Hairspray Wins Big at London's 2008 Olivier Awards

The London production of the Broadway musical Hairspray won four prizes—the most of the night—at the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards, honoring the best of theater, opera and dance. The ceremony, hosted by Richard E. Grant, at the Grosvenor House Hotel was marked by buoyancy and good cheer inside the Great Room, not least as the Tony-winning musical proved that this is one Broadway hit that can cross the Atlantic in triumph.

"What a lovely thing the Shaftesbury curse is; I'll just say that, " said the show's co-lyricist Scott Wittman, referring to the much-vaunted reputation of Hairspray's chosen home, the Shaftesbury Theatre, as London's house of flops: both The Who's Tommy and the original London incarnation of Rent are among that venue's financial casualties. But on this night, at least, it seemed as if its luck had changed. The show is on course to pay back its $9-million-plus West End cost by May, prompting Best Actor in a Musical winner Michael Ball to enthuse from the podium about "watching the Shaftesbury Theatre come back to life—it's been a long time coming."

Ball won in what was the West End vet's first-ever Olivier nod. And repeating the Tony laurels in New York for original Broadway leads Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur, the Turnblads, mother and daughter, were both victorious in London, too—Ball's Edna taking Best Actor "I was actually hoping for Best Actress," he deadpanned., while 22-year-old newcomer Leanne Jones won for playing Tracy.

In the longest and feistiest acceptance speech of the night, previous Olivier winner Tracie Bennett scored again, this time nabbing the supporting player in a musical trophy for her deliciously vampy Velma in Hairspray—some 13 years after she had won in this category for her role in Scott Ellis' London incarnation of She Loves Me. Bennett extolled her fellow nominees, especially Shaun Escoffery from the ceremony's major also-ran, Parade, which was nominated seven times but didn't win once. "If I could share this with you, mate, I would," said Bennett from the podium, "because you're fabulous."

The Best Actor and Actress in a Play prizes were both up for grabs, though the distaff category might have been assumed to be Saint Joan star Anne-Marie Duff's to lose. But the award went to Kristin Scott Thomas for her performance as Arkadina in Chekhov's The Seagull. Her Trigorin in that production, Chiwetel Ejiofor, won perhaps the night's most hotly contested prize: Best Actor in a Play, with Ejiofor's Othello trumping Ian McKellen's Lear and Patrick Stewart's Broadway-bound Macbeth, among other players. In a droll speech, Ejiofor ended by thanking his agents for "their brilliant taste, frankly."

Here is a complete list of winners:

BEST NEW MUSICAL
Hairspray

BEST NEW PLAY
A Disappearing Number by Simon McBurney

BEST NEW COMEDY
Rafta Rafta by Ayub Khan-Din based on All in Good Time by Bill Naughton

BEST REVIVAL
Saint Joan by Bernard Shaw

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
The Magic Flute - Impempe Yomlingo

BEST ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Othello

BEST ACTRESS
Kristin Scott Thomas, The Seagull

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Rory Kinnear, The Man of Mode

BEST NEWCOMER IN A PLAY
Tom Hiddleston, Cymbeline

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Leanne Jones, Hairspray

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Michael Ball, Hairspray

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Tracie Bennett, Hairspray

BEST DIRECTOR
Rupert Goold, Macbeth

BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER
Toby Sedgwick, War Horse

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Howard Harrison, Macbeth

BEST SET DESIGN
Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company, War Horse

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Vicki Mortimer, The Man of Mode

BEST SOUND DESIGN
Paul Arditti with music by Jocelyn Pook, Saint Joan

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE
Gone Too Far at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court

BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION
The Royal Opera's Pelléas et Mélisande

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA
Natalie Dessay for her performance in La Fille du Régiment

BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION
The Royal Ballet's Jewels

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE
The Royal Ballet Company for their performances in Jewels

SPECIAL AWARD
Andrew Lloyd Webber