The nominations have been announced for the 2007 Laurence Olivier Awards, the most prestigious theatre awards in the UK. In a year dominated by musicals, Monty Python's Spamalot is the most nominated show with a total of seven nominations across seven categories. Sunday In The Park With George has six nominations. In non-musical work, A Moon For The Misbegotten, Rock 'N' Roll, The Crucible, Donkeys' Years and Frost/Nixon are among the leading contenders.
The leading players from Monty Python's Spamalot (Tim Curry and Hannah Waddingham), The Gershwins' Porgy And Bess (Clarke Peters and Nicola Hughes), Evita (Philip Quast and Elena Roger) and Sunday In The Park With George (Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell), go head-to-head in the Best Actor/Actress In A Musical categories. The only interloper from outside this quartet of shows is Caroline, Or Change's Tonya Pinkins, who is also included in the Best Actress In A Musical category.
The Best Performance In A Supporting Role In A Musical is a more varied affair. Spamalot is still represented through Tom Goodman-Hill, but also included are Anna Francolini (Caroline, Or Change), Sheila Hancock (Cabaret) and Summer Strallen (The Boy Friend).
The hotly contested Best New Musical award sees Spamalot again up against Porgy And Bess, which qualifies as a new musical and not a revival as its earlier incarnations were operas. The category also includes Caroline, Or Change and rude puppet romp Avenue Q. Evita and Sunday In The Park With George face off against Cabaret and The Sound Of Music for Outstanding Musical Production.
In a year where musicals have made the headlines, some of the best new plays of recent years have also been making waves. The Best New Play category includes the high profile Frost/Nixon and Rock 'N' Roll, along with The Seafarer and Blackbird.
Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon has two nominations for Best Actor, with both leads Michael Sheen and Frank Langella getting the nod. Rock 'N' Roll's Rufus Sewell, who has already won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for this production, is also nominated along with David Haig (Donkeys' Years) and Iain Glen (The Crucible).
The Best Actress category features Kathleen Turner, who is aiming to add a Laurence Olivier Award to the Evening Standard Theatre Award she has already won for Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, last year's winner Eve Best (A Moon For The Misbegotten), who is aiming to be the first woman to win back-to-back in this category, Sinead Cusack (Rock 'N' Roll) and Tamsin Greig (Much Ado About Nothing).
Samantha Bond (Donkeys' Years), Deborah Findlay (The Cut), Mark Hadfield (Thérèse Raquin), Colm Meaney (A Moon For The Misbegotten) and Jim Norton (The Seafarer) are all nominated for the Best Performance In A Supporting Role award.
Best New Comedy will be decided between The 39 Steps, Don Juan In Soho and Love Song, while Best Revival sees The Crucible against Donkeys' Years, A Moon For The Misbegotten and Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?. The Best Director category includes Sam Buntrock (Sunday In The Park With George), Dominic Cooke (The Crucible) and Joe Mantello (Wicked).
Spamalot, Wicked and Sunday In The Park With George dominate the design awards, while English National Opera collects five of the eight nominations in the opera categories and the Royal Ballet collects six of the eight nominations in the ballet dance categories. The Outstanding Achievement In An Affiliate Theatre nominations include the productions Love And Money (Young Vic) and Pied Piper (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Roy Dotrice's performance in The Best Of Friends (Hampstead) and the Theatre Royal Stratford East entire season.
The Laurence Olivier Awards, the highlight of the London theatre year, will be announced during a star-studded ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel on 18 February. Entrance is by invitation only, but two tickets can be won simply by registering or re-registering with this website. For more information, please click here. If you don’t win tickets to the ceremony, you can follow all the action, the gossip, the speeches and the frocks on this very website. We will be running an interactive commentary on the night, to make everyone a part of this celebration of West End theatre.
