Paddington and Into the Woods compete for 11 Olivier Awards each | Olivier Awards

Michael Bond’s jam-loving teddy bear will face off against a host of fictional characters at next month’s Olivier Awards, with two musicals dominating the nominations announced on Thursday.

The front-runners for London’s biggest theater awards are Paddington: The Musical and Into the Woods, which each received 11 nominations. Paddington, which opened to five-star reviews at the Savoy Theater, is nominated for Best New Musical, Best Director (Luke Sheppard), Best Theater Choreographer (Ellen Keane) and Best Actor in a Musical for the duo who play the likable hero. James Hamid provides the voice of the bear and is a remote puppeteer while Aarti Shah dons the furry costume. Co-stars Tom Eden, Amy Booth Steele and Victoria Hamilton Barrett were also nominated for their supporting roles. Gabriella Slade’s costumes, Tahira Zafar’s puppet designs, Tom Pye’s set, Ash J. Woodward’s video, Gareth Owen’s sound, and Matt Brind’s orchestrations are all recognized.

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods,” which combines the plots of several fairy tales, was a hit at the Bridge Theater. Likewise, it is in the running for Best Director (Jordan Finn), as well as Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actor and Actress in a Musical (Jamie Parker and Katie Braybin respectively), Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (with both Jo Foster and Oliver Saville nominated) and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical (Kate Fleetwood). Adam Fisher’s sound, Aidan Malone’s lighting, Roland Horvath’s video, Tom Scott’s set and costume designs were nominated.

A second Sondheim musical, the great American composer’s hit Here We Are, which was performed at the National Theatre, is in the running for best new musical alongside Paddington, Schuked at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, and Harold Fry’s The Improbable Pilgrimage, which moved from Chichester Festival Theater to the West End. Two Here We Are stars, Jane Krakowski and Tracy Bennett, received nominations.

One of last year’s most talked-about musicals, Evita, will compete against Into the Woods for best musical revival, with competition from Almeida’s American Psycho and The Producers at the Garrick Theatre. Rachel Ziegler, whose performance as Evita included singing from the Palladium balcony to the night-out crowd, earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, as did Braybin, Krakowski, Jenna Russell (Harold Fry’s Unlikely Pilgrimage), Daniele Fiamagna and Georgina Onora, who shared the lead role in Brigadoon in Regent’s Park. Onuorah received a nomination in the second category, Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, for Shucked at the Same Theater.

Other nominees for Best Actor in a Musical are Mark Antolin and Andy Nyman (both for The Producers) and Diego Andres Rodriguez for Evita. Trevor Ashley (The Producers) and Corbin Bleu (The Great Gatsby) were also nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical.

The most nominated plays, with six each, are a star-studded version of Arthur Miller’s classic All My Sons, Jack Holden’s one-man show Kenrix, and a transfer of the Stereo Broadway hit, about the collapse of a rock band, which in 2024 became the most nominated play in Tony Awards history. All My Sons, which closes at Wyndham’s Theater this weekend, was honored in the best revival category alongside Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, which opened at the Old Vic weeks after the famous playwright’s death, Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier’s version of Jamie Lloyd’s The Seagull at the Barbican, and Much Ado About Nothing at the Theater Royal Drury Lane. Much Ado’s Tom Hiddleston, who has been attracting autograph seekers throughout the building every night, will compete for Best Actor with Bryan Cranston (All My Sons), Sean Hayes (Good Night, Oscar), Holden (Kenrex) and David Shields (Punch). Hiddleston’s co-star, Hayley Atwell, was noticeably overlooked among the nominees, as was intrepid director Jamie Lloyd, who directed both Evita and Much Ado About Nothing but missed out on the best director prize.

Best Actress goes to Cate Blanchett for The Seagull, Marianne Jean-Baptiste for All My Sons, Rosamund Pike for Inter Alia, and Rosie Sheehy for Guess How Much I Love You? and Julia McDermott for her solo performance in Weather Girl. Nominees for Best Supporting Actress are Isis Hainsworth for Arcadia, Julie Hesmondhalgh for Punch, Lucy Karszewski for Stereophonic, Hayley Squires for All My Children, and Sophie Thompson for When We Get Married. Zachary Hart received two nominations for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance as a guitarist in Stereophonic, and Medvedenko, who similarly wields a guitar, in The Seagull. Also nominated in this category are Hammed Animashaun (Agent’s Choice), Paapa Essiedu (All My Sons), and Giles Terrera (Oh, Mary!, which also took home Best New Entertainment Play or Comedy).

Joining Sheppard and Finn as nominees for the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director are Ed Stamboulian for Kenrex, Ivo van Hove for All My Sons, and Lindsay Turner for Tudor drama 1536, written by Ava Beckett. 1536 is also in the running for best new play alongside the legal drama Inter Alia by Susie Miller, Kenrex by Holden and Stamboulian, and Punch by James Graham. Kenrex was a Sheffield Theaters transfer and Punch originated at Nottingham Playhouse.

One thing that was left out of the nominees was Conor McPherson’s five-star revival of his play The Weir, starring Brendan Gleeson. McPherson is currently filming a version of the play in Ireland with the cast from the revival. The Weir won an Olivier Award in 1999.

The Boy at the Back of the Class, directed by Onjali Q Raúf and written by Guardian journalist Nick Ahad, is in the running for best family show. Arcade Fire’s Will Butler and arranger Justin Craig were nominated for the Outstanding Music Contribution Award for their work in stereophonic music. The shortlist for Best New Dance Production consists of Into the Hairy by Sharon Eyal for SED, Mimi’s Shebeen by Alessandra Soutine and KVS, Random Taranto by Maria del Mar Suarez (La Chachi), and She’s Auspicious directed by Mythili Prakash. Three of the Royal Opera’s productions, The Makropulos Case, Tosca and Die Walküre, are nominated for Best New Opera alongside English National Opera’s Dead Man Walking.

The London Theater Society oversees the Olivier Awards, which celebrate their 50th anniversary this year. Winners are selected by a panel of industry figures, theater stars and theater-loving audience members. The ceremony will take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on April 12, and will be hosted by Celebrity Traitors finalist Nick Mohammed.