It’s one of the highlights of any theatre-goers year – The WhatsOnStage Awards. This year’s 17th Annual concert was packed to the brim with
the biggest and brightest stars of London ’s West End . With Harry Potter and The Cursed Child leading
the nominations, closely followed by Half A Sixpence, the evening promised to
be filled with the crème de la crème of theatre.
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| The Prince Of Wales Theatre - featuring 1100 goodie bags for every guest at the awards |
The evening was hosted by Simon Lipkin (Avenue Q, Guys and
Dolls) and Vikki Stone who has previously been described as “the bastard love
child of Victoria Wood and Tim Minchin”! These two musical theatre buffs were
so at ease and wonderfully charming hosts. Quick witted jokes and sharp comedy
injected a relaxation into the evening which was gratefully received. Lipkin in
particular seemed to pride himself on his close-to-the-belt gags. For example,
he introduced the evening by saying “This of this like the Oliviers or the Tony’s,
just without all the gravitas” and later in the evening revived his old friend
Trekkie Monster (Avenue Q) and proceeded to have a conversation with a wall
which began “Oh, hello Russell Crowe. I thought you were great in the Les Mis
movie”. Needless to say, the audience were in stitches.
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| Hosts - Simon Lipkin and Vikki Stone |
Lipkin and Stone paid
homage to the genius of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s ‘Hamilton ’ in their own rap versions of two
songs from the show which were received with rapturous applause. Overall, it
was their willingness to not take themselves too seriously, nor the evening
itself, which made them such wonderful hosts. I hope to see them hosting
together again in the future.
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| The Cast of School Of Rock (Best New Musical) |
The evening started with a wonderful overture of the critically acclaimed smash hit musical, La La Land, played by the live WOS orchestra, followed by a fist pumping show from Gary Trainor and the kids from School Of Rock
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| Jamie Parker |
Emma Williams (Half A Sixpence – Best Supporting Actress in a Musical) also made the audience laugh with her wonderful speech which started “I must thank my parents who sadly aren’t with us tonight. No, they’re not dead! They’re in Yorkshire !”
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| Emma Williams |
Tyrone Huntley, currently starring as CC in Dreamgirls (The
Savoy), sang Heaven on Their Minds from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash-hit Jesus
Christ Superstar. What a knockout performance that was! His Dreamgirls
castmates Liisi LaFontaine and Amber Riley (who later in the evening went on to
win Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Effie White) closed Act 1
with a sensational performance of “Listen” which received a standing ovation.
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| Amber Riley |
We
were also treated to performances from Joanna Riding (The Girls) accompanied by
Gary “That was
absolutely fantastic” Barlow, Trever Dion Nicholas (Winner of Best Supporting
Actor in a Musical for his role as Genie in Aladdin) and Dean John-Wilson and
the incomparable Ria Jones who performed As If We Never Said Goodbye (Sunset
Boulevard).
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| Willemijn Verkaik, Oliver Saville and Susie Mathers |
Special mention must go to the exceptionally enthusiastic
group of performers behind me for their wonderful impromptu sing-along to the
Entr’acte – a medley of Stephen Schwartz’s ‘Wicked’s most popular tunes! Wicked
went on to win Best West End Show in a WOS first dead-heat with Les Miserables.
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| Noma Dumezwemi |
There were a few wonderful acceptance speeches throughout
the evening, but I must mention Noma Dumezweni for her heart-warming humility
and pure spirit. She quite literally danced her way onto the stage to accept
her award for Best Supporting Actress in a Play (as Hermione Granger in Harry
Potter and The Cursed Child). Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was the biggest winner of the evening, taking home eight awards, a record number of WhatsOnStage Awards won for a play.
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| Cameron Mackintosh |
The evening drew to a close with the Equity Award for
Services to Theatre Tribute being award to the one and only Sir Cameron
Mackintosh for 50 years of incredible work in show business, followed by ‘Flash,
Bang, Wallop” from his cast of Half A Sixpence led by the Best Actor In A
Musical winner, 23 year old Charlie Stemp (who has been cited by the Sunday
Telegraph as “the stuff of legend” – and rightly so!)
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| Charlie Stemp |
The WhatsOnStage Awards are voted for by the public, and
this evening is a wonderful celebration of that. For theatregoers everywhere, it’s
a chance to bask in the glow of your favourite stars and be part of one of the
biggest theatrical celebrations in the calendar year. It’s an evening not to be
missed, and one which I was humbled and proud to be a part of.
Review by Harriet Langdown
Rating: ★★★★★
