Broadway-Bound Andy Karl, Glenn Close & More Make Shortlist for London's Evening Standard Award

Andy Karl and Glenn Close are among the performers on the shortlist for the 2016 London Evening Standard Awards. Karl and Close appear together in the Best Musical Performance category; Karl is confirmed to reprise his role in Groundhog Day on Broadway next year, with talk of Close doing the same in a revival of Sunset Boulevard (although she wouldn't be eligible for a Tony as she's already won for Norma Desmond; she'd never previously played her in the U.K.). Rounding out their category is Funny Girl headliner Sheridan Smith. All three of their respective shows are up for Best Musical, along with Guys And Dolls, Jesus Christ Superstar and Our Ladies Of Perpetual Succour. Additional actors to receive nods include Kenneth Branagh for The Entertainer, Ian McKellen for No Man’s Land and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’s Noma Dumezwni for her earlier (and last-minute) bow in Linda.

Winners will be announced at the November 13 ceremony, co-hosted by Elton John and Evgeny Lebedev. The complete shortlist is as follows:

Best Actor
Sir Kenneth Branagh, The Entertainer
O-T Fagbenle, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Ralph Fiennes, The Master Builder/Richard III
James McArdle, Platonov
Sir Ian McKellen, No Man’s Land

Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress
Noma Dumezweni, Linda
Helen McCrory, The Deep Blue Sea
Sophie Melville, Iphigenia In Splott
Billie Piper, Yerma

Best Musical Performance
Glenn Close, Sunset Boulevard
Andy Karl, Groundhog Day
Sheridan Smith, Funny Girl

Best Play
Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) by Suzan-Lori Parks
The Flick by Annie Baker
Harry Potter And The Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, J K Rowling and John Tiffany

Evening Standard Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical
Funny Girl
Groundhog Day
Guys And Dolls
Jesus Christ Superstar
Our Ladies Of Perpetual Succour
Sunset Boulevard

Milton Shulman Award for Best Director
Dominic Cooke, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
John Malkovich, Good Canary
John Tiffany, Harry Potter And The Cursed Child

Best Design
Jon Bausor, You For Me For You
Gareth Fry with Peter Malkin (sound design), The Encounter
Rob Howell, The Master Builder/Groundhog Day

Best Revival
Les Blancs
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
No Man’s Land
Young Chekhov: Platonov, Ivanov and The Seagull

Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright
Charlene James, Cuttin’ It
Jon Brittain, Rotterdam
David Ireland, Cyprus Avenue

Emerging Talent Award
Jaygann Ayeh, The Flick
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter And The Cursed Child
Aoife Duffin, A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing/The Taming Of The Shrew
Tyrone Huntley, Jesus Christ Superstar