The British theater Web site Whatsonstage.com–online companion to London’s What’s On Stage magazine–has posted the ballot for its Theatregoers’ Choice Awards, and shows with Chicago ties figure prominently. The nominations cover a wide range of categories, including West End, fringe, and regional productions. A major presence among this year’s nominees is Steppenwolf’s August: Osage County, which is up for best new play, best ensemble performance, and best actress (Deanna Dunagan, reprising the role she created here and then played on Broadway).
Also of local interest, the London version of David Mamet’s Hollywood satire Speed-the-Plow (not the one Jeremy Piven quit) is nominated for best revival of a play, and its male leads, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum, are are pitted against each other for best actor in a play.
“True to their name, the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Theatre Awards are the only major theatre awards in which you, the audience, are the judges across all 24 awards categories,” the contest administrators declare. Online voting continues till the end of January. Last year’s big winners included Ian McKellen as King Lear and Maggie Smith in Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque, as well as the heavily hyped staging of Equus, which was named best revival of a play. Equus‘s star, Daniel Radcliffe, was dubbed “newcomer of the year,” and nude publicity shots of him were picked as “AKA Theatre Event of the Year.”