Miss Saigon leads Whatonstage list

Published 5 December 2014

Cameron Mackintosh’s hugely successful revival of Miss Saigon is today celebrating 12 nominations at the 15th annual WhatsOnStage Awards.

Marking what has undoubtedly been an incredible year for new musicals, today’s nominations also include 10 nods for the Beverley Knight-led Memphis The Musical and seven for Jamie Lloyd’s production of the cult Urinetown The Musical.

The three very different musicals, whose success was announced at the website awards’ launch party at Café de Paris by hosts Angela Griffin and Steve Furst, will face off against one another in the coveted Best New Musical category alongside fellow nominees Sunny Afternoon, Here Lies Love and Made In Dagenham.

Leading the way in the play categories is the Donmar Warehouse’s critically acclaimed production of Coriolanus. As well as nominations for his fellow cast members Hadley Fraser, Mark Gatiss (both Best Supporting Actor in a Play) and Deborah Findlay (Best Supporting Actress in a Play), Tom Hiddleston follows his win at this week’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards to collect a nomination in the Best Actor category.

Hiddleston will face stiff competition from a starry list of fellow nominees including David Tennant (Richard II), Mark Strong (A View From The Bridge), Richard Armitage (The Crucible) and Tom Bateman (Shakespeare In Love).

Similarly packed with well-known names, this year’s Best Actress category features nods for Great Britain star Billie Piper, Medea’s Helen McCrory, Good People’s Imelda Staunton, Bateman’s Shakespeare In Love co-star Lucy Briggs-Owen and A Streetcar Named Desire’s Gillian Anderson, who, like Hiddleston, has already collected an Evening Standard Theatre Award for her outstanding performance in the Young Vic production.

Joining the list of hotly contended prizes is the Best New Play Award, which will this year be competed for by Great Britain, King Charles III, The Nether, Shakespeare In Love and Wolf Hall. Equally anticipated will be the winner of the Best Direction Award, with the creative geniuses behind musicals including Memphis The Musical (Christopher Ashley), Urinetown The Musical (Jamie Lloyd) and Laurence Connor (Miss Saigon) facing competition from Richard II’s Gregory Doran and The Crucible’s Yaël Farber.

Held in aid of The Big Issue Foundation, 2015’s WhatsOnStage Awards will take place on 15 February at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Voted for entirely by the public, theatre fans have until 31 January to help determine who takes home the prizes on the night.

The awards join a busy season of theatrical prizes that will culminate in the Olivier Awards with MasterCard on 12 April. The most prestigious date in the theatre awards calendar will be held at the stunning Royal Opera House with full details of the evening’s line-up and nominees to be announced in the coming months.

Full list of 2015’s WhatsOnStage Awards nominees:

Best Actor in a Play sponsored by Radisson Blu Edwardian

David Tennant, Richard II

Mark Strong, A View From The Bridge

Richard Armitage, The Crucible

Tom Bateman, Shakespeare In Love

Tom Hiddleston, Coriolanus

Best Actress in a Play

Billie Piper, Great Britain

Gillian Anderson, A Streetcar Named Desire

Helen McCrory, Medea

Imelda Staunton, Good People

Lucy Briggs-Owen, Shakespeare In Love

Best Actor in a Musical

Alistair Brammer, Miss Saigon

Jon Jon Briones, Miss Saigon

Killian Donnelly, Memphis The Musical

Marti Pellow, Evita

Robert Lindsay, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical

Best Actress in a Musical

Beverley Knight, Memphis The Musical

Eva Noblezada, Miss Saigon

Gemma Arterton, Made In Dagenham

Jenna Russell, Urinetown The Musical

Madalena Alberto, Evita

Best Supporting Actor in a Play

Adrian Schiller, The Crucible

David Oakes, Shakespeare In Love

Hadley Fraser, Coriolanus

Mark Gatiss, Coriolanus

Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall & Bring Up The Bodies

Best Supporting Actress in a Play

Anna Madeley, The Crucible

Deborah Findlay, Coriolanus

Nicola Walker, A View From The Bridge

Samantha Colley, The Crucible

Vanessa Kirby, A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Supporting Actor in a Musical

Ben Forster, Evita

George Maguire, Sunny Afternoon

Hugh Maynard, Miss Saigon

Kwang-Ho Hong, Miss Saigon

Rolan Bell, Memphis The Musical

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical

Claire Machin, Memphis The Musical

Karis Jack, Urinetown The Musical

Katherine Kingsley, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical

Rachelle Ann Go, Miss Saigon

Samantha Bond, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical

Best New Play

Great Britain

King Charles III

The Nether

Shakespeare In Love

Wolf Hall

Best New Musical sponsored by Autograph

Here Lies Love

Made In Dagenham

Memphis the Musical

Sunny Afternoon

Urinetown The Musical        

Best Play Revival

Blithe Spirit

Coriolanus

The Crucible

Richard II

A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Musical Revival sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe

Evita

Miss Saigon

The Pajama Game

Porgy And Bess

Sweeney Todd

Best Direction sponsored by Managed Networks

Christopher Ashley, Memphis The Musical

Gregory Doran, Richard II

Jamie Lloyd, Urinetown The Musical

Laurence Connor, Miss Saigon

Yaël Farber, The Crucible

Best Choreography sponsored by Capezio

Ann Yee, Urinetown The Musical

Bob Avian & Geoffrey Garratt, Miss Saigon

Drew McOnie, In The Heights

Jerry Mitchell, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical

Sergio Trujillo, Memphis The Musical

Best Set Design sponsored by Feast Creative

Bunny Christie, Made In Dagenham

David Gallo, Memphis The Musical

Nick Ormerod, Shakespeare In Love

Soutra Gilmour, Urinetown The Musical

Totie Driver & Matt Kinley, Miss Saigon

Best Lighting Design sponsored by White Light

Adam Silverman, Urinetown The Musical

Bruno Poet, Miss Saigon

Howell Binkley, Memphis The Musical

Jon Clark, Made In Dagenham

Mark Henderson, Coriolanus

Best Off-West End Production

Dogfight, Southwark Playhouse

Forbidden Broadway, Menier Chocolate Factory

In The Heights, Southwark Playhouse

Oh, The Humanity And Other Good Intentions, Tabard Theatre

Sweeney Todd, Twickenham Theatre

Best Regional Production sponsored by Travelzoo

Guys And Dolls, Chichester Festival Theatre

Gypsy, Chichester Festival Theatre

The Kite Runner, Nottingham Playhouse

Oliver!, Sheffield Crucible

Water Babies, Curve Leicester

Best Takeover in a Role sponsored by Equity

Craige Els, Matilda The Musical

David Hunter, Once

Jennifer DiNoia, Wicked

Kerry Ellis, Wicked

Michael Watson, Jersey Boys           

Best West End Show

Les Misérables

Matilda The Musical

Memphis The Musical

Miss Saigon

Wicked

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