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Laurence Olivier Award For Best Actress In A Musical
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier. This award was introduced in 1979, along with the award for Best Actor in a Musical. In 1977 and 1978, there had been a commingled actor/actress award for Best Performance in a Musical, won both times by an actress. Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Multiple awards and nominations for Best Actress in a Musical Awards ;Three awards *Imelda Staunton ;Two awards *Barbara Dickson *Maria Friedman *Julia McKenzie *Joanna Riding *Samantha Spiro Nominations ;Seven nominations *Imelda Staunton ;Six nominations *Maria Friedman ;Five nominations *Ruthie Henshall *Julia McKenzie *Joanna Riding ;Four nominations *Elaine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laurence Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards, but they were renamed in honour of the British actor of the same name in 1984. The awards are given to individuals involved in West End productions and other leading non-commercial theatres based in London across a range of categories covering plays, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. A discretionary non-competitive Special Olivier Award is also given each year. The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honour in British theatre, equivalent to the BAFTA Awards for film and television, and the BRIT Awards for music. The Olivier Awards are considered equivalent to Broadway's Tony Awards and France's Molière Award. Since inception, the awards have been held at va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Velma Kelly
Velma Kelly is one of the main characters in the successful 1975 Broadway musical ''Chicago''. Kelly is based on the character "Velma", who first appeared in the 1926 play, also called ''Chicago'', who was in-turn inspired by the life of Belva Gaertner. Character background Kelly is a nightclub singer/vaudevillian who had mediocre success as part of an acrobatics double act with her sister Veronica until, when she catches Veronica with her husband Charlie while on tour, she presumably kills them both (though she denies remembering it). She is sent to the Cook County Jail where she hires the best soliciting lawyer, Billy Flynn, a master of turning cases into a media circus to free his clients. The attention prompts an offer from the William Morris Agency to pay her more than fourteen times what she had made as her share of the proceeds from the double act with Veronica—once she is acquitted. Kelly's plans are upended when Roxie Hart, a failed vaudeville aspirant accused of murd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1981 Laurence Olivier Awards
The 1981 Society of West End Theatre Awards were held in 1981 in London celebrating excellence in West End theatre by the Society of West End Theatre. The awards would not become the Laurence Olivier Awards, as they are known today, until the 1984 ceremony. Winners and nominees Details of winners (in bold) and nominees, in each award category, per the Society of London Theatre. Productions with multiple nominations and awards The following 18 productions, including one ballet and one opera, received multiple nominations: * 6: ''Cats'' * 3: ''Barnum'', '' Children of a Lesser God'', ''Hamlet'', '' One Mo' Time'' and ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' * 2: ''Anyone for Denis'', ''Dances of Albion'', ''Les contes d'Hoffmann'', ''Man and Superman'', '' On the Razzle'', '' Passion Play'', ''Present Laughter'', ''Quartermaine's Terms'', ''Steaming'', ''The Mitford Girls'', ''The Provoked Wife'' and ''Translations'' The following two productions received multiple awards: * 3: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pal Joey (musical)
''Pal Joey'' is a 1940 musical with a book by John O'Hara and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The musical is based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in ''The New Yorker'', which he later published in novel form. The title character, Joey Evans, is a manipulative small-time nightclub performer whose ambitions lead him into an affair with the wealthy, middle-aged and married Vera Simpson. It includes two songs that have become standards: "I Could Write a Book" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered". The original 1940 Broadway production was directed by George Abbott and starred Vivienne Segal and Gene Kelly. Though it received mixed reviews, the show ran for 10 months, the third-longest run of any Rodgers and Hart musical. There have been several revivals since, including a 2008–09 Broadway run, and a 1957 film adaptation starring Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. Background Author John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siân Phillips
Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips ( ), is a Welsh actress. She has performed the title roles in Ibsen's ''Hedda Gabler'' and George Bernard Shaw's '' Saint Joan''. Early life Phillips was born on 14 May 1933 in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Glamorgan, Wales, the daughter of Sally (''née'' Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker who became a policeman. She is a Welsh-speaker: in the first volume of her autobiography ''Private Faces'' (1999) she notes that she spoke only Welsh for much of her childhood, learning English by listening to the radio. Phillips attended Pontardawe Grammar School and originally was known there as Jane, but her Welsh teacher called her Siân, the Welsh form of Jane. Later she took up English and philosophy at University College Cardiff. Phillips graduated from the University of Wales in 1955. She entered the RADA with a scholarship in September 1955, the same year as Diana Rigg and Glen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
On The Twentieth Century
''On the Twentieth Century'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Based partly on the 1932 play ''Twentieth Century'' and its 1934 film adaptation, the musical is part operetta, part farce and part screwball comedy. The story involves the behind-the-scenes relationship between Lily, a temperamental actress and Oscar, a bankrupt theatre producer. On a luxury train traveling from Chicago to New York in the early 1930s, Oscar tries to cajole the glamorous Hollywood star into playing the lead in his new, but not-yet-written drama, and perhaps to rekindle their romance. The musical ran on Broadway in 1978–1979, running for 449 performances and winning five Tony Awards. It showcased Madeline Kahn in the role of Lily Garland, and when Kahn left the show, the role launched the career of Judy Kaye. Several revivals followed in London and elsewhere, and a 2015 Broadway revival featured Kristin Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher. Backgrou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julia McKenzie
Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie (born 17 February 1941) is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFTA Award nominated role as Hester Fields in the sitcom ''Fresh Fields'' (1984–1986) and its sequel ''French Fields'' (1989–1991), and as Miss Marple in ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (2009–2013). McKenzie has also starred in numerous musicals, receiving a 1977 Tony Award nomination for her work in the Broadway revue, ''Side by Side by Sondheim''. A six-time Olivier Award nominee, she has twice won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical; for the 1982 revival of ''Guys and Dolls'' and the 1993 revival of Stephen Sondheim's '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''. She also starred in the original London productions of the Sondheim musicals ''Follies'' (1987) and ''Into the Woods'' (1990). Her film appearances include ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (often referred to simply as ''Sweeney Todd'') is a musical play with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler. It is based on the 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond. The character of Sweeney Todd first appeared in a Victorian penny dreadful titled ''The String of Pearls'' (1846-7). ''Sweeney Todd'' opened on Broadway in 1979 and in the West End in 1980. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Olivier Award for Best New Musical. It has been revived in many productions as well as inspiring a film adaptation. The original logo for the musical is a modified version of an advertising image from the 19th century, with the sign replaced by a straight razor. There is also a woman wearing a blood-stained dress and holding a rolling pin next to the man. Background The character Sweeney Todd originated in serialized Victorian popular fiction, known as penny dreadfuls. A story called ''The Stri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheila Hancock
Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and musicals in London, and her Broadway debut in ''Entertaining Mr Sloane'' (1966) earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in Play. Hancock won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her role in ''Cabaret'' (2007) and was nominated at the Laurence Olivier Awards five other times for her work in ''Annie'' (1978), ''Sweeney Todd'' (1980), ''The Winter's Tale'' (1982), ''Prin'' (1989) and ''Sister Act'' (2010). Early life Sheila Cameron Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Enrico Cameron Hancock and Ivy Louise (née Woodward). Enrico Hancock was the son of a Thomas Cook employee, and grew up in Milan. He worked for Vickers, and was previously a publican and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
They're Playing Our Song
''They're Playing Our Song'' is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, and music by Marvin Hamlisch. In a story based on the real-life relationship of Hamlisch and Sager, a wisecracking composer finds a new, offbeat lyricist, but initially the match is not one made in heaven. The two undergo a series of trials and overcome a number of hurdles before finding true love by the final curtain. ''They're Playing Our Song'' is essentially a two-character show. Vernon and Sonia are the sole characters on stage; each character has a three-person Greek chorus acting as their inner voices, and there are no big production numbers. Productions ;Broadway and West End Produced by Emanuel Azenberg, the musical had its world premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in December 1978. The musical opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on February 11, 1979, where it ran for 1,082 performances and 11 previews. Directed by Robert Moore and choreographed by Patr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gemma Craven
Rita Gemma Craven (''née'' Gabriel; born 1 June 1950) is an Irish actress. She is best known for her role as Joan Parker, the frigid wife of Arthur (Bob Hoskins), in the BBC TV drama '' Pennies From Heaven'' (1978). Biography Craven's family moved from Dublin to Britain in 1960, and she attended the same school as Helen Mirren, St Bernard's Convent High School for Girls in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex. She appeared as Cinderella in the film '' The Slipper and the Rose'' (1976) opposite Richard Chamberlain. She was cast as an unknown, having been spotted by one of the producers while performing at the Bristol Old Vic in a production of ''The Threepenny Opera''. The local press touted the event as her own "Cinderella" story. In London's West End, she starred opposite Tom Conti in the musical '' They're Playing Our Song'' for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance, the lead role in ''South Pacific'', and in Noël Coward's '' Private Lives'' opposite Marc Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1980 Laurence Olivier Awards
The 1980 Society of West End Theatre Awards were held in 1980 in London celebrating excellence in West End theatre by the Society of West End Theatre. The awards would not become the Laurence Olivier Awards, as they are known today, until the 1984 ceremony. Winners and nominees Details of winners (in bold) and nominees, in each award category, per the Society of London Theatre. Productions with multiple nominations and awards The following 21 productions, including two operas, received multiple nominations: * 7: ''Nicholas Nickleby'' * 4: ''Amadeus'' * 3: '' Juno and the Paycock'', ''Life of Galileo'', '' Pal Joey'', ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''They're Playing Our Song'' * 2: ''A Lesson from Aloes'', '' Born in the Gardens'', '' Così fan tutte'', ''Duet for One'', ''Educating Rita'', '' Harlequinade'', '' Jeeves Takes Charge'', ''Make and Break'', '' Oklahoma'', ''On the Twentieth Century'', '' The Browning Version'', ''The Dresser'', ''The Greeks'' and ''The Turn of the Screw'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
