2012 Olivier Award Nominations

BEST NEW PLAY

• Collaborators @ the Cottesloe
• Jumpy @ the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
• The Ladykiller @ the Gielgud
• One Man, Two Guvnors @ the Lyttelton

I vote One Man, Two Guvnors because I like the title & LOVE the Lyttelton.

BEST REVIVAL

• Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse
• Flare Path at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket
• Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham’s
• Noises Off at the Old Vic

I like the Old Vic, but Noises Off is tired. Much Ado is equally tired, but this fresh production was set in 1980s Gibraltar & looked like a production of a classic that was infused with contemporary influence, style, & perspective. Much Ado gets my vote.

BEST ENTERTAINMENT AND FAMILY

• Derren Brown - Svengali at the Shaftesbury
• Midnight Tango at the Aldwych
• Potted Panto at the Garrick
• The Tiger Who Came to Tea at the Vaudeville

I love that this category exists in the Olivier docket. The Tony's should apply the same category considering the Mousification of Broadway, but then there wouldn't be enough nominees for Best New Musical. 
 

BEST ACTRESS

• Celia Imrie for Noises Off at the Old Vic
• Lesley Manville for Grief at the Cottesloe
• Kristin Scott Thomas for Betrayal at the Harold Pinter
• Marcia Warren for The Ladykillers at the Gielgud
• Ruth Wilson for Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse

I vote Kristin Scott Thomas becase Betrayal is awesome & the fact The Harold Pinter Theatre exists is just super.

BEST ACTOR

• James Corden for One Man, Two Guvnors at the Lyttelton
• Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller for Frankenstein at the Olivier
• David Haig for The Madness of George III at the Apollo
• Douglas Hodge for Inadmissable Evidence at the Donmar Warehouse
• Jude Law for Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Mark Addy for Collaborators at the Cottesloe
• Oliver Chris for One Man, Two Guvnors at the Lyttelton
• Johnny Flynn for Jerusalem at the Apollo
• Bryony Hannah for The Children's Hour at the Harold Pinter
• Sheridan Smith for Flare Path at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

• Kate Fleetwood for London Road at the Cottesloe
• Sarah Lancashire for Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello
• The Matilda's for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge
• Scarlett Strallen for Singin' In The Rain at the Palace

I'm rooting for "The Matilda's." I loved when the three Billy Elliots won the Tony for Best Leading Actor. When children are slated against adults, I think the advantage is slated towards the children since their inexperience is such a stark disadvantage. The fact that they are being compared to adults is reason enough for them to win. I don't think it is cool, however, that they are referred to as "The Matilda's" rather than by name.

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

• Bertie Carvel for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge
• Nigel Lindsay for Shrek The Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Reece Shearsmith for Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello
• Paulo Szot for South Pacific at the Barbican

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL

• Sharon D Clarke for Ghost The Musical at the Piccadilly
• Sophie-Louise Dann for Lend Me A Tenor The Musical at the Gielgud
• Nigel Harman for Shrek The Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Paul Kaye for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge
• Katherine Kingsley for Singin' In The Rain at the Palace

BEST NEW MUSICAL

• Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello
• Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly
• London Road at the Cottesloe
• Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge
• Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

It will probably go to Matilda the Musical, which is fine by me. I love Matilda & formatting it into a musical was genius. I'm thinking we will be seeing Matilda on Broadway in the near future.

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL

• Crazy for You at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Singin' in the Rain at the Palace
• South Pacific at the Barbican
• The Wizard Of Oz at the London Palladium

I would be cool with Singin' in the Rain or The Wizard of Oz. The other 2 seem boring options.

BEST DIRECTOR

• Sean Foley for The Ladykillers at the Gielgud
• Nicholas Hytner for One Man, Two Guvnors at the Lyttelton
• Rufus Norris for London Road at the Cottesloe
• Matthew Warchus for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge

NICKY HYTNER FOR LIFE!!!

BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER

• Peter Darling for Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge
• Javier de Frutos for London Road at the Cottesloe
• Stephen Mear for Crazy For You at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Andrew Wright for Singin' In The Rain at the Palace
  I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure Singin' In The Rain should take this one.

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN

• Anna Christie designed by Howard Harrison at the Donmar Warehouse
• Frankenstein designed by Bruno Poet at the Olivier
• Ghost the Musical designed by Hugh Vanstone at the Piccadilly
• Matilda the Musical designed by Hugh Vanstone at the Cambridge

I would imagine Anna Christie is the best bet, even though the Donmar Warehouse is tiny & I find tiny theatres don't excel in lighting design. Ghost the Musical might take the cake because ghosty shows offer the opportunity to truly showcase cool lighting effects.

BEST SET DESIGN

• Ghost the Musical designed by Rob Howell at the Piccadilly
• The Ladykillers designed by Michael Taylor at the Gielgud
• Matilda the Musical designed Rob Howell at the Cambridge
• One Man, Two Guvnors designed by Mark Thompson at the Lyttelton

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Crazy for You designed by Peter McKintosh at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
• Matilda the Musical designed by Rob Howell at the Cambridge
• Shrek the Musical designed by Tim Hatley at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• South Pacific designed by Catherine Zuber at the Barbican

I've gotta vote Matilda. Crazy for You & South Pacific are somewhat straight-forward in their costume requirements; there is only so much artistry & insight that can be applied. And Shrek doesn't count, in my opinion.

