Spamalot, Sunday Top Olivier Award Noms; Wicked Snubbed

Spamalot garnered 7 Olivier Award nominations, Sunday in the Park followed with 6. Avenue Q got a best musical nomination, Wicked was snubbed. Also notably snubbed was Kevin Spacey, for Misbegotten.

The full list can be found here:
http://www.theatre.com/story/id/3005514

Highlights:
Best New Play
Blackbird by David Harrower
Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan
Rock ‘N’ Roll by Tom Stoppard
The Seafarer by Conor McPherson

Best New Comedy
The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow from John Buchan’s novel with an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon
Don Juan in Soho by Patrick Marber after Moliere
Love Song by John Kolvenbach

Best Revival
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Donkey’s Years by Michael Frayn
A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O’Neill
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? By Edward Albee

Best New Musical
Avenue Q by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (music, lyrics and original concept) and Jeff Whitty (book)
Caroline, or Change by Tony Kushner (book and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music)
Monty Python’s Spamalot by Eric Idle (boko and lyrics) and John Du Prez (music) from the original screenplay by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin
Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin (music) and Dubose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin (book and lyrics) with an adaptation by Trevor Nunn

Best Actress
Eve Best for A Moon for the Misbegotten
Sinead Cusack for Rock ‘N’ Roll
Tamsin Greig for Much Ado About Nothing
Kathleen Turner for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Actor
Iain Glen for The Crucible
David Haig for Donkey’s Years
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon
Rufus Sewell for Rock ‘N’ Roll
Michael Sheen for Frost/Nixon

Best Actress in a Musical
Nicola Hughes for the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Tonya Pinkins for Caroline, or Change
Elena Rogers for Evita
Jenna Russell for Sunday in the Park with George
Hannah Waddingham for Monty Python’s Spamalot

Best Actor in a Musical
Tim Curry for Monty Python’s Spamalot
Daniel Evans for Sunday in the Park with George
Clarke Peters for the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Philip Quast for Evita

Updated On: 1/17/07 at 06:41 PM

And clearly, the Broadway Tony vote wasn't wrong.

Wow that is a little shocking that it got nothing...but you know the English may have not been as enthralled by it.

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How is Porgy and Bess nominated for best new musical?

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I was wondering about PORGY myself. I know that Nunn made some trims to the original text and score, but I find it odd that that could be enough to consider the show a "New" musical (considering nothing new was added). Sounds like it would more likely be a candidate for "Musical Production" than "New Musical."

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Trevor Nunn edited 'Porgy And Bess' down from an opera by turning recitative passages into dialogue and cutting other bits out to turn it into a more standard less-than-three-hour musical. I guess that's change enough for it to be considered a new musical.

I'm quite torn between wanting Tonya Pinkins and Jenna Russell to both win Best Actress in a musical. :/ I'd really like Philip Quast to take Best Actor, because he was amazing, but it's such a small role that I think I'd be much happier if Daniel Evans took it. Basically, 'Sunday In The Park With George' was as wonderful as you've all been led to believe and I hope it nabs as many awards for itself as possible. :3

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I guess my confusion was that they have separate categories for "New Musical" and "New Musical Production." My assumption at first glance was that "Musical Production" referred only to the actual "physical" production -- the sets, lighting, costumes, and staging -- so that even if they hated the book and score (which they apparently did), they might still put the show in the "Production" category, since they thought enough of the technical elements to nominate each separately. Now, if "New Musical Production" is simply another term for "Best Musical Revival" then I understand why WICKED wouldn't be put in that category (though it seems a little odd to me that they wouldn't just call the category "Best Musical Revival" since they do have a "Best Revival" category, which apparently only applies to non-musical plays). But, whatever. It's not like I'm a fan of WICKED anyway.

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The thing about PORGY & BESS though is that during its long 70+ year history, it has very, very rarely been performed in its full, 4 and a half hour uncut opera house version with all the recitatives in tact. In fact the Houston Grand Opera production from the late 70s was one of the first to do it. More often than not, world-wide, it's been edited down to three hours or less and its recitatives have been dropped altogether, due to audience tastes and the often limited resources of the theatres it's played in (I believe that the version that toured extensively internationally throughout the 50s -- starring Leontyne Price and William Warfield for some of it -- was a bus-and-truck version that was about two-and-a-half hours long). And it was very much the norm to regularly lower and adjust keys due to the punishing nature of the roles (black opera singers used to call the role of Bess "The Great American Voice Eater").

The full version has ALWAYS been the exception, not the rule and not until it became generally acclaimed as an important American Opera just a couple of decades ago -- heck, The Met didn't see fit to mount it until 1985 -- did the uncut version start popping up with any regularity in the US (it still is usually heavily cut overseas).

My point is that London has seen a heavily edited, no recitative, lowered keys, two-and-a-half hour version of PORGY & BESS many times before -- certainly more times than it's ever seen a full version -- so why would Nunn trotting out the same old cut-down edition this time around be seen as somehow making the show "New?" I take it that it's just because it's Trevor Nunn and not for any truly logical reason.

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Updated On: 1/17/07 at 07:35 PM

I'm not surprised about the lack of love for WICKED and its stars, though I'm curious whether THE SOUND OF MUSIC was snubbed or opened after the cut off date. It seems like, based on what I've read, that the set design and perhaps Connie Fischer would have been in the running.

I think the best actress in a musical race will be between Elena Roger and Nicola Hughes...

EDIT: Nevermind, I see SOM was nominated for the "best musical production" award - I made the same mistake Margo did. A bit of a confusing label.

Updated On: 1/17/07 at 07:53 PM

I'm sure she does have a chance, though I think, historically, the Oliviers are a little biased towards awarding Americans. Jane Krakowski and Patti LuPone are about the only Yanks I can think of off the top of my head to actually win. I'm sure there have been others.

Really a case could probably be made for all the women nominated in that catagory. How often do you see a Best Actress lineup with the calibre of those roles?

"Trevor Nunn edited 'Porgy And Bess' down from an opera by turning recitative passages into dialogue and cutting other bits out to turn it into a more standard less-than-three-hour musical. I guess that's change enough for it to be considered a new musical. "

Isn't that basically how it was originally performed on Broadway in the 30s??? I know the recitative was cut to dialogue (in fac tthis was the standard way to perform it for some time) and many moments like Buzzard Song cut

Yes, the original Broadway production from the Theatre Guild (that Gershwin himself conducted and supervised) was performed without recitatives and several key numbers cut (including The Buzzard Song and Strawberry Woman).

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Updated On: 1/17/07 at 08:30 PM

As brilliant as Pinkins is, I would imagine that Elena Roger will win. It seems to be all about her this year, though I know NOTHING about the politics of the Oliviers.

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