A revival of “Fiddler on the Roof,” the much-loved 1964 musical, received the most nominations on Tuesday for this year’s Olivier Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Tonys.
The show got 13 nods — seven more than any other musical or play — including best musical revival, where it is up against a production of “Hello, Dolly!” starring Imelda Staunton, which ran at the London Palladium, as well as ongoing revivals of “Oliver!” at the Gielgud Theater and “Starlight Express” at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theater.
Directed by Jordan Fein, “Fiddler on the Roof” is a stripped-back version of the tale of a Jewish milkman in Czarist Russia who is marrying off his daughters against a backdrop of antisemitic pogroms. It received rave reviews when it opened last August at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theater. (It transfers to the Barbican Center on May 24).
Marianka Swain, writing in The Daily Telegraph, called the production “a masterclass in balancing innovation with tradition.” Fein resisted the temptation to draw out the musical’s parallels to contemporary events like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or surging antisemitism, Swain wrote. “No need when they come through so powerfully anyway,” the reviewer added.
Fein is nominated in the best director category, where he will face tight competition from the directors of three of the past year’s most critically acclaimed plays: Nicholas Hytner for “Giant,” about Roald Dahl’s antisemitism, staged last year at the Royal Court and opening in April on the West End; Robert Icke for a version of “Oedipus” that ran at Wyndham’s Theater; and Eline Arbo for “The Years,” running at the Harold Pinter Theater.
“The Years,” which tells the story of a Frenchwoman’s life from early childhood to late-in-life affairs, has recently been the talk of London’s theater scene, because numerous audience members have fainted during a scene in which she tries to give herself an abortion with a knitting needle.
Both “The Years” and “Giant” secured five nominations and will compete for the coveted best new play award, alongside “Kyoto,” about climate change negotiations, which is running at @sohoplace until May 3, and “Shifters,” about two high school lovers who meet eight years after splitting up, which ran at the Duke of York’s Theater.
“The Fear of 13,” a production starring Adrien Brody that ran at the Donmar Warehouse, makes up the best new play nominees.
Brody secured a nomination in the best actor category for his performance as a man sentenced to death for a rape and murder that he did not commit. He will compete for that prize against Paapa Essiedu, for “Death of England: Delroy” at @sohoplace; John Lithgow for his turn as Roald Dahl in “Giant”; Mark Strong for his performance in the title role of “Oedipus” at Wyndham’s Theater; and Billy Crudup for “Harry Clarke” at the Ambassadors Theater.
The winners of this year’s awards are scheduled to be announced on April 6 in a ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The awards are named after Laurence Olivier, the revered British actor.
Another category likely to be closely watched is best actress, because it sees two competing Jocastas: Lesley Manville, nominated for “Oedipus” at Wyndham’s Theater; and Indira Varma, nominated for a different “Oedipus” at the Old Vic Theater.
Also nominated in that category are Heather Agyepong for “Shifters,” Rosie Sheehy for “Machinal” at the Old Vic, and Meera Syal for “A Tupperware Of Ashes” at the National Theater.