BEST SOUND DESIGN

• Ghost the Musical designed by Bobby Aitken at the Piccadilly
• Frankenstein designed by Underworld and Ed Clarke at the Olivier
• The Ladykillers designed by Ben and Max Ringham at the Gielgud
• Matilda the Musical designed by Simon Baker at the Cambridge

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE

• The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester for Mogadishu at the Lyric Hammersmith
• Theatre Royal, Stratford East in association with the Barbican and Traverse Theatre for Roadkill
• The Donmar Warehouse for Salt, Root and Roe at the Trafalgar Studios 2
• The Royal Court for The Village Bike at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION

• English National Opera’s Castor and Pollux at the London Coliseum
• English National Opera's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the London Coliseum
• English National Opera's The Passenger at the London Coliseum
• ROH2’s Clemency (in association with Scottish Opera) at the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

I LOVE THAT OPERA HAS ITS' OWN CATEGORIES.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA

• ENO for the breadth and diversity of its artistic programme
• Amanda Holden for her translation of Castor and Pollux at the London Coliseum
• Richard Jones for his direction of Anna Nicole and Il Trittico at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and The Tales of Hoffmann at the London Coliseum
• Mark-Anthony Turnage for his composition of Anna Nicole at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Twice Through the Heart at Sadler's Wells.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE

• The Design Team for their work on the Royal Ballet's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the Royal Opera House
• Edward Watson for his performance in The Metamorphosis at the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House
• Sylvie Guillem for her performance in her production of 6000 Miles Away at Sadler’s Wells
• Tommy Franzen for his performance in ZooNation’s Some Like it Hip Hop at the Peacock

I LOVE THAT DANCE HAS ITS' OWN CATEGORIES.

BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION

• Desh by Akram Khan Company at Sadler's Wells, choreographed by Akram Khan
• Gardenia by Les Ballets C de la B at Sadler's Wells, directed by Alain Platel and Frank van Laecke
• The Metamorphosis by ROH2 at the Linbury Studio, choreographed by Arthur Pita
• Some Like It Hip Hop by ZooNation at the Peacock, choreographed by Kate Prince, Tommy Franzen and Carrie-Anne Ingrouille

The Bodyguard: A New Musical

The negotiations to adapt this movie for the stage for this musical were initially reported in 2009. Producer David Ian & Michael Harrison developed the stage property with Olivier Award winner Thea Sharrock directing & Alex Dinelaris writing the book. The production will open in November at London’s Adelphi theatre, with a Broadway run as an eventual goal. It will feature some of Whitney Houston’s biggest hits (‘I Will Always Love You’ has been confirmed), as well as numbers made famous by Houston. Tony & Grammy Award winner Heather Headley (Aida & The Lion King) has accepted the role of Rachel Marron. In response to her casting, Headley posted:

I've been offered the role of Rachel in the musical version The Bodyguard. Very Honored! The script has been rewritten a bit and it's very interesting. Needless to say, the music is great (they're using many of the songs of Whitney's catalogue) - - very challenging, but great. We'll start on the West End in London and then we'll move to Broadway (if all goes well - - I think it will).

The timing is obviously bittersweet & ironic, but it will undoubtedly provide the production with a commerical boost. It has a similar vibe to Michael Jackson’s tribute show Thriller Live. It opened in January 2009, was scheduled to close in May of the same year, was extended, and exploded in recognition after his death that June. It is currently still running in the West End and on tour.

The Broadway Community on Whitney Houston

Henry Kreiger, composer of Dreamgirls.

Houston never recorded any of the songs from Dreamgirls, but did perform Effie White's "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" and "I Am Changing" at several live events.

I never had the pleasure of working with Miss Houston directly but her rendition of 'I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' was revelatory in its pristine vocal performance, clear as a bell and without affectation.

Stephen Schwartz, composer of Pippin, Godspell, Wicked.

Schwartz penned the lyrics for the film The Prince of Egypt, which received the Best Music, Original Song Oscar for
"When You Believe." Houston also performed a duet with Mariah Carey that was featured during the film’s closing credits.

I was shocked and saddened to learn of Whitney's death. I shared only a brief time with her when she was recording her vocals for 'When You Believe,' but she was warm, gracious, charming, and completely professional, and of course her talent was enormous. To lose her so suddenly and at such a young age is very sad.
 

Frank Wildhorn, composer of Jekyll & Hyde. 

He wrote the 1988 pop ballad "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" which was featured on Houston's self-titled album Whitney.
The song debuted at #47 on the Billboard Charts and climbed to the No. 1 slot within nine weeks.

Losing Whitney is an incredibly sad thing, I can't tell you how important she was to me in my songwriting life. The truth is, it was the success of 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go?' that literally bought me the freedom and time to come to theatre. The late 80s was a very productive time for me writing and producing in the pop business. After the song was written and demo'd, I got a letter from Clive Davis and from Whitney saying they loved the song but that it needed a new bridge. I had run out of my demo budget money, so the only way to present it was to sit at the piano and play and sing it to them, which I did. A couple weeks later, I got another letter from Clive and Whitney saying they loved this second bridge, that they were going to go with it, and that, 'Frank, you should never sing your own songs!' She was such a beautiful artist and such a beautiful woman. She was wide-eyed and had an innocence about her. 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go' was her seventh #1 hit in a row, which I think is still a record... I remember tracking it in Billboard Magazine every week all the way up the charts til we got to #1... that was a beautiful day!