The nominations in the ninth annual Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Awards were announced today (5 December 2008) at a star-studded event at the Hippodrome in London’s West End. The Theatregoers’ Choice Awards is the only major theatre prize-giving decided by the public, who vote online at here at awards.whatsonstage.com. This year, over 4,000 people took part in the nominations phase of the judging process, with many thousands more expected to vote from today for the eventual winners.
Following its success last month at the Evening Standard Awards, the Donmar Warehouse continues to lead the way with a phenomenal 18 nominations in this year’s Theatregoers’ Choice Awards shortlists, including six nods for
Ivanov, five apiece for
The Chalk Garden and
Othello, four for
Piaf and one for the overall launch of the high-profile, year-long Donmar West End season at Wyndham’s Theatre.
Only two other productions match Ivanov’s half-dozen nominations haul: the Royal Shakespeare Company’s epic eight-play Histories cycle at the Roundhouse and Menier Chocolate Factory revival of Broadway musical comedy La Cage aux Folles, now transferred to the West End’s Playhouse Theatre.
In one of the most hotly contested categories this year, two Donmar leading men, Ivanov’s Kenneth Branagh and Othello’s Chiwetel Ejiofor, face stiff competition for Best Actor in a Play from Adam Godley (Rain Man), Eddie Redmayne (Now or Later), Ian McDiarmid (Six Characters in Search of an Author) and, nominated jointly, the Old Vic’s high-octane Speed the Plow “double act”, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum.
Meanwhile, the Donmar’s co-stars from The Chalk Garden, Penelope Wilton and Margaret Tyzack, who shared the Evening Standard actress prize, are nominated separately for the Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Actress in a Play, competing with two pill-popping performances, from Lindsay Duncan (That Face) and this year’s Tony Award winner, American Deanna Dunagan (August: Osage County), as well as Katy Stephens (The Histories) and Lesley Sharp (Harper Regan).
In the musical categories, this year’s big Broadway import, Four Seasons hit Jersey Boys, receives four strong nominations, including Best New Musical. And, though it recently fell foul of critics, the so-called “Holocaust musical” Imagine This proves it has audience support with four nominations of its own, while its prematurely closed predecessor at the New London theatre earns two, one of them for former reality TV star Darius Danesh. The Theatre Royal Haymarket’s premiere of Michel Legrand’s Marguerite also attracts four nominations, while Zorro swings in with five.
Danesh and Jersey Boys’ Frankie Valli, Ryan Molloy, are in the running for Best Actor in a Musical alongside Marguerite’s Julian Ovenden, Zorro’s Matt Rawle, La Cage aux Folles’ Douglas Hodge and The Harder They Come’s Rolan Bell. In the Best Actress in a Musical category, Connie Fisher, a former Newcomer of the Year for The Sound of Music, is nominated for They’re Playing Our Song and competes against Elena Roger (Piaf), Leila Benn Harris (Imagine This), Lisa O’Hare (Gigi), Ruthie Henshall (Marguerite) and Sofia Escobar (the 50th anniversary production of West Side Story).
Even before his London transfer, David Tennant gets a shortlists look-in with two nominations. Hamlet, which opens at the West End’s Novello Theatre next week, is nominated for Best Regional Production following its Stratford-upon-Avon season, while the frenzy around the Doctor Who star’s return to the stage to take the title role in the RSC production is up for Theatre Event of the Year.
In that always quirky category, Tennant faces competition from the RSC’s Histories, the launch of Donmar West End, the in-the-round transformation of the Old Vic, adult cabaret La Clique’s London debut at the now-threatened Hippodrome and the widespread protests over Arts Council funding cutbacks which attracted headlines at the beginning of the year.
