Double nominations for new Maria

Fisher was unknown before winning the lead in The Sound of Music

Sound of Music star Connie Fisher, who made her West End stage debut after winning a BBC talent show, has been nominated for two theatre awards.

The 23-year-old will compete against stars from Wicked, Evita, and Sunday in the Park with George for best actress at the Theatregoers' Choice Awards.

The Welsh actress is also nominated for London newcomer of the year.

Fisher made her debut in the £4m Andrew Lloyd Webber show after winning TV's How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

The musical has also been tapped for six other awards, including theatre event of the year and best actor in a musical for Alexander Hanson.

People's choice

Evita has seven nominations, including best musical revival, followed by Cabaret with six, and Tom Stoppard's play Rock'n'Roll with five nominations.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible is also up for five awards, including best play revival and best director.

The Old Vic revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten has four nominations, including a best actor nod for Kevin Spacey who won the prize in 2005.

The nominations and winners are decided by the public and the winners will be announced in February 2007.