For a full list of 2007 Laurence Olivier Award nominees, please see below:
Best Actress
Eve Best for A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN at The Old Vic
Sinead Cusack for ROCK ‘N’ ROLL at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and the Duke of York's
Tamsin Greig for MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at the Novello
Kathleen Turner for WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? at the Apollo
Best Actor
Iain Glen for THE CRUCIBLE at the Gielgud
David Haig for DONKEYS' YEARS at the Comedy
Frank Langella for FROST/NIXON at the Donmar Warehouse and the Gielgud
Rufus Sewell for ROCK 'N' ROLL at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and the Duke of York's
Michael Sheen for FROST/NIXON at the Donmar Warehouse and the Gielgud
Best Performance In A Supporting Role
Samantha Bond for DONKEYS' YEARS at the Comedy
Deborah Findlay for THE CUT at the Donmar Warehouse
Mark Hadfield for THÉRÈSE RAQUIN at the Lyttelton
Colm Meaney for A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN at The Old Vic
Jim Norton for THE SEAFARER at the Cottesloe
Best New Play
BLACKBIRD by David Harrower at the Albery
FROST/NIXON by Peter Morgan at the Donmar Warehouse and the Gielgud
ROCK 'N' ROLL by Tom Stoppard at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and at the Duke of York's
THE SEAFARER by Conor McPherson at the Cottesloe
Best New Comedy
John Buchan's THE 39 STEPS adapted by Patrick Barlow from an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon at the Criterion
DON JUAN IN SOHO by Patrick Marber after Molière at the Donmar Warehouse
LOVE SONG by John Kolvenbach at the New Ambassadors
Best Revival
THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller at the Gielgud
DONKEYS’ YEARS by Michael Frayn at the Comedy
A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN by Eugene O'Neill at The Old Vic
WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? by Edward Albee at the Apollo
Best New Musical
AVENUE Q music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty, based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx at the Noël Coward
CAROLINE, OR CHANGE book and lyrics by Tony Kushner, music by Jeanine Tesori at the Lyttelton
MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT a new musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail, from the original screenplay by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin. Book and lyrics by Eric Idle, music by John Du Prez & Eric Idle at the Palace
The Gershwins' PORGY AND BESS a new musical production by George Gershwin, Dubose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin at the Savoy
Outstanding Musical Production
CABARET book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, based on the play by John van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood at the Lyric
EVITA lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Adelphi
THE SOUND OF MUSIC music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, suggested by the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp at the London Palladium
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine at Wyndham's
Best Actress In A Musical
Nicola Hughes for The Gershwins' PORGY AND BESS at the Savoy
Tonya Pinkins for CAROLINE, OR CHANGE at the Lyttelton
Elena Roger for EVITA at the Adelphi
Jenna Russell for SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE at Wyndham's
Hannah Waddingham for MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT at the Palace
Best Actor In A Musical
Tim Curry for MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT at the Palace
Daniel Evans for SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE at Wyndham's
Clarke Peters for The Gershwins' PORGY AND BESS at the Savoy
Philip Quast for EVITA at the Adelphi
Best Performance In A Supporting Role In A Musical
Anna Francolini for CAROLINE, OR CHANGE at the Lyttelton
Tom Goodman-Hill for MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT at the Palace
Sheila Hancock for CABARET at the Lyric
Summer Strallen for THE BOY FRIEND at the Open Air
Best Director
Sam Buntrock for SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE at Wyndham's
Dominic Cooke for THE CRUCIBLE at the Gielgud
Joe Mantello for WICKED at the Apollo Victoria
Best Theatre Choreographer
Rob Ashford for EVITA at the Adelphi
Javier De Frutos for CABARET at the Lyric
Bill Deamer for THE BOY FRIEND at the Open Air
Stephen Mear for SINATRA at the London Palladium
Best Lighting Design
THE CRUCIBLE designed by Jean Kalman at the Gielgud
MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT designed by Hugh Vanstone at the Palace
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE designed by Natasha Chivers and Mike Robertson at Wyndham's
THÉRÈSE RAQUIN designed by Neil Austin at the Lyttelton
WICKED designed by Kenneth Posner at the Apollo Victoria
Best Set Design
MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT designed by Tim Hatley at the Palace
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE designed by David Farley and Timothy Bird at Wyndham's
WICKED designed by Eugene Lee at the Apollo Victoria
Best Costume Design
MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT designed by Tim Hatley at the Palace
THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE designed by Alison Chitty at the Lyttelton
WICKED designed by Susan Hilferty at the Apollo Victoria
Best Sound Design
THE 39 STEPS designed by Mic Pool at the Criterion
ROCK 'N' ROLL designed by Ian Dickinson at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and Duke of York's
WAVES designed by Gareth Fry at the Cottesloe
Outstanding Achievement In An Affiliate Theatre
PIED PIPER at Theatre Royal, Stratford East
Theatre Royal, Stratford East for a powerful season of provocative work, reaching new audiences
LOVE AND MONEY at the Maria, Young Vic
Roy Dotrice for his performance in THE BEST OF FRIENDS at the Hampstead
Best New Opera Production
English National Opera's JENUFA at the London Coliseum
English National Opera's THE MAKROPULOS CASE at the London Coliseum
English National Opera's ORFEO at the London Coliseum
Opera North's PETER GRIMES at Sadler's Wells
Outstanding Achievement In Opera
John Mark Ainsley for his performance in English National Opera's ORFEO at the London Coliseum
Joyce DiDonato for her performance in Les Arts Florissant's HERCULES at the Barbican
Amanda Roocroft for her performance in English National Opera's JENUFA at the London Coliseum
John Tomlinson for his performance in The Royal Opera's GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG at the Royal Opera House
Best New Dance Production
The Royal Ballet's THE SLEEPING BEAUTY at The Royal Opera House
Kabuki FUJI MUSUME & KASANE at Sadler's Wells
The Royal Ballet's DGV at the Royal Opera House
The Royal Ballet's CHROMA at the Royal Opera House
Outstanding Achievement In Dance
Steven McRae for his performances in The Royal Ballet's HOMAGE TO THE QUEEN and CHROMA at The Royal Opera House
Carlos Acosta for his programme of work and his performances at Sadler's Wells
Marianela Nuñez for her performances in The Royal Ballet's DGV and THE SLEEPING BEAUTY at the Royal Opera House and in Carlos Acosta's programme at Sadler's Wells
Wayne McGregor for his choreography of The Royal Ballet's CHROMA at The Royal Opera House
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