Other big names up for awards include: Hollywood’s Josh Hartnett, Derren Brown, Eddie Izzard, Vanessa Redgrave, Britain’s Got Talent’s George Sampson, Daniel Boys, Samuel West (a previous Best Actor winner, now nominated for Best Director), Barbara Jefford, Sophie Thompson, Douglas Henshall, Kevin J McNally, Tom Hiddleston, Linda Thorson, Tracie Bennett (the 2008 Best Supporting Actress in a Musical winner for Hairspray and nominated again, in the same category, for La Cage aux Folles), David Bradley, Maria Friedman, Neil LaBute, Yasmina Reza, Michael Grandage, Michael Boyd, Rupert Goold, Rob Howell (the 2008 Best Set Designer winner for The Lord of the Rings and nominated again, in the same category, for The Norman Conquests), Matthew Bourne, and former Kinks’ frontman Ray Davies (nominated for Newcomer of the Year for his musical writing and performing debut, Come Dancing).
The race is now on to decide the eventual winners in the 2009 Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Award, with voting continuing from today (Friday 5 December) until the end of January and results announced in the week commencing 9 February 2009, ahead of our Awards Concert, which will take place on Sunday 15 February 2009 at the West End’s Prince of Wales theatre. Check back on Monday for full photo and TV coverage from today’s star-studded launch party, held in aid of our adopted charity TheatreMAD at the Hippodrome!
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THE FULL LIST OF 2008/9 NOMINATIONS
The SPOTLIGHT Best Actress in a Play
Deanna Dunagan – August: Osage County at the NT Lyttelton
Katy Stephens – The Histories, RSC at the Roundhouse
Lesley Sharp – Harper Regan at the NT Cottesloe
Lindsay Duncan – That Face at the Duke of York’s
Margaret Tyzack – The Chalk Garden at the Donmar Warehouse
Penelope Wilton – The Chalk Garden at the Donmar Warehouse
The SPOTLIGHT Best Actor in a Play
Adam Godley – Rain Man at the Apollo
Chiwetel Ejiofor – Othello at the Donmar Warehouse
Eddie Redmayne – Now or Later at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs
Ian McDiarmid – Six Characters in Search of an Author at the Gielgud
Kenneth Branagh – Ivanov, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s
Kevin Spacey & Jeff Goldblum – Speed the Plow at the Old Vic
Best Supporting Actress in a Play
Barbara Jefford – Pygmalion at the Old Vic
Denise Gough – Six Characters in Search of an Author at the Gielgud
Michelle Terry – The Man Who Had All the Luck at the Donmar Warehouse
Phoebe Nicholls – The Vortex at the Apollo & Waste at the Almeida
Sophie Thompson – The Female of the Species at the Vaudeville
Susan Engel – Her Naked Skin at the NT Olivier
Best Supporting Actor in a Play
Douglas Henshall – The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Almeida
Kevin R McNally – Ivanov, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s
Malcolm Sinclair – Rosmersholm at the Almeida
Paul Ready – Major Barbara at the NT Olivier
Pip Carter – Gethsemane at the NT Cottesloe
Tom Hiddleston – Othello at the Donmar Warehouse & Ivanov, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s
The VIAGOGO Best Actress in a Musical
Connie Fisher – They’re Playing Our Song at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Elena Roger – Piaf at the Donmar Warehouse & Vaudeville
Leila Benn Harris – Imagine This at the New London
Lisa O’Hare – Gigi at the Open Air
Ruthie Henshall – Marguerite at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Sofia Escobar – West Side Story at Sadler’s Wells
The SEE TICKETS Best Actor in a Musical
Darius Danesh – Gone With the Wind at the New London
Douglas Hodge – La Cage aux Folles at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Playhouse
Julian Ovenden – Marguerite at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Matt Rawle – Zorro at the Garrick
Rolan Bell – The Harder They Come at the Barbican & Playhouse
Ryan Molloy – Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical
