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Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical
Annual award for London's West End theatre
Summary
Annual award for London's West End theatre
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Laurence Olivier Award |
| for Best New Musical | |
| awarded_for | Best New Musical |
| presenter | Society of London Theatre |
| location | |
| year | 1976 |
| holder | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2025) |
| website |
for Best New Musical
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in professional London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.
Winners and nominees
1970s
| Year | Musical | Book | Music | Lyrics | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *A Chorus Line* | James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante | Marvin Hamlisch | Edward Kleban | |||||
| Ipi Tombi | Bertha Egnos | Gail Lakier | ||||||
| Side by Side by Sondheim | Ned Sherrin | Various Artists | Stephen Sondheim | |||||
| Very Good Eddie | Philip Bartholomae and Guy Bolton | Jerome Kern | Schuyler Green and Herbert Reynolds | |||||
| *The Comedy of Errors* | Trevor Nunn | Guy Woolfenden | Trevor Nunn | |||||
| Bubbling Brown Sugar | Loften Mitchell | Eubie Blake | ||||||
| I Love My Wife | Michael Stewart | Cy Coleman | Michael Stewart | |||||
| Something's Afoot | James MacDonald, Davis Vos and Robert Gerlach | |||||||
| *Evita* | Tim Rice | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Tim Rice | |||||
| Annie | Thomas Meehan | Charles Strouse | Martin Charnin | |||||
| Elvis | Jack Good and Ray Cooney | Various Artists | ||||||
| *Songbook* | Monty Norman and Julian More | Monty Norman | Monty Norman and Julian More | |||||
| Ain't Misbehavin' | Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr. | Fats Waller | Various Artists | |||||
| Bar Mitzvah Boy | Jack Rosenthal | Jule Styne | Don Black | |||||
| Chicago | Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse | John Kander | Fred Ebb |
1980s
| Year | Musical | Book | Music | Lyrics | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989/90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Sweeney Todd* | Hugh Wheeler | Stephen Sondheim | ||||||||||||
| They're Playing Our Song | Neil Simon | Marvin Hamlisch | Carole Bayer Sager | |||||||||||
| Tom Foolery | Cameron Mackintosh | Tom Lehrer | ||||||||||||
| On the Twentieth Century | Betty Comden and Adolph Green | Cy Coleman | Betty Comden and Adolph Green | |||||||||||
| *Cats* | Trevor Nunn | Andrew Lloyd Webber | T. S. Eliot | |||||||||||
| Barnum | Mark Bramble | Cy Coleman | Michael Stewart | |||||||||||
| One Mo' Time | Vernel Bagneris | Various Artists | ||||||||||||
| The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas | Larry L. King and Peter Masterson | Carol Hall | ||||||||||||
| *Poppy* | Peter Nichols | Monty Norman | Peter Nichols | |||||||||||
| Andy Capp | Trevor Peacock | Alan Price | Trevor Peacock and Alan Price | |||||||||||
| Underneath the Arches | Patrick Garland, Brian Glanville and Roy Hudd | Various Artists | ||||||||||||
| Windy City | Dick Vosburgh | Tony Macaulay | Dick Vosburgh | |||||||||||
| *Blood Brothers* | Willy Russell | |||||||||||||
| Bashville | Benny Green and David William | Denis King | Benny Green | |||||||||||
| Little Shop of Horrors | Howard Ashman | Alan Menken | Howard Ashman | |||||||||||
| Snoopy | Warren Lockhart, Arthur Whitelaw and Michael Grace | Larry Grossman | Hal Hackady | |||||||||||
| *42nd Street* | Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble | Harry Warren | Al Dubin | |||||||||||
| The Hired Man | Melvyn Bragg | Howard Goodall | ||||||||||||
| Pump Boys and Dinettes | Various Artists | |||||||||||||
| Starlight Express | Trevor Nunn | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Richard Stilgoe | |||||||||||
| *Me and My Girl* | L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber | Noel Gay | L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber | |||||||||||
| Les Misérables | Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg | Claude-Michel Schönberg | Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer | |||||||||||
| *The Phantom of the Opera* | Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe | |||||||||||
| Chess | Richard Nelson | Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus | Tim Rice and Björn Ulvaeus | |||||||||||
| H.M.S. Pinafore | Bill Whelan | Arthur Sullivan | W. S. Gilbert | |||||||||||
| Wonderful Town | Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov | Leonard Bernstein | Betty Comden and Adolph Green | |||||||||||
| *Follies* | James Goldman | Stephen Sondheim | ||||||||||||
