Nominees announced for the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards

Nominations have been released for the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards.

Audiences up and down the country have voted for the cream of the crop of theatrical talent, with high profile acting talent sitting alongside emerging names and West End productions alongside shows from smaller and subsidised venues.

Bat Out of Hell and 42nd Street each lead the shortlist with eight nominations, including Best Musical and Best Musical Revival respectively. Bat Out of Hell sees nominations for Best Actor in a Musical for Andrew Polec, Best Actress in a Musical for Christina Bennington, Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Danielle Steers and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for Rob Fowler.

42nd Street has won a nomination in Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Clare Halse as well as Best Actor in a Musical for Tom Lister and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for Chris Howell.

In the Best Actor in a Play category, Andrew Garfield (Angels in America), Andrew Scott (Hamlet), Bryan Cranston (Network), David Tennant (Don Juan in Soho) and Martin Freeman (Labour of Love) are all recognised. While Eve Best (Love in Idleness), Imelda Staunton (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), Olivia Colman (Mosquitoes), Natalie Dormer (Venus in Fur) and Tamsin Greig (Labour of Love) compete for Best Actress in a Play.

The shortlist for Best New Play includes Gloria, Ink, Labour of Love, Oslo and The Ferryman, while in the Best Direction category Dominic Cook (Follies), Jay Scheib (Bat Out of Hell), Marianne Elliott (Angels in America), Robert Icke (Hamlet) and Sam Mendes (The Ferryman) all go head-to-head.

This year the National Theatre has secured 19 nominations with its shows Angels in America and Follies garnering seven nominations each. There were also two new categories introduced for 2017: Best Original Cast Recording – nominations were Hamilton, Les Miserables, Dreamgirls, Dear Evan Hansen and Girl From the North Country – and Best Show Poster – nominations were Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked and Hamilton.

WhatsOnStage's Chief Operating Officer Sita McIntosh said today: "We had a huge number of submissions for the nominations this year and I’m heartened to witness just how engaged our audiences are and how much love they have for the shows they have seen over the last year.

"It's a demonstration of the fact that the UK theatre landscape is speaking to more and
more people, just as it should be. The WhatsOnStage Awards are a true indication of what the public
enjoy at the theatre."

The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 25 February 2018. The public can buy tickets to attend the awards.

Voting has now closed, be there in person to find out the winners

The full shortlist of the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards

BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY SPONSORED BY RADISSON BLU EDWARDIAN
• Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
• Andrew Scott, Hamlet
• Bryan Cranston, Network
• David Tennant, Don Juan in Soho
• Martin Freeman, Labour of Love

BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
• Eve Best, Love in Idleness
• Imelda Staunton, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Olivia Colman, Mosquitoes
• Natalie Dormer, Venus in Fur
• Tamsin Greig, Labour of Love

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY THE UMBRELLA ROOMS
• Andrew Polec, Bat Out of Hell
• Danny Mac, Sunset Boulevard
• Hadley Fraser, Young Frankenstein
• John McCrea, Everybody's Talking About Jamie
• Tom Lister, 42nd Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY 100 WARDOUR ST
• Carrie Hope Fletcher, The Addams Family
• Christina Bennington, Bat Out of Hell
• Janie Dee, Follies
• Josie Walker, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
• Ria Jones, Sunset Boulevard

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
• Adrian Scarborough, Don Juan in Soho
• Fra Fee, The Ferryman
• Nathan Lane, Angels in America
• Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Angels in America
• Peter Polycarpou, Oslo

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY SPONSORED BY TONIC THEATRE
• Denise Gough, Angels in America
• Imogen Poots, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Jessica Brown Findlay, Hamlet
• Juliet Stevenson, Hamlet
• Sheila Atim, Girl from the North Country

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
• Chris Howell, 42nd Street
• Dex Lee , Five Guys Named Moe
• George Sampson, Our House
• Rob Fowler, Bat Out of Hell
• Ross Noble, Young Frankenstein

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY NEWMAN DISPLAYS
• Clare Halse, 42nd Street
• Danielle Steers, Bat Out of Hell
• Lucie Shorthouse, Everybody's Talking About Jamie
• Tracie Bennett, Follies
• Zoe Rainey, An American in Paris

BEST NEW PLAY SPONSORED BY JHI MARKETING
• Gloria
• Ink
• Labour of Love
• Oslo
• The Ferryman

BEST NEW MUSICAL SPONSORED BY SHINE CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
• Bat Out of Hell
• Cilla the Musical
• Everybody's Talking About Jamie
• The Band
• Young Frankenstein

BEST PLAY REVIVAL
• Angels in America
• Don Juan in Soho
• Hamlet
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Witness for the Prosecution

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL SPONSORED BY R&H THEATRICALS
• 42nd Street
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Five Guys Named Moe
• Follies
• Hair

BEST DIRECTION
• Dominic Cooke, Follies
• Jay Scheib, Bat Out of Hell
• Marianne Elliott , Angels in America
• Robert Icke, Hamlet
• Sam Mendes, The Ferryman

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
• Andrew Wright, Five Guys Named Moe
• Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
• Drew McOnie, On the Town
• Fabian Aloise, Our House
• Randy Skinner, 42nd Street

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
• Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
• Gary McCann, La Cage Aux Folles
• Peter McKintosh, On the Town
• Roger Kirk, 42nd Street
• Vicki Mortimer, Follies

BEST SET DESIGN
• Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
• Bunny Christie, Ink
• Douglas W Schmidt, 42nd Street
• Jon Bausor, Bat Out of Hell
• Vicki Mortimer, Follies

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN SPONSORED BY WHITE LIGHT
• Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
• Patrick Woodroffe, Bat Out of Hell
• Paule Constable, Angels in America
• Paule Constable, Follies
• Peter Mumford, 42nd Street

BEST VIDEO DESIGN SPONSORED BY PRG XL VIDEO
• 59 Productions, An American in Paris
• Duncan McLean, Big Fish
• Duncan McLean, Labour of Love
• Tal Yarden, Hamlet
• Tal Yarden, Network

BEST OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION SPONSORED BY LES MISERABLES
• Hair
• La Ronde
• The Wild Party
• Working the Musical
• Yank the Musical

BEST REGIONAL PRODUCTION SPONSORED BY MTI EUROPE
• Our House
• Sunset Boulevard
• The Addams Family
• The Band
• The Hypocrite

BEST ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING SPONSORED BY ENCORE RADIO
• Dear Evan Hansen
• Dreamgirls
• Girl from the North Country
• Hamilton
• Les Miserables

BEST SHOW POSTER
• Cats
• Hamilton
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Wicked

BEST WEST END SHOW SPONSORED BY JOE ALLEN
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Kinky Boots
• Les Miserables
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Wicked