I am delighted to announce the nominees for the third annual West End Wilma Awards, which will be held, once again, in association with the Hippodrome Casino on Friday 4th November 2016 at the Hippodrome Casino at 2pm.
This years nominees are:
Best West End Musical
(Sponsored by TodayTix)
Guys and Dolls (Phoenix Theatre)
Kinky Boots (Adelphi Theatre)
Funny Girl (Savoy Theatre)
Best West End Play
(Sponsored by Curtain Call)
People, Places and Things (Wyndham’s Theatre)
Nell Gwynn (Apollo Theatre)
Bad Jews (Theatre Royal Haymarket)
Best Comedy
Four Femmes On The Thames
Nina Conti
Jest End
Most Underrated West End Show
(Sponsored by Free@Last TV Ltd)
Beyond The Fence (Arts Theatre)
McQueen (St James Theatre/Theatre Royal Haymarket)
Mrs Henderson Presents (Noel Coward)
Best Off-West End Production
The Buskers Opera (Park Theatre)
Grey Gardens (Southwark Playhouse)
Titanic (Charing Cross Theatre)
Best Touring Production
Annie
Chicago
Rocky Horror Show
Rising Star Award
(Sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe)
CJ Johnson
Although CJ is already an established theatre performer, Beyond The Fence was the first time I had heard her name or seen her perform. Therefore, I feel that she deserves to be a more regular feature on the West End scene and there a Rising Star.
Victoria Serra
Victoria has been going from strength to strength, appearing in the International Tour of Mamma Mia! plus Grand Hotel (Southwark Playhouse), Spring Awakening (UK Tour), Parade (Southwark Playhouse), Love Story (Union Theatre) and most recently Titanic (Southwark Playhouse/Toronto/Charing Cross Theatre). She is going from strength to strength and a true rising star.
Sam Wearing
Sam is soon to start his Scholarship to Laine Theatre Arts which Betty Laine personally gave to him because of his relentless passion and desire to live out his dreams regardless of the barriers he has faced. Sam already has a fan based on YouTube and has well over half a million views of his musical theatre cover songs.
Best Cabaret/Solo Performance
(Sponsored by Auburn Jam Music)
Bonnie Langford (Hippodrome Casino)
Katie Brennan (St James Theatre)
Kerry Ellis (Hippodrome Casino)
Best Actor In A West End Show
(Sponsored by London Weekly News)
Michael Xavier (Sunset Boulevard)
Matt Henry (Kinky Boots)
Jason Pennycooke (Guys and Dolls)
Best Actress In A West End Show
(Sponsored by Planet Hollywood)
Mazz Murray (Mamma Mia)
Denise Gough (People, Places and Things)
Jenna Russell (Doctor Faustus)
Best Actor/Actress In An Off-West End Show
George Rae (Grand Hotel)
Claire Machin (Titanic)
Lauren Samuels (The Buskers Opera)
Best Understudy
(Sponsored by Free@Last TV Ltd)
Kieran Brown (The Phantom of the Opera)
Natasha J Barnes (Funny Girl)
Ria Jones (Sunset Boulevard)
Public voting opens online on 2 September 2016 at westendwilma.com
The 2016 awards are set to be the biggest and best yet. I am delighted to welcome back host and dear friend of mine, Tim McArthur. Guests confirmed to perform at the ceremony so far include* Natasha J Barnes (Best Understudy nominee), Four Femmes On The Thames (Best Comedy nominee) and Wilma Awards regular performer Kieran Brown (Best Understudy nominee) who will once again give a rewritten comedy performance of a well known musical theatre song.
*All performers are subject to availability
MD: Alexander Bermange
Photography: Ollie Boito Photography
TICKETS ON SALE
A limited number of tickets are now on sale for this years Wilma Awards priced at £20 each. To book click here
ABOUT THE WEST END WILMA AWARDS
The Wilma Awards launched in 2014 with a ceremony at Freedom Bar in Soho. Guests included Bonnie Langford, Harriet Thorpe, David Hunter, Kate Monster (Avenue Q) and West End Producer. The 2015 awards moved to the much larger Hippodrome Casino Matcham Room where guests included Beverley Knight, Eva Noblezada, Jon Jon Briones (Miss Saigon), Ashleigh Gray and Oliver Saville (Wicked) and many many more. Check out all the action from the 2015 Wilma Awards here
