‘Hamilton’ leads nominations for UK stage Olivier Awards

LONDON (AP) — Women’s rights activists are due to join stage stars on the red carpet Sunday at British theater’s Olivier Awards, where “Hamilton” leads the race for trophies with 13 nominations.

Inspired by the Time’s Up movement against sexual harassment and abuse, several leading actresses will bring guests from feminist groups and organizations working against domestic violence to the ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical about U.S. founding father Alexander Hamilton, which opened in London in December, is nominated in a record 13 categories, including best new musical. Jamael Westman, in the title role, and Giles Terera as Aaron Burr are both nominated for best actor in a musical.

“Hamilton” could break the awards’ record haul of nine trophies, won last year by “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

Other contenders in acting categories include Bryan Cranston for “Network,” Andrew Garfield for “Angels in America” and Imelda Staunton, nominated for both “Follies” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Jez Butterworth’s Northern Ireland drama “The Ferryman” has eight nominations in non-musical categories.

Named for the late British actor Laurence Olivier, the prizes honor achievements in London theater, musicals, dance and opera. Winners in most categories are chosen by a panel of stage professionals and theatergoers.

Britain’s equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Awards has become an increasingly glitzy affair in recent years, with prizes awarded at a black-tie ceremony studded with musical numbers.

This year, Britain’s theater world is confronting multiple allegations of sexual wrongdoing by powerful in the entertainment industry. London’s Old Vic Theatre said in November that it had received 20 allegations of inappropriate behavior by Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey, who was its artistic director between 2004 and 2015.