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2008 Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced

2008 Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced

While its trans-Atlantic journey seemed to take forever, Hairspray was clearly worth the wait as London's West End incarnation of the Broadway hit earned a record 11 Laurence Olivier Award nominations.

Named for the iconic actor who was arguably the greatest thespian of the 20th Century bar none, the Oliviers rank as the most prestigious award bestowed on London's theatre community, as well as for dance and opera. The nominations for the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards were announced today and winners will be announced at a March 9 "glamorous ceremony" at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

While the big story is Hairspray, the other noteworthy news is just how well the Bard has fared on the boards of London over the past year. With revivals of his Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Cymbeline together earning a whopping 11 nominations, William Shakespeare still rules supreme over British theatre.

The other news is that unlike last year, an Olivier Award will be provided in the category of "Best Newcomer In A Play," and what had been billed last year as the "Outstanding Musical Production" becomes "Best Revival of a Musical" this year.

Nominees include:

Best Actress
Anne-Marie Duff, Saint Joan
Kelly Reilly, Othello
Kristin Scott Thomas, The Seagull
Fiona Shaw, Happy Days
Penelope Wilton, John Gabriel Borkman

Best Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Othello
Ian McKellen, King Lear
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing
John Simm, Elling
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth

Best Performance In A Supporting Role
Michelle Fairley, Othello
Pam Ferris, The Entertainer
Conleth Hill, The Philistines
Rory Kinnear, The Man Of Ode

Best Newcomer In A Play*
David Dawson, The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Tom Hiddleston, Cymbeline
Tom Hiddleston, Othello
Stephen Wight, Dealer's Choice

Best New Play
Simon McBurney, A Disappearing Number
Nicholas Wright, The Reporter
DBC Pierre (Adaptation by Tanya Ronder), Vernon God Little
Michael Morpurgo (Adaptation by Nick Stafford), War Horse

Best New Comedy
Michael Frayn, Absurdia: The Crimson Hotel
Axel Hellstenius' stage adaptation in collaboration with Peter Næss, translated by Nicholas Norris, adapted by Simon Bent (based on a novel by Ingvar Ambjørnsen), Elling
Ayub Khan-Din (based on "All In Good Time" by Bill Naughton), Rafta Rafta
Steve Thompson, Whipping It Up

Best Revival
Marc Camoletti, translated by Beverley Cross, Boeing-Boeing
Patrick Marber, Dealer's Choice
William Shakespeare, Macbeth
Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan
Anton Chekhov, in a version by Christopher Hampton, The Seagull

Best New Musical
Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, The Drowsy Chaperone
Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Hairspray
Music by AR Rahman, Värttinä with Christopher Nightingale, book and lyrics by Shauna McKenna and Matthew Warchus, The Lord Of The Rings
Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, book by Alfred Uhry, co-conceived by Harold Prince, Parade

Best Musical Revival
Music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein, Fiddler On THe Roof
Music by Alan Menken, book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, Little Shop Of Horrors
Music and words by Mandisi Dyantyis, Mbali Kgosidintsi, Pauline Malefane and Nolufefe Mtshabe, adapted from Mozart by Mark Dornford-May, The Magic Flute - Impempe Yomlingo

Best Actress In A Musical
Leanne Jones, Hairspray
Lara Pulver, Parade
Sheridan Smith, Little Shop Of Horrors
Summer Strallen, The Drowsy Chaperone

Best Actor In A Musical
Michael Ball, Hairspray
Bertie Carvel, Parade
Henry Goodman, Fiddler On The Roof
Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone

Best Performance In A Supporting Role In A Musical
Tracie Bennett, Hairspray
Elinor Collett, Hairspray
Shaun Escoffery, Parade
Alistair McGowan, Little Shop Of Horrors

Best Director
Rob Ashford, Parade
Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, War Horse
Rupert Goold, MacBeth
Jack O’Brien, Hairspray

Best Theatre Choreographer
Rob Ashford, Parade
Jerry Mitchell, Hairspray
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
Toby Sedgwick, War Horse

Best Lighting Design
Kenneth Posner, Hairspray
Paul Pyant, The Lord Of The Rings
Howard Harrison, Macbeth
Paule Constable, War Horse

Best Set Design
David Rockwell, Hairspray
Rob Howell, The Lord Of The Rings
Anthony Ward and Lorna Heavey, MacBeth
Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company, War Horse

Best Costume Design
Gregg Barnes, The Drowsy Chaperone
William Ivey Long, Hairspray
Rob Howell, The Lord Of The Rings
Vicki Mortimer, The Man Of Mode

Best Sound Design
Steve C. Kennedy, Hairspray
Simon Baker, The Lord Of The Rings
Terry Jardine and Nick Lidster for Autograph, Parade
Paul Arditti with music by Jocelyn Pook, Saint Joan
Christopher Shutt with music by Adrian Sutton and John Tams, War Horse

Outstanding Achievement In An Affiliate Theatre
The Brothers Size at the Maria, Young Vic
Cinderella at Theatre Royal, Stratford East
Gone Too Far at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
The cast of That Face at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court

Best New Opera Production
English National Opera’s Agrippina at the London Coliseum
The Royal Opera’s La Fille Du Regiment at the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera’s Pelleas Et Melisande at the Royal Opera House
English National Opera’s Turn Of The Screw at the London Coliseum

Outstanding Achievement In Opera
Natalie Dessay (performance), La Fille Du Regiment
Gerald Finley (performance), Pelleas Et Melisande
Angelika Kirchschlager (performance), Pelleas Et Melisande
David McVicar (direction), Turn Of The Screw and Agrippina

Best New Dance Production
Fabulous Beast Dance’s The Bull at the Barbican
The Royal Ballet’s Jewels at the Royal Opera House
Mark Morris Dance Group’s Mozart Dances at the Barbican
Northern Ballet Theatre’s The Three Musketeers at Sadler’s Wells

Outstanding Achievement In Dance
Savion Glover (performance), Live In London
Jonathan Goddard (performances) with the Richard Alston Dance Company
The Royal Ballet Company (performances), Jewels
Wendy Whelan (performance), The Christopher Wheeldon Company’s Fool's Paradise

Stay tuned one month from now for the full list of winners.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Related Stories:
Sunday At The Grosvenor House With Laurence (February 19, 2007)
Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced (January 18, 2007)

Labels: Hairspray, Laurence Olivier, London, Olivier Award Nominations, Olivier Awards, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Wednesday, February 06, 2008