The winners of this year’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards, now in their 62nd year, are announced November 13 at the Old Vic Theatre
Evening Standard owner Evgeny Lebedev and Sir Elton John host the evening that is presented by Rob Bryden.
Shows are eligible for the awards if they opened in London between November 22, 2015, and September 30, 2016.
Two nominees in the Best Musical Performance category will be seen on Broadway later this year: Glenn Close in a revival of Sunset Boulevard, and Andy Karl in the new Tim Minchin musical Groundhog Day. The two American actors, both of whom are appearing in British-born musicals, compete with West End actress Sheridan Smith in the Broadway classic Funny Girl.
Two American plays are nominated in the category of Best Play: Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3, and Annie Baker’s The Flick. They compete with the juggernaut Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Announced to present awards are James McAvoy, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Eileen Atkins, Sir Michael Gambon, and Tom Hollander.
The full list of winners will be published on Playbill.com by 6 PM ET.
Nominees follow:
Best Actor
Kenneth Branagh, The Entertainer (Garrick)
O-T Fagbenle, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
Ralph Fiennes, The Master Builder (Old Vic)/Richard III (Almeida)
James McArdle, Platonov (Chichester Festival Theatre/National Theatre, Olivier)
Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress
Noma Dumezweni, Linda (Royal Court, Jerwood Downstairs)
Helen McCrory, The Deep Blue Sea (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
Sophie Melville, Iphigenia in Splott (Sherman Theatre/National Theatre, Temporary Theatre)
Billie Piper, Yerma (Young Vic)
Best Musical Performance
Glenn Close, Sunset Boulevard (Coliseum)
Andy Karl, Groundhog Day (Old Vic)
Sheridan Smith, Funny Girl (Menier Chocolate Factor/Savoy Theatre)
Best Play
Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 by Suzan-Lori Parks (Royal Court, Jerwood Downstairs)
The Flick by Annie Baker (National Theatre, Dorfman)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, J. K. Rowling & John Tiffany (Palace Theatre)
Best Musical (voted for by the public as the Radio 2 Audiences Award)
Funny Girl - Menier Chocolate Factory/Savoy
Groundhog Day - Old Vic
Guys and Dolls - Savoy/Phoenix
Jesus Christ Superstar - Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour - National Theatre, Dorfman
Sunset Boulevard - Coliseum
Milton Shulman Award for Best Director
Dominic Cooke, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
John Malkovich, Good Canary (Rose Kingston)
John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace)
Best Revival
Les Blancs, National Theatre, Olivier (directed by Yaël Farber)
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, National Theatre, Lyttelton (directed by Dominic Cooke)
No Man’s Land, Wyndham’s (directed by Sean Mathias)
Young Chekhov: Platonov, Ivanov & The Seagull, Chichester Festival Theatre/National Theatre, Olivier (directed by Jonathan Kent)
Best Design
Jon Bausor, You For Me For You (Royal Court, Jerwood Upstairs)
Gareth Fry (sound design), The Encounter (Edinburgh International Festival/Barbican)
Rob Howell, The Master Builder (Old Vic)/Groundhog Day (Old Vic)
Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright
Jon Brittain, Rotterdam (Theatre503/Trafalgar Studios)
David Ireland, Cyprus Avenue (Royal Court, Jerwood Upstairs)
Charlene James, Cuttin’ It (Young Vic/Royal Court/The Yard/Sheffield Theatres)
Emerging Talent Award in Partnership with Burberry
Jaygann Ayeh, The Flick (National Theatre, Dorfman)
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace)
Aoife Duffin, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing (Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin & Young Vic)/ The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe)
Tyrone Huntley, Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre)
