The Olivier Awards nominations were announced on Thursday, with two musicals dominating the field. Paddington: The Musical and Into the Woods each received 11 nominations, making them the frontrunners for London's biggest theatre awards.
Paddington, which opened to five-star reviews at the Savoy Theatre, is nominated for best new musical, best director (Luke Sheppard) and best theatre choreographer (Ellen Kane). The duo behind the bear – James Hameed (voice and puppeteer) and Arti Shah (costume) – are jointly nominated for best actor in a musical. Co-stars Tom Edden, Amy Booth-Steel and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt also earned nominations for supporting roles, alongside nods for costumes, puppetry, set, video, sound and orchestrations.
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, staged at the Bridge Theatre, is up for best musical revival and best director (Jordan Fein). Jamie Parker and Katie Brayben are nominated for best actor and actress in a musical respectively, while Jo Foster, Oliver Savile and Kate Fleetwood are recognised in supporting categories. Technical categories including sound, lighting, video, set and costume designs also received nominations.
Other musical nominees include Here We Are (Sondheim's final work) competing for best new musical alongside Shucked and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Evita, American Psycho and The Producers vie for best musical revival. Rachel Zegler, Jane Krakowski and Jenna Russell are among nominees for best actress in a musical. For best actor in a musical, Marc Antolin, Andy Nyman and Diego Andres Rodriguez are shortlisted.
In the play categories, All My Sons, Kenrex and Stereophonic lead with six nominations each. Tom Hiddleston (Much Ado About Nothing) competes for best actor against Bryan Cranston (All My Sons), Sean Hayes (Good Night, Oscar), Jack Holden (Kenrex) and David Shields (Punch). The best actress category features Cate Blanchett (The Seagull), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (All My Sons), Rosamund Pike (Inter Alia), Rosie Sheehy (Guess How Much I Love You?) and Julia McDermott (Weather Girl).
The Olivier Awards ceremony will take place next month in London.
