Dear Evan Hansen wins three Olivier Awards as theatre told to 'remain resilient'
Dear Evan Hansen won three Olivier Awards at the virtual ceremony on Sunday night.
The production at the Noel Coward Theatre won best new musical and best original score or new orchestrations, while Sam Tutty took home the best actor in a musical gong.
Lyricist Don Black received a special award from Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Duchess of Cornwall, who urged the theatre industry to “please remain resilient”.
Pre-recorded at the London Palladium, the awards came as Shakespeare’s Globe and the Old Vic theatre were among recent recipients of the Government’s £1.57 billion culture recovery fund.
Asked about a plan to bring some theatre back by Christmas, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said “very strong headwinds” have “limited what we can do”.
But he previously told MPs: “We are continuing the work behind the scenes to ensure that we can get things going again.”
Miriam-Teak Lee won best actress for her role in Juliet, while Cassidy Janson won best supporting actor for a supporting role in a musical for her performance in the same show.
Leopoldstadt, which was written by Sir Tom Stoppard and shown at the Wyndham’s Theatre, was named best new play.
Choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne became the individual with the most Olivier Awards, winning his ninth.
He won best theatre choreographer alongside Stephen Mear for Mary Poppins.
Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell won the Sir Peter Hall best director award.
Present Laughter, at The Old Vic, also won a second award – supporting actress for Indira Varma.