Dame Arlene Phillips received a standing ovation as she won her first ever Olivier Award for best theatre choreographer for Guys and Dolls.
The former Strictly Come Dancing judge was celebrated at the star-studded ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday as she achieved a personal goal by landing the gong. She took home the Gillian Lynne Award for the 1950s musical with her co-choreographer James Cousins and she looked stunned by the news.
She saw off competition from Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf for Dear England, Fabian Aloise for Sunset Boulevard, Mark Smith for The Little Big Things and Susan Stroman for Crazy for You to win the award. Arlene looked lost for words when he name was read out in as the audience showed their appreciation.
Musical theatre icon Michael Ball was on hand to deliver the incredible news and he announced: "And the Olivier goes to..... proof there is nothing like a dame - Arlene Phillips!" Everyone inside the venue got to their feet as the 80-year-old left her seat and made her way to the stage.
Dame Arlene Phillips has received a standing ovation following her first competitive Olivier (Getty Images For SOLT)“I am totally and utterly overwhelmed,” she said as she collected the accolade to the delight of the crowd. The veteran West End star went on to thank fellow choreographer James for helping her by “crawling around” on the dancefloor to demonstrate the movements when she had issues with her knees.
Arlene Phillips and Vicky McClure call on Rishi Sunak to prioritise dementia
Social media was awash with glowing comments with viewers were delighted for Arlene even if some were asking why it has taken this long. One wrote on twitter: "The legendary @arlenephillips wins her first Olivier aged 80 (!) for best theatre choreographer for Guys and Dolls and the room leaps to its feet! Go Arlene! Iconic!"
Another said it was long overdue, writing: "The way everyone rose to their feet for this icon! @arlenephillips winning her first @OlivierAwards award! How is this her first win? I went to see Guys and Dolls specifically to see a performance choreographed by the legend that is [Arlene] CONGRATULATIONS!"
A third person said: "Dame Arlene Phillips achieves a FULL standing ovation for her *first ever* Olivier Award win (at 80, though you wouldn’t know it!). Phenomenal. And so well deserved," as another wrote: "Arlene Phillips is a legend! Such a deserving win and it's about time she was given her flowers!"
Sunset Boulevard was the big winner at Sunday's awards, equalling the record for the most prizes for a musical at the famous ceremony. The show's seven wins included best musical revival and acting awards for its stars Nicole Scherzinger and Tom Francis.
Accepting her award, the singer joked: "I always really wanted to be a singer and do musicals, and I dreamed of so many roles that I wanted to do. And honestly this role, Norma Desmond, was not one of those roles. But God works in mysterious ways - because it's honestly one of the ballsiest and bravest things I've ever done, and I've had an incomparable director Jamie Lloyd to thank for that."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
