‘Producers’ wins British honors

LONDON —  “The Producers” was named best musical of 2004 at the London Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards, while the National Theatre dominated the drama prizes.

The Mel Brooks musical, a popular and critical hit since its November opening, has had its share of backstage troubles. The show lost original star Richard Dreyfuss three weeks before opening. His replacement, Nathan Lane, was forced to pull out two weeks early due to a back injury. Brad Oscar is now starring in the London production.

Alan Bennett’s witty classroom drama “The History Boys,” at the National, was named best new play in this week’s awards, selected by theater critics. One of the show’s stars, Richard Griffiths, took the best actor prize.

Victoria Hamilton was named best actress for a much-praised West End revival of Tennessee Williams’ “Suddenly Last Summer,” and the award for best Shakespearean performance went to Paul Rhys for “Measure for Measure” at the National.