Omigod You Guys! Legally Blonde Tops 2011 Olivier Awards in London

Stars and stripes came out on top at the 2011 Laurence Olivier Awards, Britain’s equivalent to the Tonys. Top honors went to Legally Blonde - the Musical and Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park, both written by Americans and premiering stateside before hopping the pond to collect Best New Musical and Best New Play, respectively, at the ceremony at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on March 13. Legally Blonde also picked up the Best Actress Award for star Sheridan Smith (who has since left the production and is now appearing in Flare Path opposite Sienna Miller) and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Jill Halfpenny. Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to the record-breaking hit The Phantom of the Opera, nabbed seven nominations but left the evening empty-handed. Other big winners included After the Dance, directed by Thea Sharrock at the National Theatre.

Here is a full list of the winners of the 2011 Olivier Awards:


BEST NEW MUSICAL
Legally Blonde - The Musical by Laurence O’Keelfe and Nell Benjamin (music and lyrics), Heather Hach (book)

BEST NEW PLAY
Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
Into the Woods at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

BEST REVIVAL
After the Dance at the NT Lyttelton

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
David Thaxton, Passion

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Sheridan Smith, Legally Blonde - The Musical

BEST ACTOR
Roger Allam, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2

BEST ACTRESS
Nancy Carroll, After the Dance

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Adrian Scarborough, After the Dance

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Michelle Terry, Tribes

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Jill Halfpenny, Legally Blonde - The Musical

BEST ENTERTAINMENT
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit, adapted by Mike Kenny

BEST DIRECTOR
Howard Davies, The White Guard

BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER
Leon Baugh, Sucker Punch

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Neil Austin, The White Guard

BEST SET DESIGN
Bunny Christie, The White Guard

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Hildegard Bechtler, After the Dance

BEST SOUND DESIGN
Adam Cork, King Lear

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE
Lyric Hammersmith for Blasted

BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION
La Boheme at the Soho Theatre

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA
Christian Gerhaher for his performance in the Royal Opera’s Tannhauser at the Royal Opera House

BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION
Babel (Words) by Eastman vzw and Theatre Royal de la Monnaie at Sadler’s Wells, choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE
Antony Gormley, for his set design of Babel (Words)

BBC RADIO 2 AUDIENCE AWARD
We Will Rock You