IN THE HEIGHTS Win Three Olivier Awards in London

The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London, England, UK at an annual ceremony in the capital. Originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards, they were established in 1976 and renamed in honor of the British actor Laurence Olivier in 1984. Any new production that opened between February 26, 2015 and February 16, 2016 in a theatre represented in membership of the Society of London Theatre was eligible for consideration, provided it had performed at least 30 performances.

The awards are given to individuals involved in West End productions and other leading non-commercial theatres based in London across a range of categories covering plays, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. The Olivier Awards are recognized internationally as the highest honor in British theatre, equivalent to Broadway's Tony Award. Since its inception, the awards have been held at various venues and theatres across the capital and, most recently, the Royal Opera House since 2012.

2016 Olivier Award winners
Alex Lacamoire and
Lin-Manuel Miranda.

At this year's Olivier Awards, and the Lin-Manuel Miranda-Quiara Alegría Hudes musical In The Heights (playing at the King's Cross Theatre) was nominated for four awards including Best Musical. While it didn't win the Best Musical Olivier (it lost to the Cyndi Lauper-Harvey Fierstein musical Kinky Boots), it won the other three– Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alex Lacamoire, and Ben Sherman for Outstanding Achievement in Music (given to the composer, arranger and orchestrator of a musical); Drew McOnie for Best Theatre Choreographer; and David Bedella for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for his portrayal of Kevin Rosario.

2016 Olivier Award winner
David Bedella.

McOnie beat out Carlos Acosta who, with Andrew Wright, was nominated for their choreography of Guys and Dolls. Another Latino also nominated this year was Javier de Frutos, who was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for his choreography of the ballet Anatomy of a Cloud.

The 2016 Laurence Olivier Awards were held on Sunday, April 3, 2016 at the Royal Opera House, London. The ceremony was hosted by Michael Ball and was broadcast on ITV. For more information about the 2016 Olivier Awards, click here.