Hairspray, Equus & Old Vic Dominate WOS Awards

Winners are announced today (22 February 2008) in the eighth annual Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Awards, the only major theatre prize-giving decided by the public. Over the past two months, a record-breaking 25,000 people – more than doubling the number who took part last year – have voted online on our awards microsite. The majority of award recipients will collect their prizes in front of a live audience this Sunday (24 February) at the inaugural Whatsonstage.com Year on Year Concert & Awards Show at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.

This year’s awards have been dominated by the smash-hit Broadway musical import Hairspray, which has converted its ten nominations into seven big wins, the most ever received by a single production in the history of the Theatregoers’ Choice Awards. The seven Hairspray awards are for: SUPERBREAK Best New Musical, Best Director and Best Choreographer, as well as a clean sweep of the musical performance categories for Michael Ball, Leanne Jones (Best Actor and Actress in a Musical), Ben James-Ellis and Tracie Bennett (Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a Musical).

Having a Ball with Hairspray

Bill Taylor, CEO of Stage Entertainment UK, producers of Hairspray, commented: “To win any award for a show you really believe in and has been a privilege to put on stage is great news, but to win seven is an absolute delight. Our cast, crew and creative team have done wonders at the Shaftesbury Theatre, bringing one of the happiest shows around to the London stage and now, to get such a definitive thumbs-up from the public, it feels like the icing on the cake!”

From New York, director Jack O’Brien added: “We are, to put it mildly, overjoyed at the London response to Hairspray, nowhere more than the pride we have taken in putting an all-British cast into these wigs and giggles. The entire London establishment can share our delight in knowing that this production is second to none – the original included – in its stunning professionalism and thrilling impact. And for those of us who regularly watch tons of American awards falling into talented British hands, well, we’re ecstatic about this wonderful reciprocation.”

As for O’Brien’s two British stars, Michael Ball said of his SEE TICKETS Best Actor in a Musical prize “I’m thrilled to little bits to receive this award. It’s so great that people love Edna – she’s been very good to me!”, and Leanne Jones, the former call centre worker who made her professional debut playing Edna’s daughter Tracy Turnblad, said that winning Best Actress in a Musical is “a dream come true”.

Having already triumphed at the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle ceremonies, after today’s results, Hairspray looks set to continue its phenomenal run of success next month at the Laurence Olivier Awards, where it’s received a record 11 nominations. Elsewhere, however, the public have delivered very different verdicts from the judges of the Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards, whose results were virtually identical this year; and many of its winners have not even been nominated for Oliviers.

In one of the closest-run Theatregoers’ Choice categories, the “people’s choice” for Joseph, Any Dream Will Do victor Lee Mead, has narrowly lost out – by just 0.6% of the category vote! – to Michael Ball for Best Actor in a Musical, but Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat very decisively wins the TICKETMASTER Best Musical Revival prize with 42.8% of the vote. Andrew Lloyd Webber said: “Joseph celebrates its fortieth anniversary on 1 March so it’s really terrific that the show is still wowing audiences and winning awards.”

Radcliffe rides Equus success

Receiving three Theatregoers’ Choice Awards, putting it on top for straight play wins, is the now Broadway-bound revival of Peter Shaffer’s Equus, in which Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe made his critically acclaimed stage debut. The production scoops Best Play Revival, DEWYNTERS London Newcomer of the Year for Radcliffe, and the AKA Theatre Event of the Year Award for Radcliffe’s steamy pre-production publicity photos, which attracted almost as much media coverage last year as the production itself.

Daniel Radcliffe said today: “I’m truly delighted to have won this prestigious award and thank you so much to everyone at Whatsonstage.com for voting for me. Equus is a tremendous and thought-provoking play, and I’m so proud and honoured to have been a part of this incredible production. Thank you to Peter Shaffer, Thea Sharrock, Richard Griffiths, David Pugh, Dafydd Rogers and Barbara Houseman for having faith in me – playing the role of Alan Strang will remain one of the greatest experiences of my life.”

Old Vic & Bush celebrate with other big winners

Institutionally, the Old Vic was the big winner with four wins (one for a future production): Best New Play for Samuel Adamson’s adaptation of Pedro Almodovar’s cult Spanish film All About My Mother, which also garnered a Best Supporting Actress in a Play prize for Dame Diana Rigg; Best Ensemble Performance for Edward Hall’s all-male Propeller productions of The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night; and, transferring to the Old Vic this May, Sir Peter Hall’s (Edward Hall’s father) revival of Shaw’s Pygmalion, which was named Best Regional Production following its Theatre Royal Bath run and tour.

Dame Maggie Smith wins Best Actress in a Play for The Lady from Dubuque, and Sir Ian McKellen is crowned Best Actor in a Play for King Lear, beating off tough competition from fellow Shakespearean and X-Men rival Patrick Stewart. However, Stewart’s Macbeth once again doesn’t go home empty-handed, this time adding Best Shakespearean Production to its considerable awards haul to date.

Elsewhere, having successfully fought proposed Arts Council funding cuts, the Bush Theatre is celebrating its Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best New Comedy for Elling, Simon Bent’s adaptation of the Swedish film which starred Life on Mars’ John Simm. Bush artistic director Josie Rourke commented: “We’re so proud that this joyful play and fantastic company has been recognised by the Whatsonstage.com Awards. Simon Bent, Paul Miller (director) and John Simm first worked together at the Bush on Simon’s play Goldhawk Road back in 1996, and Elling has proved to be one of the great reunions.”

Other winners include Lee Evans (Best Supporting Actor in a Play for The Dumb Waiter), Fiona Shaw (Best Solo Performance for Happy Days), Kerry Ellis (Best Takeover in a Role for Wicked), Rob Howell (Best Designer for the epic musical of The Lord of the Rings, the most expensive production in West End history) and, in another Awards first, the Young Vic’s presentation of the South African A Christmas Carol/The Magic Flute and the Landor’s UK premiere of Off-Broadway musical I Love You Because, have tied for Best Off-West End Production, taking exactly 26.0% of the vote each!

TO VIEW VOTING PERCENTAGES & CURRENT ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES & PHOTOS, VISIT OUR THEATREGOERS’ CHOICE AWARDS MICROSITE.