A look back at the Oliviers
With the Olivier Awards happening tomorrow, I thought I would share with you my reactions from the previous 2 years!
To get ready for this years awards, WhatsOnStage have done a hilarious Olivier-themed Bingo card (click here), so make sure you print one off and play along during the ceremony.
You can also click here to read their guide to tomorrow's ceremony and make sure to tune in either live on Magic Radio from 6, or the highlights show on ITV, 8-10pm next Tuesday (11th April).
With that, happy reading =)
April 2016
So Sunday was the Olivier Awards, which is the highest honour you can get for a production on the London, and like last year, I am going to give my round-up of the ceremony, and who won what. Click on the titles in pink to read my previous reviews about the shows which I have been able to see (though it has to be that specific production I am talking about).
So firstly onto the big winner of the night, which was the superb revival of Gypsy. It completely stormed the competition, to the extent where the other nominated Musical Revivals (which included Bugsy Malone, Guys and Dolls and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers) didn't stand a chance! It took 4 awards, all of which very well deserved; which, as well as Best Musical Revival and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Lara Pulver, included Best Actress in a Musical for the incomparable Imelda Staunton! When I saw Gypsy last summer, I said that Staunton at the very least deserved a nomination, if not, a win; and once the nominations came in, it became clear who the winner would be - anyone else would have been a travesty! As I said in my review, it was a wonderful production, and deserves all the praise it received!
As far as new musicals to London were concerned, while Bend It Like Beckham and the very-new Mrs Henderson Presents went home empty handed, the other two Best Musical nominees, Kinky Boots and In The Heights (click here), fared much better, winning 3 awards each!
Matt Henry, who plays the drag-queen Lola in Kinky Boots, won Best Actor in a Musical, and the show also won Best Costume Design and the big one: Mastercard Best New Musical! To be honest, as much I would have loved In The Heights to have won, I had a feeling that it would be Kinky Boots who would take it; and it does look very good and is on the list for me to see. Especially as I have been playing the new London live cast recording full blast ever since it came out on Friday, and it is FANTASTIC!
As for In The Heights, I am hoping to see that later this year, so keep your eyes peeled for that; it won Best Choreography for Drew McOnie (who also choreographed the touring version of Oklahoma), as well Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for David Bedella (who I'd seen in the touring production of The Producers), and the Outstanding Achievement in Music for Lin Manuel Miranda's electric score - I was super happy about that because I thought Cyndi Lauper would win that one for Kinky Boots seeing as she did a performance on stage on the night!
Speaking of performance, I have to mention that for the first time ever, all of the nominees for Mastercard Best New Musical and Best Musical Revival performed on the stage, and they were all wonderful. In addition, all the nominees for the Magic Radio Audience Award (which included Jersey Boys, Les Miserables, Matilda, and The Phantom of the Opera) performed on the special Covent Garden Stage (hosted by the brilliant Daniel Boys and Carrie Hope Fletcher); the award ultimately went to Phantom.
On to plays, and while the revival of Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch went home empty-handed, the National Theatre's productions got 4 awards, including Best Actress for Denise Gough as a recovering addict in People's, Places and Things, as well as Best Revival for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Best Supporting Actor for the brilliant Mark Gatiss for Three Days In The Country.
And finally, I have to mention the LEGEND that is Dame Judi Dench, who won the Best Supporting Actress, and her record-breaking 8th Olivier for her performance in The Winter's Tale (which was directed and lead by Gilderoy Lockhart - oh I'm sorry, Kenneth Branagh)! I mean, the woman is 81 for crying out loud and she shows no signs of slowing down! And I am now really hoping that The Winter's Tale comes back to cinemas via NT Live soon! It's funny as well that this year was another great one for legends, just like it was last year with Angela Lansbury winning the exact same award..?
Finally, the show paid tribute to Shakespeare's 400th anniversary by Jack Savoretti and Rory Kinnear, and, with the help of many Olivier award-winning actresses, to A Chorus Line, who was the first musical to win the top prize in 1976, with a performance of What I Did For Love. All in all, I really enjoyed watching the ceremony, and am eager to see what could be possibly nominated next year; oh, and the 2017 Oliviers will be held at The Royal Albert Hall...!
April 2015
Hi guys! This is only planned to be a quick one, but I just want to talk a little bit about the Olivier Awards that happened over the weekend in London; for anyone who doesn't know, they're the OSCARS for the London stage. Last night, I finally got round to watch the highlights programme with my mum that we had recorded on the TV and I have to say that it has been a very interesting result...
To get ready for this years awards, WhatsOnStage have done a hilarious Olivier-themed Bingo card (click here), so make sure you print one off and play along during the ceremony.
