Nicole Scherzinger is headed to Broadway with a trophy to support her. Scherzinger won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical on April 14 for her role as Norma Desmond in the revival of Sunset Boulevard. It’s a good boost for the former Pussycat Doll prior to her crossing the pond to star in the same production on Broadway. In her speech, Scherzinger thanked God, the London theater community for “wrapping your arms and legs around me like a spider monkey,†her family, and even Andrew Lloyd Webber, whom she called “my dear friend and mentor.†Maybe she just forgot to add “former nemesis,†but that’s okay. She also squatted like Hannah Waddingham, who was hosting the ceremony. “This is something Hannah would do,†she said upon first squatting. Then she did another, deeper squat because that was, apparently, more like Hannah Waddingham. We hope she does an equally odd speech when if she wins the Tony next year.
Sunset Boulevard, directed by Jamie Lloyd, won big that night not just for Scherzinger but for … just about everything. The production won seven awards, tying the record for most wins ever by a musical; others included Lloyd for Best Director, Scherzinger’s co-star Tom Francis for Best Actor in a Musical, and Best Musical Revival. Another big winner of the night was Sarah Snook, who is officially the first Succession cast member to win a big award post-Succession. Sorry to Jeremy Strong and Juliana Canfield, the Tonys aren’t for another few months.