| Blues in the Night | Sheldon Epps | Various Artists | ||||||||||||
| Kiss Me, Kate | Samuel and Bella Spewack | Cole Porter | ||||||||||||
| Up on the Roof | Simon Moore and Jane Prowse | Various Artists | ||||||||||||
| *Candide* | Hugh Wheeler | Leonard Bernstein | Richard Wilbur and Stephen Sondheim | |||||||||||
| Babes in Arms | Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart | Richard Rodgers | Lorenz Hart | |||||||||||
| Blood Brothers | Willy Russell | |||||||||||||
| The Wizard of Oz | John Kane | Harold Arlen and Herbert Stothart | E. Y. Harburg | |||||||||||
| *Return to the Forbidden Planet* | Bob Carlton | |||||||||||||
| The Baker's Wife | Joseph Stein | Stephen Schwartz | ||||||||||||
| Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story | Alan Janes | Various Artists | ||||||||||||
| Miss Saigon | Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil | Claude-Michel Schönberg | Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. |
1990s
| Year | Musical | Book | Music | Lyrics | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Sunday in the Park with George* | James Lapine | Stephen Sondheim | |||||||||||
| Into the Woods | James Lapine | Stephen Sondheim | |||||||||||
| *Carmen Jones* | Oscar Hammerstein II | Bizet | Oscar Hammerstein II | ||||||||||
| Phantom of the Opera | Ken Hill | ||||||||||||
| *Crazy for You* | Ken Ludwig | George and Ira Gershwin | |||||||||||
| Assassins | John Weidman | Stephen Sondheim | |||||||||||
| Grand Hotel | Luther Davis | Robert Wright, George Forrest and Maury Yeston | |||||||||||
| Kiss of the Spider Woman | Terrence McNally | John Kander | Fred Ebb | ||||||||||
| *City of Angels* | Larry Gelbart | Cy Coleman | David Zippel | ||||||||||
| Sunset Boulevard | Don Black and Christopher Hampton | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Don Black and Christopher Hampton | ||||||||||
| *Once on This Island* | Lynn Ahrens | Stephen Flaherty | Lynn Ahrens | ||||||||||
| Copacabana | Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman | Barry Manilow | Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman | ||||||||||
| Hot Shoe Shuffle | Larry Buttrose and Kathryn Riding | Various Artists | |||||||||||
| Only the Lonely, The Roy Orbison Story | Shirlie Roden and Jon Miller | Keith Strachan | |||||||||||
| *Jolson* | Francis Essex and Rob Bettinson | ||||||||||||
| Fame | José Fernandez | Steve Margoshes | Jacques Levy | ||||||||||
| Hot Mikado | David H. Bell | Rob Bowman | David H. Bell | ||||||||||
| Mack & Mabel | Michael Stewart | Jerry Herman | |||||||||||
| *Martin Guerre* | Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil | Claude-Michel Schönberg | Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil | ||||||||||
| Nine | Arthur Kopit | Maury Yeston | |||||||||||
| Passion | James Lapine | Stephen Sondheim | |||||||||||
| *Beauty and the Beast* | Linda Woolverton | Alan Menken | Howard Ashman and Tim Rice | ||||||||||
| Enter the Guardsman | Scott Wentworth | Craig Bohmler | Marion Adler | ||||||||||
| The Fix | John Dempsey | Dana P. Rowe | John Dempsey | ||||||||||
| Lady in the Dark | Moss Hart | Kurt Weill | Ira Gershwin | ||||||||||
| *Kat and the Kings* | David Kramer | Taliep Petersen | David Kramer | ||||||||||
| Rent | Jonathan Larson | ||||||||||||
| Saturday Night Fever | Various Writers | Bee Gees | |||||||||||
| Whistle Down the Wind | Patricia Knop, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gale Edwards | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Jim Steinman |
2000s
| Year | Musical | Book | Music | Lyrics | 2000 | 2001 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Honk!* | Anthony Drewe | George Stiles | Anthony Drewe | ||||||||||
| Mamma Mia! | Catherine Johnson | Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus | |||||||||||
| Spend Spend Spend | Steve Brown and Justin Greene | Steve Brown | Steve Brown and Justin Greene | ||||||||||
| The Lion King | Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi | Elton John | Tim Rice | ||||||||||
| *Merrily We Roll Along* | George Furth | Stephen Sondheim | |||||||||||
| Fosse | Richard Maltby Jr. and Ann Reinking | Various Artists | |||||||||||
| The Beautiful Game | Ben Elton | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Ben Elton | ||||||||||
| The Witches of Eastwick | John Dempsey | Dana P. Rowe | John Dempsey | ||||||||||
| *Our House* | Tim Firth | Madness | |||||||||||
| Bombay Dreams | Meera Syal | A. R. Rahman | Don Black | ||||||||||
| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | Jeremy Sams | Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman | |||||||||||