You can also click here to read their guide to tomorrow's ceremony and make sure to tune in either live on Magic Radio from 6, or the highlights show on ITV, 8-10pm next Tuesday (11th April).
With that, happy reading =)
***
April 2016
So Sunday was the Olivier Awards, which is the highest honour you can get for a production on the London, and like last year, I am going to give my round-up of the ceremony, and who won what. Click on the titles in pink to read my previous reviews about the shows which I have been able to see (though it has to be that specific production I am talking about).
So firstly onto the big winner of the night, which was the superb revival of Gypsy. It completely stormed the competition, to the extent where the other nominated Musical Revivals (which included Bugsy Malone, Guys and Dolls and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers) didn't stand a chance! It took 4 awards, all of which very well deserved; which, as well as Best Musical Revival and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Lara Pulver, included Best Actress in a Musical for the incomparable Imelda Staunton! When I saw Gypsy last summer, I said that Staunton at the very least deserved a nomination, if not, a win; and once the nominations came in, it became clear who the winner would be - anyone else would have been a travesty! As I said in my review, it was a wonderful production, and deserves all the praise it received!
As far as new musicals to London were concerned, while Bend It Like Beckham and the very-new Mrs Henderson Presents went home empty handed, the other two Best Musical nominees, Kinky Boots and In The Heights (click here), fared much better, winning 3 awards each!
Matt Henry, who plays the drag-queen Lola in Kinky Boots, won Best Actor in a Musical, and the show also won Best Costume Design and the big one: Mastercard Best New Musical! To be honest, as much I would have loved In The Heights to have won, I had a feeling that it would be Kinky Boots who would take it; and it does look very good and is on the list for me to see. Especially as I have been playing the new London live cast recording full blast ever since it came out on Friday, and it is FANTASTIC!
As for In The Heights, I am hoping to see that later this year, so keep your eyes peeled for that; it won Best Choreography for Drew McOnie (who also choreographed the touring version of Oklahoma), as well Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for David Bedella (who I'd seen in the touring production of The Producers), and the Outstanding Achievement in Music for Lin Manuel Miranda's electric score - I was super happy about that because I thought Cyndi Lauper would win that one for Kinky Boots seeing as she did a performance on stage on the night!
Speaking of performance, I have to mention that for the first time ever, all of the nominees for Mastercard Best New Musical and Best Musical Revival performed on the stage, and they were all wonderful. In addition, all the nominees for the Magic Radio Audience Award (which included Jersey Boys, Les Miserables, Matilda, and The Phantom of the Opera) performed on the special Covent Garden Stage (hosted by the brilliant Daniel Boys and Carrie Hope Fletcher); the award ultimately went to Phantom.
On to plays, and while the revival of Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch went home empty-handed, the National Theatre's productions got 4 awards, including Best Actress for Denise Gough as a recovering addict in People's, Places and Things, as well as Best Revival for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Best Supporting Actor for the brilliant Mark Gatiss for Three Days In The Country.
And finally, I have to mention the LEGEND that is Dame Judi Dench, who won the Best Supporting Actress, and her record-breaking 8th Olivier for her performance in The Winter's Tale (which was directed and lead by Gilderoy Lockhart - oh I'm sorry, Kenneth Branagh)! I mean, the woman is 81 for crying out loud and she shows no signs of slowing down! And I am now really hoping that The Winter's Tale comes back to cinemas via NT Live soon! It's funny as well that this year was another great one for legends, just like it was last year with Angela Lansbury winning the exact same award..?
Finally, the show paid tribute to Shakespeare's 400th anniversary by Jack Savoretti and Rory Kinnear, and, with the help of many Olivier award-winning actresses, to A Chorus Line, who was the first musical to win the top prize in 1976, with a performance of What I Did For Love. All in all, I really enjoyed watching the ceremony, and am eager to see what could be possibly nominated next year; oh, and the 2017 Oliviers will be held at The Royal Albert Hall...!
***
Hi guys! This is only planned to be a quick one, but I just want to talk a little bit about the Olivier Awards that happened over the weekend in London; for anyone who doesn't know, they're the OSCARS for the London stage. Last night, I finally got round to watch the highlights programme with my mum that we had recorded on the TV and I have to say that it has been a very interesting result...
Now, I haven't been able to make into London since 2013, so I haven't seen any of the nominated shows - that doesn't mean I don't want to, but I'll get to that later - and so I can't properly comment on whether person A or B deserved to win etc etc, though that doesn't mean I don't have an opinion on some of the categories.
