HAMILTON, HEATHERS Win Big at the 19th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards!

At a ceremony tonight at the Prince of Wales Theatre hosted by Vicky Vox and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, the winners of the 19th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards were announced - the only major theatre awards decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves.

WhatsOnStage's Chief Operating Officer Sita McIntosh said today, "The calibre of theatre across 2018 has been extraordinary - from musicals to plays, from new productions to revivals - which is reflected in this year's WhatsOnStage Awards winners list. It's brilliant to see some behemoth shows alongside smaller offerings and it's notable this year that regional theatre has featured in several categories, not just under Best Regional Production. It goes to show how dynamic and exciting the theatre scene is up and down the UK at the moment. The WhatsOnStage Awards tell us about audiences and what they have loved and want to see and this list demonstrates there is an appetite for everything from small to big, subsidised to commercial in London and beyond. Congratulations to all the winners."

Hamilton continues to dominate awards season, leading the way with 5 wins from 12 nominations - Best Actor in a Musical for Jamael Westman, Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for Jason Pennycooke, as well as Best Choreography, Best Costume Design and Best Lighting Design. However, it was pipped to the post by Heathers the Musical for Best New Musical, which also won Best Actress in a Musical for Carrie Hope Fletcher.

Also performing strongly in the musical categories is Regent's Park Open Air Theatre's Little Shop of Horrors, winning Best Musical Revival, Best Set Design for Tom Scutt and Best Poster Design. The other musical hit of the season, the gender reversed Company, wins 2 awards - Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Patti LuPone, and Best Director for Marianne Elliott.

In the play categories, The Inheritance and The Madness of George III win two awards each - taking Best New Play and Best Play Revival respectively. They also both win in the Best Supporting performance categories, with Vanessa Redgrave winning for The Inheritance, and Adrian Scarborough for The Madness of George III.

Sophie Okonedo wins Best Actress in a Play for Antony and Cleopatra at the National Theatre - a performance that has seen her lauded at both the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards; and Aidan Turner wins Best Actor in a Play for his return to the stage in Michael Grandage's production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Michael Grandage receives The Equity Award For Services To Theatre, the only award not voted by the public, not only for his work on stage, but also his commitment to accessible ticket prices, and MGCfutures which supports emerging theatre makers.

Best Off-West End Production goes to the musical phenomenon Six the Musical currently enjoying a sell-out run at the Arts Theatre; and Best Regional Production goes to Spring Awakening at the Hope Mill Theatre. Everybody's Talking About Jamie wins Best Cast Recording; and Best West End Show goes to Les Misérables.

Performances across the evening included a tribute to Stephen Sondheim featuring an all-star ensemble; Carrie Hope Fletcher, Jodie Steele, T'Shan Williams and Sophie Isaacs performing "I Say No" and "Candy Store" from Heathers the Musical; the cast of Spring Awakening performing "Totally F*cked"; Rachel Tucker performing "Me and the Sky" from Come From Away; members of the cast of The Lion King performing "One by One"; A Star Is Born montage, and the cast of Six the Musical performing "Six".

THE NOMINATIONS IN FULL - winners in bold:

BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
SPONSORED BY RADISSON BLU EDWARDIAN
Aidan Turner, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Arinzé Kene, Misty
Colin Morgan, Transalations
Kyle Soller, The Inheritance
Mark Gatiss, The Madness of George III

BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Carey Mulligan, Girls & Boys
Charlie Murphy, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Katherine Parkinson, Home, I'm Darling
Patsy Ferran, Summer and Smoke
Sophie Okonedo, Anthony and Cleopatra

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
SPONSORED BY THE UMBRELLA ROOMS
Giles Terera, Hamilton
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Jamael Westman, Hamilton
Jamie Muscato, Heathers the Musical
Rob Houchen, Eugenius!

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
SPONSORED BY CAFÉ DE PARIS
Adrienne Warren, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Carrie Hope Fletcher, Heathers the Musical
Laura Baldwin, Eugenius!
Rachelle Ann Go, Hamilton
Rosalie Craig, Company

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Adetomiwa Edun, Translations
Adrian Scarborough, The Madness of George III
Andrew Burnap, The Inheritance
Chris Walley, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Paul Hilton, The Inheritance

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
SPONSORED BY TONIC THEATRE
Debra Gillett, The Madness of George III
Michelle Fairley, Julius Caesar
Michelle Fox, Translations
Sian Thomas, Home, I'm Darling
Vanessa Redgrave, The Inheritance

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Cleve September, Hamilton
Daniel Buckley, Eugenius!
Jason Pennycooke, Hamilton
Jonathan Bailey, Company
Richard Fleeshman, Company

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
SPONSORED BY NEWMAN DISPLAYS
Christine Allado, Hamilton
Jodie Steele, Heathers the Musical
Patti LuPone, Company
Rachel John, Hamilton
Vicky Vox, Little Shop of Horrors

BEST NEW PLAY
SPONSORED BY JHI MARKETING
Dust
Girls & Boys
The Inheritance
The Jungle
Misty

BEST NEW MUSICAL
SPONSORED BY h Club London
Eugenius!
Heathers the Musical
Hamilton
Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
SIX

BEST PLAY REVIVAL
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
The Madness of George III
Summer and Smoke
Translations
The York Realist

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
SPONSORED BY R&H THEATRICALS
Chess
Company
The King & I
Little Shop of Horrors
Me and My Girl

BEST DIRECTION
Andy Fickman, Heathers the Musical
Marianne Elliott, Company
Michael Grandage, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance
Thomas Kail, Hamilton

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, SIX
Drew McOnie, Strictly Ballroom
Liam Steel, Company
Lizzi Gee, Little Shop of Horrors

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Catherine Martin, Strictly Ballroom
Catherine Zuber, The King & I
Gabriella Slade, SIX
Paul Tazewell, Hamilton
Tom Scutt, Little Shop of Horrors

BEST SET DESIGN
Bunny Christie, Company
Es Devlin, Girls & Boys
Miriam Buether, The Jungle
Rae Smith, Translations
Tom Scutt, Little Shop of Horrors

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
SPONSORED BY WHITE LIGHT
Ben Cracknell, Heathers the Musical
Howard Hudson, Little Shop of Horrors
Howell Binkley, Hamilton
Neil Austin, Company
Tim Deiling, SIX

BEST VIDEO DESIGN
SPONSORED BY PRG
Daniel Denton, Misty
Dick Straker, A Monster Calls
Luke Halls, The Lehman Trilogy
Nina Dunn, The Assassination of Katie Hopkins
Terry Scruby, Chess

BEST OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION
SPONSORED BY LES MISÉRABLES
Dust
Eugenius!
Misty
The Rink
SIX

BEST REGIONAL PRODUCTION
SPONSORED BY MTI EUROPE
Death of a Salesman
The Madness of George III
Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual
Romeo and Juliet
Spring Awakening

BEST ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING
Bat Out of Hell
Come From Away
Everybody's Talking About Jamie
The Grinning Man
SIX

BEST SHOW POSTER
The Inheritance
The Jungle
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Little Shop of Horrors
Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

BEST WEST END SHOW
SPONSORED BY JOE ALLEN
Bat Out of Hell
Everybody's Talking About Jamie
Kinky Boots
Les Misérables
Wicked

The Equity Award For Services To Theatre
Michael Grandage