The Fans Have Spoken! 2009 Broadway.com Audience Award Winners Announced
Tonys schmonies! We're dying to know who won this year's Broadway.com Audience Awards, the only major theater prize chosen by regular theatergoers. Well, the wait is over—after two weeks of online voting, the winners of the 10th Annual Audience Awards are announced, with theatergoers opting to spread the love with this year's list of honorees.
Billy Elliot took the top honor of Favorite New Broadway musical, but the other musical categories were split between Next to Normal winning two, for stars Alice Ripley and Aaron Tveit, Shrek the Musical winning Favorite Diva Performance for Sutton Foster, [title of show] Favorite Ensemble for its four-member cast, West Side Story Favorite Featured Actress for Karen Olivo and 9 to 5, which won songwriter Dolly Parton the unique prize of Favorite New Broadway Song, for the show's Act Two power-belt anthem "Get Out and Stay Out."
Gavin Creel, who won a Broadway.com Audience Award in 2002 with Foster for Favorite Onstage Pair in Thoroughly Modern Millie, triumphed in two categories this year for his performance as Claude in Hair also the winner for Favorite Musical Revival. He again won in the twosome category with co-star Will Swenson, and also is taking home the trophy for Favorite Leading Actor.
Another double winner is Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe, winning Favorite Actor and Breakthrough performance for his acclaimed turn in last fall's Equus revival, which was named the audience's Favorite Broadway Play Revival. Equus star Lorenzo Pisoni, who played Radcliffe's number one horse, won Favorite Solo Performance for his off-Broadway hit Humor Abuse.
Other prizes for plays include a win for the hit comedy God of Carnage as Favorite New Broadway Play with fellow nominee Reasons to be Pretty winning as Favorite Off-Broadway Play, Jane Fonda in the leading actress category for 33 Variations and Patrick Wilson All My Sons and Angela Lansbury Blithe Spirit winning in the featured categories.
To learn more about the 10-year history of the Broadway.com Audience Awards, click here.
A complete list of this year's Audience Award winners follows:
Favorite New Broadway Musical
Billy Elliot
Favorite New Broadway Play
God of Carnage
Favorite Broadway Musical Revival
Hair
Favorite Broadway Play Revival
Equus
Favorite New Off-Broadway Musical
Saved
Favorite New Off-Broadway Play
reasons to be pretty
Favorite Leading Actor in a Broadway Musical
Gavin Creel, Hair
Favorite Leading Actress in a Broadway Musical
Alice Ripley, Next to Normal
Favorite Leading Actor in a Broadway Play
Daniel Radcliffe, Equus
Favorite Leading Actress in a Broadway Play
Jane Fonda, 33 Variations
Favorite Featured Actor in a Broadway Musical
Aaron Tveit, Next to Normal
Favorite Featured Actress in a Broadway Musical
Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Favorite Featured Actor in a Broadway Play
Patrick Wilson, All My Sons
Favorite Featured Actress in a Broadway Play
Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit
Favorite Diva Performance
Sutton Foster, Shrek the Musical
Favorite Solo Performance
Lorenzo Pisoni, Humor Abuse
Favorite Onstage Pair
Gavin Creel & Will Swenson, Hair
Favorite Ensemble Cast
[title of show]
Favorite Breakthrough Performance Male
Daniel Radcliffe, Equus
Favorite Breakthrough Performance Female
Kerry Ellis, Wicked
Favorite Replacement Male
Hunter Parrish, Spring Awakening
Favorite Replacement Female
Laura Osnes, South Pacific
Favorite Long-Running Broadway Show
Wicked
Favorite Long-Running Off-Broadway Show
Altar Boyz
Favorite New Broadway Song
"Get Out and Stay Out," 9 to 5
Winners by Show Name:
Equus - 3
Hair - 3
Next to Normal - 2
Wicked - 2
33 Variations - 1
9 to 5 - 1
Altar Boyz - 1
All My Sons - 1
Billy Elliot - 1
Blithe Spirit - 1
God of Carnage - 1
Humor Abuse - 1
Reasons to be Pretty - 1
Saved - 1
Shrek the Musical - 1
South Pacific - 1
Spring Awakening - 1
[title of show] - 1
West Side Story - 1