Firstly, I was surprised about how well Sunny Afternoon (SA) did - it won the big one, Best New Musical, among others. For anyone who doesn't know, it's a musical featuring the music of British band The Kinks. I had heard about it on EPOS, but nowhere near as much as I had heard about other new musicals in London such as Memphis and Beautiful:The Carole King Musical. But seeing as it did win, I'm guessing it will get a lot of people through the door. I was watching a vlog by Sam4God (check her out, she's good) last night and it was hilarious for her as SA was the really the only one she hadn't got round to see yet - and pretty much all of her predictions were wrong. After that, I'd say Beautiful was the most successful that night, followed by City of Angels, which beat the likes of CATS and Miss Saigon for Best Musical Revival.
Now, I also have to talk about Miss Saigon. I thought it was snubbed in a few areas (cough, why was Eva Noblezada not nominated for Best Actress in a Musical), but I was at least happy that it had got nominated for not just Best Musical Revival, but also Best Actor in a Musical for Jon Jon Briones as The Engineer. Now, I know I said before that I don't really have the right to comment about who won, and I'm sure the actor who did win for SA did a great job, but I do want to mention something about Jon Jon. When I got the 2014 cast recording, and when the 25th Anniversary performance was on Radio 2, I could feel Jon Jon's performance through his voice and the radio speakers. Sounds weird I know. How often can you feel, from a recording, or even a live recording, that you are literally there on stage with them? That's it, have a really good think. Now, that's what it was and is still like whenever I pop Miss Saigon on my iPod or Spotify and listen to whenever The Engineer was on stage. Think about THAT Olivier Award committee.
Most of the musicals nominated gave a lovely little taste of what they can do, and I thought they were all extremly good. My Mum was a bit skeptical of Nicole Sherzinger's performace of Memory (she was nominated for her performance as Grizabella in CATS), but she was won over eventually. Personally though, I'm happy Kerry Ellis is now in the role. I'm not a massive CATS fan as there's pretty much no story but at least Kerry will knock their socks off every night... Anyway, one again, I digress
As you probably all know, the big star of the show was Angela Lansbury, who won her first ever Olivier Award at the ripe old age of 89, which was the Best Supporting Actress for her work in Blithe Spirit!! ABOUT BLOODY TIME!!! I'm amazed it's her 1st Olivier after winning 5 Tonys and countless other awards during her long and legendary career, and rightly so, she got a full standing ovation when she came up to pick up her award. The woman truly is a legend and so deserves every bit of respect. Therefore, why oh why ITV, on the highlights show, did you crop her bit to only a little flash before another one of your precious ad breaks! Both my Mum and I were waiting for her to come on and we really did feel cheated. There was apparently more of her speech on the news than there was on the highlights show!!! Though while we're at it ITV, why not show a longer highlights show, or even better, the entire ceremony? Just saying.....?
Now to end with, I'd like to share with you guys what I want to see in London the most, just so I can end the blog on a happier note than a rant. So here we go in no particular order:
- Gypsy: This is opening this week at The Savoy, transferring to the West End from its run in Chichester. It got rave reviews, and I think this Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim classic will be one to see not just to see Imelda Staunton as Mama Rose, but to welcome it back to London for the first time in over 40 years!
- Billy Elliot: This was up for the This Morning Audience Award this year (the winner of which being Wicked). Billy Elliot was the only school production I was involved with - I was in Year 13 and was in the pit - and I really enjoyed it, and started regretting not being involved with drama sooner. So ever since then, the story of a young miner's boy dreaming to be a ballet dancer has always been on my list.
- Miss Saigon: You probably knew this one was coming. I'm desperate to see this, I really am. And though it didn't win any Oliviers, it won 9 (!) WhatsOnStage Awards, which are all voted for by the public..... so..... yeah
- Matilda: My Dad has been to see this one, and he loved it, even brought me back a mug. The score is amazing and seeing as I LOVE the book and film version, why not go and see it. It also won 7 Oliviers in 2012, so it must be doing something right...?
- Memphis: I don't know masses about this show; but other than maybe Beautiful, this is the one that has made me really interested after this year's Oliviers that I wasn't too fussed about before. My Mum made a good point in that the story, including themes like music and race, sounds quite like Hairspray, which is one of my absolute favourite shows.....
Well this hasn't turned out to be a quick one but never mind. You all know what I'm like =P
And I'll be later with you again this week, as I'm seeing an ALW classic tomorrow - should be good =) That turned out to be Jesus Christ Superstar - click here to read my review
Update: click on the title to read my review on Miss Saigon
Update: I managed to catch Gypsy, click here to read about that =)
And I'll be later with you again this week, as I'm seeing an ALW classic tomorrow - should be good =) That turned out to be Jesus Christ Superstar - click here to read my review
Update: click on the title to read my review on Miss Saigon
Update: I managed to catch Gypsy, click here to read about that =)
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