This week saw the first What'sOnStage Awards event since founder Terri Paddock's shock departure in December.
There were no big surprises at the Awards however with the big winners of the evening being The Book of Mormon and the Michael Grandage Company each taking home four:
Mormon received awards for
- Best New Musical
- Best Actor in a Musical – Gavin Creel
- Best Supporting Actress in a Musical and – Alexia Khadime, and
- Best Supporting Actor in a Musical – Stephen Ashfield
The Grandage Company received:
- Best Director – Michael Grandage
- Best Actor in a Play – Daniel Radcliffe
- Best Supporting Actor in a Play – David Walliams and
- Best Shakespearean Production.
The Audience won its writer Peter Morgan the Best New Play Award with Helen Mirren receiving that for Best Actress in a Play and Haydn Gwynne Best Supporting Actress in a Play.
Other musical wins were Scarlett Strallen as Best Actress in a Musical for both for Candide and A Chorus Line which also received the Best Ensemble Performance Award; the Best Set Designer Award went to Mark Thompson and that for Best Choreographer to Peter Darling for their work on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Open Air Theatre also won two awards for Best Play Revival—To Kill a Mockingbird and Best Musical Revival—The Sound of Music.
Sheffield Crucible's My Fair Lady won Best Regional Production and Titanic seen at the Southwark Playhouse won Best Off-West End Production.
Reflecting a market saturated by long–running musicals and revivals, the award for Best Original Music is only in its second year and this time went to Once. Best West End Show went to Matilda the Musical whose competition was all from musical favourites—Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera and Wicked with the exception of War Horse which came fourth in the category.
Barry Humphries won Best Solo Performance for Eat Pray Laugh! his Farewell Tour and Best New Comedy went to The Play that Goes Wrong
All winners across the 27 categories of award are decided by public vote.