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| 2020 WhatsOnStage Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | 1 March 2020 |
| Location | Prince of Wales Theatre |
| Hosted by | Jodie Prenger and Tom Read Wilson |
| Most awards | & Juliet (6) |
| Most nominations | & Juliet (13) |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | BBC Radio 2 |
The WhatsOnStage Awards, founded in 2001 as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are a fan-driven set of awards organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com, based on a popular vote recognising performers and productions of English theatre, with an emphasis on London's West End theatre.
The 2020 WhatsOnStage Awards, the 20th, took place on Sunday, 1 March 2020 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. It was hosted by theatre star Jodie Prenger and Tom Read Wilson and featured performances from all five nominees for Best New Musical, as well as the cast of The Color Purple.[1]
For the first time in the history of the awards show, the ceremony was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 with hosts Elaine Paige and Ken Bruce providing backstage commentary and exclusive interviews with the winners, nominees and special guests. Additionally, a new category was introduced that was voted for by Radio 2 listeners which replaced the previous Best West End Show category. The Audience Award for Best Musical, was open to any musical has run for longer than one year in the West End.[2]
Max Martin's jukebox musical & Juliet at the received a record-breaking thirteen nominations at the ceremony and was the night's biggest winner, receiving six awards. For plays, the revival of Noël Coward's Present Laughter received the most nominations with eight, winning two. Musical Come from Away was also notable for winning all five of the awards it was nominated for.[3]
Productions
The following productions received nominations at the 2020 WhatsOnStage Awards:
- & Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre
- 9 to 5 – Savoy Theatre
- Appropriate – Donmar Warehouse
- Betrayal – Harold Pinter Theatre
- The Book of Mormon – Prince of Wales Theatre
- The Color Purple – Curve
- Come from Away – Phoenix Theatre
- Dear Evan Hansen – Noël Coward Theatre
- Death of a Salesman – Young Vic/Piccadilly Theatre
- The Doctor – Almeida Theatre
- Everybody's Talking About Jamie – Apollo Theatre
- Evita – Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
- Falsettos – The Other Palace
- Fiver – Southwark Playhouse
- Grief Is the Thing with Feathers – Barbican Theatre
- Hamilton – Victoria Palace Theatre
- High Fidelity – Turbine Theatre
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – London Palladium
- Les Misérables – Sondheim Theatre
- Life of Pi – Sheffield Theatres
- The Light in the Piazza – Southbank Centre
- The Lion King – Lyceum Theatre
- Lungs – The Old Vic
- Mamma Mia! – Novello Theatre
- Mame – Hope Mill Theatre
- Matilda the Musical – Cambridge Theatre
- Mary Poppins – Prince Edward Theatre
- A Midsummer Night's Dream – Bridge Theatre
- My Beautiful Laundrette – Curve/Belgrade Theatre
- The Night of the Iguana – Noël Coward Theatre
- Peter Pan – Park Theatre
- The Phantom of the Opera – Her Majesty's Theatre
- Only Fools and Horses The Musical – Theatre Royal Haymarket
- Preludes – Southwark Playhouse
- Present Laughter – The Old Vic
- Romeo & Juliet – UK Tour
- Rosmersholm – Duke of York's Theatre
- School of Rock – Gillian Lynne Theatre
- Six – Lyric Theatre
- Small Island – National Theatre Live
- Thriller – Live – Lyric Theatre
- Tina – Aldwych Theatre
- A Very Expensive Poison – The Old Vic
- The View UpStairs – Soho Theatre
- The Son – Kiln Theatre/Duke of York's Theatre
- Waitress – Adelphi Theatre
- West Side Story – Royal Exchange
- Wicked – Apollo Victoria Theatre
Winners and nominees
The nominees for the 20th WhatsOnStage Awards were announced on 5 December 2019.[4]
Productions with multiple wins and nominations
Multiple wins
- 6 wins: & Juliet
- 5 wins: Come from Away
- 2 wins: Dear Evan Hansen, Falsettos, Present Laughter
Multiple nominations
- 13 nominations: & Juliet
- 8 nominations: Evita, Present Laughter
- 7 nominations: Mame, Waitress
- 5 nominations: Come from Away, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
- 4 nominations: Betrayal, Death of a Salesman, Lungs, The Doctor
- 3 nominations: Dear Evan Hansen, Mary Poppins, My Beautiful Laundrette, Rosmersholm, The Light in the Piazza
- 2 nominations: Appropriate, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Equus, Falsettos, Life of Pi, Only Fools and Horses The Musical, Small Island, The Son
References
- ^ "20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards: Everything you need to know". Whatsonstage.com.
- ^ "20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards Concert to be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 and feature new Audience Award for Best Musical". Whatsonstage.com.
- ^ "20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards winners include Andrew Scott, Claire Foy, Come From Away and Six". Whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards winners include Andrew Scott, Claire Foy, Come from Away and Six". Whatsonstage.com.