MTM Winners: Barbershopera, Hamlet & Fresher

Winners are announced today (25 August 2010) in Edinburgh for the Musical Theatre Matters: UK Awards, the only awards dedicated to musicals at the Edinburgh Fringe and sponsored by Whatsonstage.com.
Barbershopera: Apocalypse? No!, the latest from the a capella quartet, takes home two awards: for Best New Book and, for a third consecutive year, Best New Lyrics. Other big winners include Fresher, a comedy about freshers week at university, which scoops the prize for Most Promising New Musical, and the 20th-anniversary revival of Clarke Peters’ Five Guys Named Moe, named Best Production.

Sell a Door, which had two cross-cast productions on the shortlist, The House of Mirrors and Hearts and Next Thing You Know, wins Best New Music for the former.

The judging panel also delivered two discretionary awards: to Zimbabwean dance musical Zambezi Express for excellent ensemble work; and to the company of The Emperor’s Quest for their exciting development of musical theatre for young people.

For the first time in 2010, there is another award, which neither assessors nor judges have any say over. The new Favourite Fringe Musical prize, taking a leaf out of Whatsonstage.com’s own annual “theatregoers’ choice” book, is decided by audience members, who have been voting for their favourites from all of the eligible musicals – including big musical revivals – at this year’s festival.

More than 3,500 people have voted on Whatsonstage.com over the past three weeks – and they named Hamlet! The Musical their Favourite Fringe Musical for 2010. The award is given today by Whatsonstage.com editorial director Terri Paddock.

All winners are being presented with their trophies at a gala ceremony, hosted by Mervyn Stutter at Edinburgh’s Pleasance Beyond and including performances from all of the shows shortlisted for Most Promising New Musical. For further details about the MTM:UK Awards, including eligibility criteria and the full list of shows that were assessed for consideration in 2010, visit the Musical Theatre Matters website.

The full list of 2010 nominations – with winners denoted in red bold – is as follows.

MOST PROMISING NEW MUSICAL

Barbershopera – Apocalypse? No! – Pleasance Dome – Barbershopera Productions and Festival Highlights
Fresher – Zoo Roxy – Paulden Productions and The Blue Penguin
Next Thing You Know – C – Sell a Door Theatre Company
Ovid’s Metamorphoses – Pleasance Dome – Pants on Fire
Ray Bradbury’s 2116 – C Plaza – Gallimaufry

BEST NEW BOOK

Barbershopera – Apocalypse? No! – Rob Castell and Tom Sadler with collaborator and director Sarah Tipple
Lovesong – Che Walker
Wonderland – Gyles Brandreth

BEST NEW LYRICS

Barbershopera – Apocalypse? No! – Rob Castell and Tom Sadler with collaborator and director Sarah Tipple
Fresher – Mark Aspinall
Next Thing You Know – Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham

BEST NEW MUSIC

Fresher – Mark Aspinall
The Emperor’s Quest – Susannah Pearse and YounYoung Park
The House of Mirrors and Hearts – C – Eamonn O’Dwyer

BEST PRODUCTION

Five Guys Named Moe – Udderbelly’s Pasture – Underbelly/Theatre Royal Stratford East in Association With Cameron Mackintosh Ltd
Hamlet! The Musical – Pleasance Courtyard – Eleanor Lloyd Productions
Maria de Buenos Aires – Zoo Southside – Teatro Di Capua
Reel to Real: The Movie Musical – Pleasance Courtyard – Huairou Management and Broadway Asia International
Tripod Versus the Dragon – Assembly @ Assembly Hall – Assembly, Marnie Foulis and Tripod Entertainment
Zambezi Express – Assembly @ Assembly Hall – Sabela Music Projects and Siyaya Arts

FAVOURITE FRINGE MUSICAL – “theatregoers’ choice”

Hamlet! The Musical – Pleasance Courtyard – Eleanor Lloyd Productions

JUDGES’ DISCRETIONARY AWARDS

Zambezi Express – Assembly @ Assembly Hall – Sabela Music Projects and Siyaya Arts
The Emperor’s Quest – Susannah Pearce and YounYoung Par