Miss Saigon dominates WhatsOnStage awards

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/feb/15/miss-saigon-dominates-whatsonstage-awards

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The revival of the musical Miss Saigon triumphed at the WhatsOnStage awards on Sunday night.

The tragic story of a doomed romance between an American Marine and an orphaned Saigon prostitute, set against the bloody backdrop of the Vietnam war, was revived in 2014, a quarter of a century after its premiere.

It dominated the ceremony, winning a record-breaking nine awards including best West End show, best musical revival, best direction and best choreography.

The production’s cast, who were hand selected by renowned producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh and hail from 18 different countries including America, the Philippines and South Korea, were also the most celebrated actors of the evening. Eva Noblezada, an 18-year-old who was plucked by Macintosh straight out of high school in North Carolina to play the lead role of Kim, was awarded best actress in a musical, while Filipino singer Rochelle Ann Go was named best supporting actress in a musical.

Jon Jon Briones, a Manila-born actor who was part of the original West End ensemble of Miss Saigon in 1989 and returned to play the lead role of the engineer in the revival, was given the award for best actor in a musical. His Korean co-star Kwang-Ho Hong was named best supporting actor for his portrayal of Kim’s fiancé Thuy on his West End debut.

The original 1989 production of Miss Saigon, written by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil and produced by Mackintosh, ran for a decade in the West End with more than 4,000 performances. The show, based on Puccini’s tragic opera Madame Butterfly, was directed by the National Theatre’s outgoing artistic director Nicholas Hytner. It won several Laurence Olivier awards and picked up Tony Awards after its transfer to Broadway.

Mackintosh, who has produced more musicals than anyone else in history over his 50-year career, said he had chosen to revive the show after a quarter of a century following pressure from fans.

“This is the show of mine that most people were asking to be revived, but I’ve just been waiting for the right theatre,” said Mackintosh. “In the past 10 to 15 years, we’ve seen this boom in musical theatre becoming far more mainstream than when I started out, and Miss Saigon is one of the great musicals this newer audience hadn’t seen.

“I’m particularly thrilled that we’ve been able to bring together a cast from 18 different countries around the world, with four leading Asian actors. As we saw the first time, this was a show that, down the track, was always going to attract and give great opportunities to Asian actors and tonight is a great tribute to that.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a vast change in the number of Asian and black actors who are representing the multicultural nature of our business, and I think a play like Miss Saigon is vital because it plays to the strengths of every side of the acting spectrum.”

Mackintosh said Miss Saigon’s exploration of cross-cultural relationships and misunderstandings remained more pertinent than ever.

Bringing back Miss Saigon proved a worthwhile risk for Mackintosh as the £4.5m revival set a new record on the day tickets went on sale, recording more than £4.4m of revenue in just 24 hours. The updated production also garnered a positive response from critics, with the Guardian’s Michael Billington writing: “I came away feeling this is a successful variation on an old tale and put across with exemplary vigour.”

The show is also proving very popular with Asian audiences visiting the UK, with data collected by the theatre box office and other ticket agencies showing that 21% of the audience has been from Asian countries, not including the Asian audience based in the UK.

“I always knew that this show would speak to this audience and it’s marvellous it has drawn in such a diverse audience,” said Mackintosh.

This was the 15th year of the WhatsOnStage ceremony, the only awards voted for entirely by theatre-going audiences. Other big winners of the night included Billie Piper, who won best actress in a play for Great Britain, and David Tennant, who won best actor in a play for his portrayal of Richard II in the Royal Shakespeare company production.

The Donmar Warehouse’s staging of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus was recognised with three awards, including best play revival and the best supporting actor prize for Sherlock actor and creator Mark Gatiss.

Best new play went to Shakespeare in Love, based on the 1998 Oscar-winning film and adapted for the stage by Lee Hall.

Full list of winners

Best actor in a play: David Tennant, Richard II

Best actress in a play: Billie Piper, Great Britain

Best actor in a musical: Jon Jon Briones, Miss Saigon

Best actress in a musical: Eva Noblezada, Miss Saigon

Best supporting actor in a musical: Kwang-Ho Hong, Miss Saigon

Best supporting actress in a musical: Rachelle Ann Go, Miss Saigon

Best musical revival: Miss Saigon

Best direction: Laurence Connor, Miss Saigon

Best choreography: Bob Avian & Geoffrey Garratt, Miss Saigon

Best set design: Totie Driver & Matt Kinley, Miss Saigon

Best supporting actor in a play: Mark Gatiss, Coriolanus

Best play revival: Coriolanus

Best lighting design: Mark Henderson, Coriolanus

Best supporting actress in a play: Vanessa Kirby, A Streetcar Named Desire

Best new play: Shakespeare in Love

Best new musical: Memphis the Musical

Best off-West End production: Sweeney Todd, Twickenham Theatre

Best regional production: Oliver!, Sheffield Crucible

Best takeover in a role: Kerry Ellis, Wicked

Best West End Show: Miss Saigon