| Taboo | Mark Davies Markham | Boy George | |||||||||||
| *Jerry Springer* | Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas | ||||||||||||
| Ragtime | Terrence McNally | Stephen Flaherty | Lynn Ahrens | ||||||||||
| Thoroughly Modern Millie | Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan | Jeanine Tesori | Dick Scanlan | ||||||||||
| *The Producers* | Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan | Mel Brooks | |||||||||||
| Mary Poppins | Julian Fellowes | Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe | |||||||||||
| The Woman in White | Charlotte Jones | Andrew Lloyd Webber | David Zippel | ||||||||||
| *Billy Elliot* | Lee Hall | Elton John | Lee Hall | ||||||||||
| Acorn Antiques | Victoria Wood | ||||||||||||
| The Big Life | Paul Sirett | Paul Joseph | Paul Sirett | ||||||||||
| *Caroline, or Change* | Tony Kushner | Jeanine Tesori | Tony Kushner | ||||||||||
| Avenue Q | Jeff Whitty | Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx | |||||||||||
| Spamalot | Eric Idle | John Du Prez and Eric Idle | Eric Idle | ||||||||||
| Porgy and Bess | DuBose Heyward | George Gershwin | DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin | ||||||||||
| *Hairspray* | Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan | Marc Shaiman | Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman | ||||||||||
| The Drowsy Chaperone | Bob Martin and Don McKellar | Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison | |||||||||||
| The Lord of the Rings | Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus | A. R. Rahman, Värttinä and Christopher Nightingale | Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus | ||||||||||
| Parade | Alfred Uhry | Jason Robert Brown | |||||||||||
| *Jersey Boys* | Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice | Bob Gaudio | Bob Crewe | ||||||||||
| Zorro | Stephen Clark and Helen Edmundson | Gipsy Kings and John Cameron | Stephen Clark |
2010s
| Year | Musical | Book | Music | Lyrics | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Spring Awakening* | Steven Sater | Duncan Sheik | Steven Sater | |||||||||||
| Dreamboats and Petticoats | Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran | Various Artists | ||||||||||||
| Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott | Various Artists | ||||||||||||
| Sister Act | Cheri and Bill Steinkellner | Alan Menken | Glenn Slater | |||||||||||
| *Legally Blonde* | Heather Hach | Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin | ||||||||||||
| Fela! | Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis | Fela Kuti | ||||||||||||
| Love Never Dies | Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Glenn Slater | |||||||||||
| Love Story | Stephen Clark | Howard Goodall | Stephen Clark and | |||||||||||
| Howard Goodall | ||||||||||||||
| *Matilda* | Dennis Kelly | Tim Minchin | ||||||||||||
| Betty Blue Eyes | Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman | George Stiles | Anthony Drewe | |||||||||||
| Ghost | Bruce Joel Rubin | Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard | Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard and Bruce Joel Rubin | |||||||||||
| London Road | Alecky Blythe | Adam Cork | Alecky Blythe and Adam Cork | |||||||||||
| Shrek | David Lindsay-Abaire | Jeanine Tesori | David Lindsay-Abaire | |||||||||||
| *Top Hat* | **Matthew White and | |||||||||||||
| Howard Jacques** | Irving Berlin | |||||||||||||
| Loserville | James Bourne and Elliot Davis | |||||||||||||
| Soul Sister | John Miller and Pete Brooks | Various Artists | ||||||||||||
| The Bodyguard | Alexander Dinelaris | Various Artists | ||||||||||||
| *The Book of Mormon* | Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone | |||||||||||||
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | David Greig | Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman | ||||||||||||
| Once | Enda Walsh | Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová | ||||||||||||
| The Scottsboro Boys | David Thompson | John Kander | Fred Ebb | |||||||||||
| *Sunny Afternoon* | Joe Penhall | Ray Davies | ||||||||||||
| Beautiful: The Carole King Musical | Douglas McGrath | Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil | ||||||||||||
| Here Lies Love | David Byrne | David Byrne and Fatboy Slim | David Byrne | |||||||||||
| Memphis | Joe DiPietro | David Bryan | David Bryan and Joe DiPietro | |||||||||||
| *Kinky Boots* | Harvey Fierstein | Cyndi Lauper | ||||||||||||
| Bend It Like Beckham | Gurinder Chadha and | |||||||||||||
| Paul Mayeda Berges | Howard Goodall | Charles Hart | ||||||||||||
| In the Heights | Quiara Alegría Hudes | Lin-Manuel Miranda | ||||||||||||