Lesli Margherita – Zorro at the Garrick
Linda Thorson – Gigi at the Open Air
Lorraine Bruce – Piaf at the Donmar Warehouse & Vaudeville
Natasha Yvette Williams – Gone With the Wind at the New London
Sophia Ragavelas – Never Forget at the Savoy
Tracie Bennett – La Cage aux Folles at the Playhouse
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical
Alexander Hanson – Marguerite at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Jason Pennycooke – La Cage aux Folles at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Playhouse
Luke Evans – Piaf at the Donmar Warehouse & Vaudeville
Michael Matus – Imagine This at the New London
Nick Cavaliere – Zorro at the Garrick
Stephen Ashfield – Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward
Best Solo Performance
David Bradley – The Quiz at Trafalgar Studios
Derren Brown – Derren Brown Mindreader: An Evening of Wonders at the Garrick
Eddie Izzard – Stripped at the Lyric
Maria Friedman – Maria Friedman: Re-Arranged at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Nadine Marshall – Random at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs
Vanessa Redgrave – The Year of Magical Thinking at the NT Lyttelton
The AMBASSADOR TICKETS Best Ensemble Performance
August: Osage County – at the NT Lyttelton
Black Watch – National Theatre of Scotland at the Barbican
Brief Encounter – at The Cinema, Haymarket
Into the Hoods – at the Novello
The Histories – RSC at the Roundhouse
The Norman Conquests – at the Old Vic
Best Takeover in a Role
Daniel Boys – Avenue Q at the Noël Coward
Denis Lawson – La Cage aux Folles at the Playhouse
Kelly Brook – Fat Pig at the Comedy
Rachel Tucker – We Will Rock You at the Dominion
Summer Strallen – The Sound of Music at the London Palladium
Suzanne Shaw – Chicago at the Cambridge
The NICK HERN BOOKS Best New Play
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts – at the NT Lyttelton
Black Watch by Gregory Burke – National Theatre of Scotland at the Barbican
Now or Later by Christopher Shinn – at the Royal Court Downstairs
That Face by Polly Stenham – at the Duke of York’s
The Pitmen Painters by Lee Hall – at the NT Cottesloe
Under the Blue Sky by David Eldridge – at the Duke of York’s
Best New Comedy
Fat Pig by Neil LaBute – at Trafalgar Studios & the Comedy
God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza – at the Gielgud
Lifecoach by Nick Reed – at Trafalgar Studios
The Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith – at the Vaudeville
The Walworth Farce by Enda Walsh – at the NT Cottesloe
Well by Lisa Kron – at Trafalgar Studios
The WALDORF HILTON Best New Musical
Eurobeat by Craig Christie & Andrew Patterson – at the Novello
Imagine This by Shuki Levy, David Goldsmith & Glenn Berenbeim – at the New London
Jersey Boys by Bob Gaudio, Bob Crewe, Rick Elice & Marshall Brickman – at the Prince Edward
Marguerite by Michel Legrand, Herbert Kretzmer, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg & Jonathan Kent – at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Never Forget by Guy Jones, Daniel Brocklehurst & Ed Curtis – at the Savoy
Zorro by The Gipsy Kings, John Cameron, Stephen Clark & Helen Edmundson – at the Garrick
The EMG Best Play Revival
Ivanov – Donmar West End at Wyndham’s
Six Characters in Search of an Author – at the Gielgud
Speed the Plow – at the Old Vic
The Chalk Garden – at the Donmar Warehouse
The Norman Conquests – at the Old Vic
Waste – at the Almeida
The TICKETMASTER Best Musical Revival
Candide – at the London Coliseum
Gigi – at the Open Air
La Cage aux Folles – at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Playhouse
Piaf – at the Donmar Warehouse & Vaudeville
They’re Playing Our Song – at the Menier Chocolate Factory
West Side Story – at Sadler’s Wells
Best Shakespearean Production
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – at Shakespeare’s Globe
Much Ado About Nothing – at the NT Olivier
