The sublimely silly Monty Python musical “Spamalot” dominated nominations for the 2007 Laurence Olivier Awards, with nods in seven categories, including best new musical.
Nominations for the prizes, which honor the best of the London stage, were announced Thursday.
“Spamalot,” a $12 million romp based on “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” opened in London in October. The musical is still running on Broadway where it won three Tony Awards and recouped its investment within seven months of opening.
The show gained a best actor Olivier nomination for Tim Curry, who also starred in the Broadway production, and a best actress nod for Hannah Waddingham. Tom Goodman-Hill is up for best supporting role in a musical, and the show also has nominations for sets, costumes and lighting.
Curry, returning to the London stage after a 19-year absence, said the show had dominated the past two years of his life.
“It was a wonderful way to come back to London after almost 20 years and now this is the icing on the cake,” he said. “The show appeals because it’s a very good time in the world for something to be so transcendentally silly.”
An acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park With George” took six nominations, including actor, actress and director in a musical. A revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Evita” gained four, including a best actress nod for Argentine star Elena Roger.
One of the most hyped musicals of the year, Lloyd Webber’s production of “The Sound of Music,” got only one nomination, for outstanding musical production. Its star, Connie Fisher, who was chosen on a reality TV show but overcame doubters to win strong reviews, was snubbed in the best actress nods.
Front-runner in the drama categories is “Rock ’n’ Roll,” Tom Stoppard’s play about rock and revolution in 1960s Czechoslovakia. It gained four nominations, including best new play, best actor for Rufus Sewell and best actress for Sinead Cusack.
Hollywood star Kathleen Turner was nominated in the best actress category for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
“Frost/Nixon,” a gripping political drama about the 1977 television showdown between Richard Nixon and British TV personality David Frost, saw both its stars, Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, nominated in the best actor category. It also is up for best new play.
Winners will be announced Feb. 18 at a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.