Rachel Zegler and Jonathan Bailey were the big acting winners at the 2026 WhatsOnStage Awards on Sunday.
The Snow White star was crowned best performer in a musical for her portrayal of Argentina's former First Lady Eva Perón in the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's famed production Evita at the London Palladium last year.
She also won another award at the London theatre awards - best concert event - for the two sold-out solo shows she performed at the Palladium in October, just after concluding her run in Evita.
Zegler, who was unable to attend as she's shooting a movie, said in a video acceptance speech, "I'm so sad that I can't be there with you today to celebrate. I am so unbelievably humbled to be accepting this award. I'm literally in New York, just absolutely buzzing with excitement, so I just want to say a firm thank you to everybody who voted."
The West Side Story actress called the role "the honour of (her) life" and gave a shout-out to several key people, including director Jamie Lloyd and her alternate Bella Brown.
"That entire cast carried me through what was the most difficult and amazing and rewarding 12 weeks of my life so getting to accept this award is really for all of them," she added.
Evita also won several technical categories as well as Best Musical Revival.
The WhatsOnStage Awards, which are voted for by the public, come just days after Zegler was nominated for her first Olivier Award - Best Actress in a Musical - for her performance.
Elsewhere, Wicked star Bailey won best performer in a play for Richard II and Stephen Fry and Amber Davies won supporting performer awards for The Importance of Being Earnest and The Great Gatsby, respectively.
Paddington The Musical was the night's biggest winner, taking home a triumphant nine prizes, the most ever for a new musical. The new production now ties for the joint record previously set by Miss Saigon and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, according to BBC News.