Othello – at the Donmar Warehouse
The Histories – RSC at the Roundhouse
The Merry Wives of Windsor – at Shakespeare’s Globe
Twelfth Night – at the Tricycle
The SEATCHOICE Best Director
Emma Rice – Brief Encounter at The Cinema, Haymarket
Michael Grandage – Othello & The Chalk Garden at the Donmar Warehouse & Ivanov, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s
Matthew Warchus – The Norman Conquests at the Old Vic
Michael Boyd – The Histories, RSC at the Roundhouse
Rupert Goold – The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Almeida, Six Characters in Search of an Author at the Gielgud & No Man’s Land at the Duke of York’s
Samuel West – Dealer’s Choice at Trafalgar Studios & Waste at the Almeida
Best Set Designer
Eugene Lee – Imagine This at the New London
Klara Zieglerova – Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward
Miriam Buether – In the Red & Brown Water at the Young Vic
Neil Murray – Brief Encounter at The Cinema, Haymarket
Rob Howell – The Norman Conquests at the Old Vic
Tom Piper – The Histories, RSC at the Roundhouse
The WHITE LIGHT Best Lighting Designer
Chahine Yavroyan – Relocated at the Royal Court Upstairs & Wig Out! at the Royal Court Downstairs
Jean Kalman – The Year of Magical Thinking at the NT Lyttelton & In the Red & Brown Water at the Young Vic
Malcolm Rippeth – Brief Encounter at The Cinema, Haymarket & Six Characters in Search of an Author at the Gielgud
Mark Henderson – Under the Blue Sky at the Duke of York’s, Marguerite & The Sea at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Neil Austin – Piaf at the Donmar Warehouse & Vaudeville, No Man’s Land at the Duke of York’s & Oedipus at the NT Olivier
Paule Constable – Othello & The Chalk Garden at the Donmar Warehouse & Ivanov, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s
Best Choreographer
Akram Khan – in-i at the NT Lyttelton
Karen Bruce – Never Forget at the Savoy
Kate Prince + ZooNation – Into the Hoods at the Novello
Lynne Page – La Cage aux Folles at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Playhouse
Matthew Bourne – Dorian Gray at Sadler’s Wells
Rafael Amargo – Zorro at the Garrick
The DEWYNTERS London Newcomer of the Year
Ella Smith – Fat Pig at Trafalgar Studios & the Comedy
George Sampson – Into the Hoods at the Novello
Joseph Mawle – The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Almeida
Josh Hartnett – Rain Man at the Apollo
Ray Davies – Come Dancing at Theatre Royal Stratford East
Tarell Alvin McCraney – In the Red & Brown Water & The Brothers Size at the Young Vic & Wig Out! at the Royal Court Downstairs
The MOBIUS Best Off-West End Production
An Enemy of the People – at the Arcola
Come Dancing – at Theatre Royal Stratford East
Piranha Heights – at Soho Theatre
Plague Over England – at the Finborough
The Vaclav Havel season – at the Orange Tree
The White Devil – at the Menier Chocolate Factory
The TARGET LIVE Best Regional Production
Calendar Girls – at Chichester Festival Theatre & on tour
Hamlet – RSC at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
On the Waterfront – at Nottingham Playhouse & the Edinburgh Fringe
Once Upon a Time at the Adelphi – at the Liverpool Playhouse
The Glass Menagerie – at the Royal Exchange, Manchester
The Music Man – at Chichester Festival Theatre
The AKA Theatre Event of the Year
David Tennant returning to the stage in Hamlet for the RSC
The launch of the Donmar West End season at Wyndham’s
La Clique’s London debut at the Hippodrome
The in-the-round transformation of the Old Vic for The Norman Conquests
The RSC’s staging of The Histories at the Roundhouse
Widespread protests over arts funding cutbacks
Honourable mentions:
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 60th birthday celebration in Hyde Park
Robert Lepage’s nine-hour Lipsynch at the Barbican
Daniel Radcliffe & James Corden’s onstage kiss at the 2008 Theatregoers’ Choice Awards Concert
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