The best musical of the year comes from Linz. At least that’s how the jury of the German Musical Theater Prize 2024 sees it. At a gala in the Theater des Westens in Berlin on Monday evening, the musical thriller “The Queens” from the Landestheater Linz triumphed with five awards, including in the supreme discipline “Best Musical 2024”.
The successful production “The Queens”, which premiered at the Landestheater Linz in February 2024 and was also celebrated as a “big hit” in the Passauer Neue Presse, won in five of the 16 categories. In addition to “Best Musical,” these were: “Best Composition” (Thomas Zaufke), “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Alexandra-Yoana Alexandrova), “Best Costume & Makeup Design” (Conny Lüders) and “Best Lighting Design” (Michael Grundner). In addition, Linz ensemble member Lukas Sandmann secured the award for “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” for his role in “Berlin Non Stop”.
The German Musical Theater Prize was awarded in Berlin for the tenth time. Prominent guests from culture, politics and show business such as Klaus Wowereit, Anna Maria bother and Thomas Herrmann did not miss the show. The only musical prize in German-speaking countries is awarded by the German Musical Academy. The winners are chosen by an eleven-person jury of experts and members of the Academy.
And the Landestheater Linz is particularly successful – it has triumphed in the “Best Musical” category for the fourth time. In 2017, the Linz premiere “Around the World in 80 Days” was the big winner with six awards, in 2019 “The Hare with the Amber Eyes” received four awards, and in 2021 “The Wave” took home five awards.
The musical “The Queens”, which is about opponents Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I, convinced the expert jury “with its innovative production and gripping music”. Confirmation for Linz musical director Matthias Davids: “’The Queens’ was one of our biggest projects in recent years, and we are happy that this project, which we initiated almost four years ago, was received so enthusiastically by the German-speaking musical scene .”
Dominik Schweighofer
