Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards Launch 12/5

Outrageous TV chat show king Graham Norton, comedienne Mel Giedroyc, "Hairspray" leading man Michael Ball, opera diva Lesley Garrett and the stars of "Jersey Boys" are to add glamour to the biggest and glitziest gathering of stars in the theatre year - the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards launch party.

The cream of the West End and beyond - a veritable Who's Who in acting - will be celebrating at a glittering lunchtime ceremony  at the London Hippodrome, home of "La Clique", on Friday December 5.

But it's an award ceremony without any winners (at least on that day!) - it's when all of the nominees eligible for public voting in each of 25 awards categories are announced. These are then voted for by members of the theatregoing public. Last year more than 25,000 theatregoers voted online for the eventual winners on theatreland's No1 website - www.whatsonstage.com

The exciting line-up of stars helping to announce the shortlists and entertain the 500-strong industry audience features Graham Norton, Mel Giedroyc, star of "Hairspray" Michael Ball and the cabaret artistes of "La Clique".

In addition, Lesley Garrett will be singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" from "Carousel", opening at the West End's Savoy theatre next month, and the cast of "Jersey Boys" will be performing a medley of Four Seasons hits from one of London's biggest musical successes of 2008.

TV presenter Graham Norton has become a key theatreland figure over the past three years as the host of BBC1's musical casting competitions, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?", "Any Dream Will Do" and this year's "I'd Do Anything", which found Jodie Prenger to star as Nancy in Cameron Mackintosh's upcoming revival of "Oliver!" at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

As one half of double act Mel and Sue, Mel Giedroyc is also a familiar TV face from Channel 4's "Light Lunch, Late Lunch". She co-wrote six Mel and Sue stage shows and  recently starred in the West End as Eurovision host Boyka opposite Les Dennis in the musical spoof "Eurobeat" at the Novello Theatre.

Michael Ball, a key supporter of this year's adopted charity TheatreMAD (Theatre: Make A Difference), won last year's Whatsonstage.com Best Actor in a Musical Award - as well as an Olivier - for his cross-dressing role as Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray" at the Shaftesbury Theatre, where he recently extended his contract again due to popular demand.

The resident "La Clique" company will also take part in making the nomination announcements and fuelling the fun-filled atmosphere of the day. The international troupe - a cult hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - made their London debut last month at the Hippodrome with their unique blend of circus, cabaret and burlesque.

The  Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards, the only major theatre prize-giving to be decided by the public, are now in their ninth year and  have firmly established their place in the theatrical calendar with a record-breaking 25,000 people voting last year alone. Voting for both the nominations and eventual winners takes place online at awards.whatsonstage.com.

Throughout November, theatregoers can log on to nominate their favourite performances and productions for awards consideration across all 25 categories. Among these are some less conventional fields such as Best Ensemble Performance, Best Off-West End Production and Theatre Event of the Year. This year for the first time there's also a new category for Lighting Design.

After the launch party, the race is on to decide the eventual Theatregoers' Choice Award winners, with voting opening on Monday 8 December and continuing until the end of January. The winners are then announced the week commencing 9 February, ahead of the second annual Awards Concert, held at a West End theatre where many winners will be presented with their trophies in front of a live audience of theatregoer voters.

In a year that's seen big musicals like "Jersey Boys", "La Cage aux Folles" and "Marguerite", epic projects including the Royal Shakespeare Company "Histories" at the Roundhouse, the launch of the Donmar West End residency and the Old Vic's transformation for Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy "The Norman Conquests", as well as acclaimed performances from Michael Gambon, Kenneth Branagh, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tamsin Greig, Ewan McGregor, Ralph Fiennes, Kelly Reilly, Kevin Spacey, David Walliams, Ian McDiarmid, Penelope Keith, Jeff Goldblum, Josh Hartnett and many others, the 2009 Whatsonstage.com Awards are sure to be another hotly contested competition.

Terri Paddock, Editorial Director of Whatsonstage.com, said: "The Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards are the only major theatre awards that are judged by the paying audience - which is why, I think, they're also so popular with the industry, because they have a much different significance than other accolades decided by panels of critics and insiders. As for the launch, the demand for party passes - helped, no doubt, by our fabulous line-up of guest presenters and performers - is so high this year, we're very relieved that the Hippodrome is able to accommodate us!"

Photo Credit: Retna/Ltd.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.