The nominees for the 2015 Olivier Awards, London’s version of the Tony Awards, were announced this morning.
Memphis leads the pack, becoming only the eighth show ever to receive nine Olivier nominations. Beautiful is not far behind with eight nominations. Memphis won the big three (Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score) Tonys in 2010, though that was by far the weakest theatre season in recent memory. Beautiful lost the Tony last June to A Gentlemen’s Guide, but scored a Best Actress statuette — a category it’s not even nominated in here.
In terms of plays, the revival of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge leads with seven nominations, and King Charles III with six. Wolf Hall, which will also vie for Tonys this year against a plethora of other British imports, received five nominations, including Best Play, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor. Remarkably, Angela Lansbury is up for her first ever Olivier Award –- surprising, given how many Tonys she’s collected. On the other side of the spectrum, Imelda Staunton is up for her eighth Olivier Award. The full list of nominees is below.
BEST NEW MUSICAL
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Here Lies Love
Memphis The Musical
Sunny Afternoon
BEST NEW PLAY
King Charles III
The Nether
Taken At Midnight
Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies
BEST REVIVAL
A View From The Bridge
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Crucible
My Night With Reg
Skylight
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
Cats
City Of Angels
The Gershwins’ Porgy And Bess
Miss Saigon
BEST NEW COMEDY
Handbagged
The Play That Goes Wrong
Shakespeare In Love
BEST ENTERTAINMENT AND FAMILY
Dance ‘Til Dawn
Hetty Feather
La Soirée
BEST ACTOR
Richard Armitage for The Crucible
James McAvoy for The Ruling Class
Tim Pigott-Smith for King Charles III
Mark Strong for A View From The Bridge
BEST ACTRESS
Gillian Anderson for A Streetcar Named Desire
Kristin Scott Thomas for Electra at Old Vic
Imelda Staunton for Good People
Penelope Wilton for Taken At Midnight
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
David Calder for The Nether
Richard Goulding for King Charles III
John Light for Taken At Midnight
Nathaniel Parker for Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Phoebe Fox for A View From The Bridge
The Girls playing Iris for The Nether
Angela Lansbury for Blithe Spirit
Lydia Wilson for King Charles III
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Jon Jon Briones for Miss Saigon
John Dagleish for Sunny Afternoon
Killian Donnelly for Memphis The Musical
Brandon Victor Dixon for The Scottsboro Boys
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Gemma Arterton for Made In Dagenham
Katie Brayben for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Tamsin Greig for Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown The Musical
Beverley Knight for Memphis The Musical
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Rolan Bell for Memphis The Musical
George Maguire for Sunny Afternoon
Ian McIntosh for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Jason Pennycooke for Memphis The Musical
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Samantha Bond for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical
Haydn Gwynne for Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown The Musical
Nicole Scherzinger for Cats
Lorna Want for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
BEST DIRECTOR
Rupert Goold for King Charles III
Jeremy Herrin for Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies
Josie Rourke for City Of Angels
Ivo Van Hove for A View From The Bridge
BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER
Jerry Mitchell for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical
Annie-B Parsons for Here Lies Love
Josh Prince for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Sergio Trujillo for Memphis The Musical
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Jon Clark for King Charles III
Paule Constable and David Plater for Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies
Howard Harrison for City Of Angels
Jan Versweyveld for A View From The Bridge
BEST SOUND DESIGN
Tom Gibbons for A View From The Bridge
Matt McKenzie for Sunny Afternoon
Gareth Owen for Memphis The Musical
Brian Ronan for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Rob Jones for City Of Angels
Christopher Oram for Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies
Paul Tazewell for Memphis The Musical
Alejo Vietti for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
BEST SET DESIGN
Bunny Christie for Made In Dagenham
Es Devlin for The Nether
Rob Jones for City Of Angels
Jan Versweyveld for A View From A Bridge
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE
Bull
Four Minutes Twelve Seconds
Juma Sharkah for her performance in Liberian Girl
Tanya Moodie for her performances in Intimate Apparel and The House That Will Not Stand
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC
The Orchestra for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim for Here Lies Love
David Bryan, Joe DiPietro, Tim Sutton and the Memphis Band for Memphis The Musical
Ray Davies for Sunny Afternoon
AUDIENCE AWARD
Billy Elliot The Musical
Jersey Boys
Matilda The Musical
Wicked
BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION
Benvenuto Cellini
Dialogues Des Carmélites
Die Frau Ohne Schatten
The Mastersingers Of Nuremberg
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA
Jonas Kaufmann for Andrea Chénier and Manon Lescaut
Richard Jones for his direction of The Girl Of The Golden West, The Mastersingers Of Nuremberg and Rodelinda
Royal Opera House and Early Opera Company for their offsite programme at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and Roundhouse
Welsh National Opera Chorus for Moses Und Aron
BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION
32 Rue Vandenbranden
Mats Ek’s Juliet And Romeo
Tabac Rouge
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE
Christopher Wheeldon for The Winter’s Tale
Crystal Pite for her choreography in The Associates – A Picture Of You Falling, The Tempest Replica and Polaris
Rocio Molina for Bosque Ardora
The Elders Project
What do you think of the Olivier nominees? Who are you rooting for to win on April 12?
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