The 21st Musical Awards Gala will take place on May 15. Thirteen productions have a chance to win the prizes. Extremely young talent stands out and a lot of new Dutch work.
None of the three audience favorites from the first intact post-pandemic musical season are set in the ‘here and now’. The nominees for the audience award are bombastic Les Miserables about a French popular uprising, the colorful dance spectacle grease and the Limburg location performance Diary of a Sheepdog.
These are performances that lift you from the theater plush and transport you to another time, to societies where robot vacuum cleaners were still science fiction and women usually wore an apron or skirt.
Would the musical audience like to escape the daily reality? Or were these simply the best productions of the season? The jury of the Musical Awards, which will be presented for the 21st time on 15 May, also nominated the audience favorites for more than twenty prizes.
Nevertheless, the selection also includes performances about contemporary subjects such as dating discomfort (Blind date and Before after), a lesbian couple who are not allowed to go to prom (The Prom) and a girl who rebels against her family moving (Floor’s rules). In total, the nominations are divided over thirteen musicals – very diverse in ambitions, subject matter and style.
Solid versus creative
Most of the nominations were won by the aforementioned Les Miserables (11), horror show Sweeney Todd (10) and family spectacle Charlie and the chocolate factory (9). This list also probably includes the two best musicals of this season, in the categories ‘big’ and ‘small’ (productions with a maximum of 15 cast members).
That’s impressive Sweeney Todd going home with the prize for best small musical is almost certain. This production stands head and shoulders above the other nominees, both musically and in terms of production value. Stephen Sondheim’s compositions are beautifully performed; the prison decor surprises.
When best big musical beats Les Miserables probably narrows the well-known Roald Dahl adventure. Both musicals are of high quality, in their own way. Where Les Mis is a stately, solid version of a classic Charlie into the audience with its creative design and momentum.
From home soil
New Dutch work is well represented this year. All contenders for Best Small Musical are – up Sweeney Todd after – homegrown productions. It is therefore pressing in the category ‘Best Dutch Original Musical’, which has existed since last year. This is also because the awards rules force the jury to nominate all new Dutch productions that premiered this season (July 1, 2022 to April 23, 2023).
Presumably wins Diary of a Sheepdog in this category. This sympathetic location performance, based on a popular TV series from the 1970s, impresses above all with large-scale ensemble numbers. It is the most ambitious production among the nominees The rules of Floor (an unexpected 6-nomination contender) stands out as a charming production with poignant, comedic lyrics.
Acting Awards
At the acting awards, it seems a foregone conclusion for the female nominees: Gaia Aikman lifted it (not very overwhelming) Aida single-handedly to a higher plan and Simone Kleinsma is the radiant center of it Sweeney Todd.
It also seems a foregone conclusion for ‘best man’ in a small musical: that must be Hans Peter Janssens, with his tsunami of a title role in the same production.
Things get more exciting for the men in a big musical. Out Les Miserables two strong roles have been nominated: Milan van Waardenburg and Freek Bartels play each other’s rivals
on stage, but are now also at the awards gala. They will compete against, among others, Remko Vrijdag, also a good candidate for the win. ‘His’ Willy Wonka was nice and mysterious, a role that will stay with you. In the end, Van Waardenburg will probably receive the statuette after all: he very convincingly interprets the life phases of main character Jean Valjean and impresses vocally.
Young professionals
This season, many extremely young players also stole the show, such as the loosely acting Pam van Engen (15 years old). Floor’s rules and dance talent Ki-Yeann Wijnaldum (12 years old). The Bodyguard. Downright impressive was also 10-year-old Noah Fontijn, who as Charlie conquered the chocolate factory with unbridled energy, timing and excellent text handling.
The (older) actors in the ‘Up and coming talent’ category are also names to cheer you up. The battle is expected here between the sparkling Juliëtte van Tongeren (The Prom) and Joes Brauers, who played an endearing chaplain in Diary of a Sheepdog, with fine playing and a warm voice. With so many fine young professionals, musical audiences have much to look forward to in the coming seasons.
It Musical Awards Gala will be broadcast on NPO1 on Monday 15 May at 8.30 pm, live from the Circustheater in Scheveningen.