Monty Python musical Spamalot has continued its success by collecting seven nominations for the prestigious Laurence Olivier theatre awards.
Spamalot, based on the Pythons' 1975 Holy Grail film, leads the field with its stars Tim Curry, Hannah Waddingham and Tom Goodman-Hill all up for awards.
The revived Stephen Sondheim's musical Sunday in the Park with George has six.
But The Sound of Music star Connie Fisher is missing from the list for the awards, to be held on 18 February.
Spamalot's other nominations are for best new musical, best lighting, best set and best costume design.
But it is not on the outstanding musical production shortlist.
That category will be contested by Sunday in the Park with George, Cabaret, Evita and The Sound of Music.
Sunday in the Park with George is also up for best musical actress for Jenna Russell, best musical actor for Daniel Evans and best director for Sam Buntrock.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of Evita has four nominations, including best musical actress for its Argentine star Elena Roger.
Wicked - a musical about the witches from The Wizard of Oz - is also up for four awards, while Cabaret and Porgy and Bess are up for three each.
Tom Stoppard's play Rock 'n' Roll has four nominations including best new play, best actress for Sinead Cusack and best actor for Rufus Sewell.
Cusack will face Hollywood veteran Kathleen Turner for Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Green Wing star Tamsin Greig for Much Ado About Nothing and Eve Best for A Moon for the Misbegotten.
And the best actor category also includes Frost/Nixon stars Michael Sheen and Frank Langella as well as Iain Glen for The Crucible and David Haig for Donkey's Years.
'Exceptional year'
The Royal Ballet has six out of the eight dance nominations, while the English National Opera has five out of the eight nominations in the opera categories.
Rosemary Squire, president of the Society of London Theatre, said: "2006 has been another exceptional year for London theatre.
"A wide variety of exciting and spectacular new productions and revivals have opened, while many longer-running shows have celebrated significant anniversaries.
"It proves that London theatre continues to offer a quality and diversity of live entertainment unrivalled anywhere else, confirming our position as the theatre capital of the world."
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~25~RS~)