Top Hat has won this year’s Best New Musical Olivier Award, triumphing in a hotly contest category that also included Loserville, Soul Sister and The Bodyguard.
Based on the 1935 film of the same name and nominated for a total of seven awards at this year’s ceremony, Top Hat brings a glamorous touch of Hollywood opulence to the West End, evoking the the golden age of the silver screen and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodger’s world-famous dance partnership to tell the story of Broadway star Jerry Travers as he tries to win the heart of beautiful socialite Dale Tremont.
Opening at the Aldwych theatre last May with Olivier Award nominees Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen in the leading roles, the Matthew White-directed musical was met with critical and public acclaim. Official London Theatre described Irving Berlin’s popular classics, which pack the Top Hat score, as “as toe-tappingly catchy as they ever were, proving a gloriously uplifting score for a host of memorable Bill Deamer-choreographed tap routines,” while The Sunday Telegraph’s Tim Walker said it was “The most sublimely performed, choreographed, orchestrated and costumed musical I have seen in the past 25 years.”
After collecting the award alongside other members of the company, Top Hat producer Kenny Wax said: “We’re absolutely over the moon. Really delighted. So many people have worked so hard on the show. [I’m] just overjoyed for everybody really.”
The show is still playing at the venue with Tony and Olivier Award nominated Gavin Lee and Broadway’s Kristen Beth Williams now leading the company as Jerry and Dale.