatre this summer.

•The cast of School of Rock – The Musical will perform "Teacher's Pet". Lloyd Webber's musical is up for Best New Musical, and the cast will perform the song which is from the original 2003 film starring Jack Black.

Samantha Barks and Jonathan Bailey will perform a song from The Last Five Years. Jason Robert Brown's musical ran at St James Theatre (now The Other Palace) last year, and is nominated for Best Off-West End Production.

•We may even have a few more special surprises in store…


Who's nominated this year?

Jamie Parker (Harry Potter) and Sam Clemmett (Albus Potter)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
© Manuel Harlan

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child leads the way this year with 11 nominations in 9 categories including Best Play, Best Director (John Tiffany) and Best Actor in a Play (Jamie Parker).

Half a Sixpence is this year's most nominated musical with eight nods, closely followed by Tim Minchin's Groundhog Day. The musicals' leading actors (Charlie Stemp and Andy Karl respectively) are up for Best Actor in a Musical alongside Michael C Hall (Lazarus), Michael Xavier (Sunset Boulevard) and Ramin Karimloo (Murder Ballad).

Five musicals will contend for Best West End Show: Kinky Boots, Les Misérables, Matilda, The Phantom of the Opera and Wicked. They've all been up for it before, with Matilda winning once and Les Mis and Wicked tied on two wins.

For a full list of this year's nominations, click here.


How should I prepare?

To help with this one, we asked WhatsOnStage Award winner and Kinky Boots star Matt Henry to give us his tips on glamming up for the big day.

Click here for 5 amazing moments from the WhatsOnStage Awards