Elaine Paige has opened voting for the Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical as part of the 2015 Evening Standard Theatre awards. Listeners have until midnight on 25th October to cast their vote at bbc.co.uk/radio2.
The five shortlisted musicals are:
Assassins, Menier Chocolate Factory
Jamie Lloyd’s acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim’s 1990 musical, the most politically contentious of his pioneering output, about a group of American presidential assassins garnered five star reviews earlier in the year.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Aldwych
Katie Brayben is the eponymous Carole King in the celebrated show which tells the story of the chart topping music legend as she journeys from school girl to superstar packed with King’s toe-tapping hits and lyrical ballads.
Bend it Like Beckham, Phoenix
Based on the 2002 film, Bend It Like Beckham is the latest comedy-musical to smash the West End with its blend of Bhangra and the British obsession: football.
Gypsy, Savoy Theatre
The second Stephen Sondheim musical to make the cut, Jonathan Kent’s new production starring Imelda Staunton has taken the West End by storm.
Kinky Boots, Adelphi
Based on a true story, Broadway’s high-heeled hit has arrived and its infectious celebration of friendship has been winning the hearts of audiences young and old alike.
Elaine Paige said: “This is an incredible shortlist with so many of my favourite hit London shows from the past 12 months. It’s going to be such a difficult task for the listeners of BBC Radio 2 to pick a favourite!”
The shortlist has been compiled by the Evening Standard Theatre Awards Advisory Judging Panel which is made up of Sarah Sands, London Evening Standard Editor, Baz Bamigboye, Daily Mail columnist, Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard Chief Theatre Critic, Mark Lawson, Guardian culture writer and broadcaster, Libby Purves, Times columnist and broadcaster, Matt Wolf, London Theatre Critic of the International New York Times/Artsdesk.com
and Lewis Carnie, BBC Radio 2 Head of Programmes.
Lewis Carnie said: “It’s been a privilege to help compile this shortlist. Each one of them is a winner in the West End, so it will be interesting to see which one is finally crowned by the Radio 2 audience as Best Musical 2015.”
The winner of the award will be announced live from the awards ceremony on Sunday 22 November 2015, as part of Claire Teal’s Sunday night programme between 9-11pm. Radio 2 will then broadcast highlights of the awards with backstage interviews, performances and reporting from the red carpet in a special Radio 2 Arts Show, presented by Anneka Rice on Friday 27 November at 10pm.
In its 61st year, the annual awards celebrate outstanding achievement and performance in London theatre.
This follows Radio 2’s partnership with the Tony Awards, which took place in June this year, and saw Radio 2 broadcast highlights from New York’s Radio City Music Hall. As part of the special show, Elaine Paige caught up with Broadway’s busiest star, the inimitable Kristin Chenoweth, who co-hosted the ceremony, as well as Tony Award-nominated British actress Dame Helen Mirren.
The BBC Radio 2 ‘Elaine Paige on Sunday’ show has a weekly audience of 2.05m, with BBC Radio 2 having a weekly audience of 15.01m.
Other recent arts programming on Radio 2 includes Hooray For Bollywood with Shilpa Shetty, a four-part guide to the music and the glamour of the Indian film industry, and When Elvis Met The Beatles, a drama inspired by the secret meeting that took place at Elvis’s Bel-Air mansion is August 1965.