| Mrs Henderson Presents | Terry Johnson | George Fenton and | ||||||||||||
| Simon Chamberlin | Don Black | |||||||||||||
| *Groundhog Day* | Danny Rubin | Tim Minchin | ||||||||||||
| Dreamgirls | Tom Eyen | Henry Krieger | Tom Eyen | |||||||||||
| The Girls | Tim Firth and Gary Barlow | |||||||||||||
| School of Rock | Julian Fellowes | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Glenn Slater | |||||||||||
| **Hamilton** | Lin-Manuel Miranda | |||||||||||||
| An American in Paris | Craig Lucas | George Gershwin | Ira Gershwin | |||||||||||
| Everybody's Talking About Jamie | Tom MacRae | Dan Gillespie Sells | Tom MacRae | |||||||||||
| Girl from the North Country | Conor McPherson | Bob Dylan | ||||||||||||
| Young Frankenstein | Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan | Mel Brooks | ||||||||||||
| *Come from Away* | David Hein and Irene Sankoff | |||||||||||||
| Fun Home | Lisa Kron | Jeanine Tesori | Lisa Kron | |||||||||||
| Six | Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss | |||||||||||||
| Tina | Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins | Tina Turner |
2020s
| Year | Musical | Book | Music | Lyrics | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Dear Evan Hansen* | Steven Levenson | Justin Paul | Benj Pasek | |||||||
| & Juliet | David West Read | Max Martin | ||||||||
| Amélie | Craig Lucas | Daniel Messé | Daniel Messé and Nathan Tysen | |||||||
| Waitress | Jessie Nelson | Sara Bareilles | ||||||||
| Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||
| *Back to the Future: The Musical* | Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis | Alan Silvestri | Glen Ballard | |||||||
| The Drifters Girl | Ed Curtis and Tina Treadwell | Various Artists | ||||||||
| Frozen | Jennifer Lee | Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez | ||||||||
| Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical | Lee Hall | Bob Marley | ||||||||
| Moulin Rouge! The Musical | John Logan | Various Artists | ||||||||
| *Standing at the Sky's Edge* | Chris Bush | Richard Hawley | ||||||||
| The Band's Visit | Itamar Moses | David Yazbek | ||||||||
| Sylvia | Kate Prince and Priya Parmar | Kate Prince | Josh Cohen and DJ Walde | |||||||
| Tammy Faye | James Graham | Elton John | Jake Shears | |||||||
| *Operation Mincemeat* | David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts | |||||||||
| The Little Big Things | Joe White | Nick Butcher | Nick Butcher & Tom Ling | |||||||
| Next to Normal | Brian Yorkey | Tom Kitt | Brian Yorkey | |||||||
| A Strange Loop | Michael R. Jackson | |||||||||
| **The Curious Case of Benjamin Button** | Jethro Compton | Darren Clark and Jethro Compton | Darren Clark | |||||||
| MJ the Musical | Lynn Nottage | Various Artists | ||||||||
| Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 | Dave Malloy | |||||||||
| Why Am I So Single? | Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss |
Multiple awards and nominations for Best New Musical
Awards
Five awards
- Stephen Sondheim
Three awards
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
Two awards
- Thomas Meehan
- Tim Minchin
- Trevor Nunn
- Tim Rice
- Hugh Wheeler
Nominations
Ten nominations
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
Nine nominations
- Stephen Sondheim
Four nominations
- Don Black
- Cy Coleman
- Thomas Meehan
- Michael Stewart
- Jeanine Tesori
Three nominations
- Alain Boublil
- Fred Ebb
- Anthony Drewe
- Howard Goodall
- Elton John
- John Kander
- James Lapine
- Robert Lopez
- Richard Maltby Jr.
- Claude-Michel Schönberg
- Glenn Slater
- Alan Menken
- George Stiles
- Trevor Nunn
- Tim Rice
Two nominations
- Howard Ashman
- Benny Andersson
- Glen Ballard
- Leonard Bernstein
- Mark Bramble
- Mel Brooks
- Betty Comden
- Ben Elton
- Julian Fellowes
- Tim Firth
- Adolph Green
- Lee Hall
- Marvin Hamlisch
- Charles Hart
- Craig Lucas
- Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Toby Marlow
- Terrence McNally
- Tim Minchin
- Lucy Moss
- Willy Russell (nominated for Blood Brothers in 1983 and 1983 as "Musical of the Year" before the award for Best Musical Revival was introduced in 1991)
- Richard M. Sherman
- Robert B. Sherman
- Richard Stilgoe
- Björn Ulvaeus
- Hugh Wheeler
References
References
- Johnson, Boris. (2020-03-23). "Prime Minister's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 23 March 2020 [transcript]".
- McPhee, Ryan. (2021-06-14). "U.K. Postpones Reopening Roadmap; West End Theatres Will No Longer Reopen in Full in June". [[Playbill]].
- Thomas, Sophie. (2022-03-08). "Everything you need to know about the Olivier Awards". londontheatre.co.uk.
Wikipedia Source
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