'The Producers' scoops 11 Tony awards
The Producers, led by a merry Mel Brooks, made Broadway history, winning a record-breaking 11 Tony Awards.
‘I’m going to have to do the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life act humble,’’ said double-winner Brooks, who picked up the prizes for best score and, along with co-author Thomas Meehan, best book of a musical.
‘‘I want to thank Stephen Sondheim for not writing a show this year,’’ Brooks cracked as he continued a laundry list of thank yous.
Nathan Lane, who plays bumbling showman Max Bialystock, won the best actor-musical prize, giving the production its 11th Tony, shattering the record of 10 held by Hello, Dolly! since 1964.
A genuinely touched Lane dragged his co-star, Matthew Broderick, out on stage and accepted the award on behalf of both of them. ‘‘Without him, I’m nothing,’’ Lane said, with his arm around him.
Susan Stroman won twice, for the musical’s direction and choreography, a prize she has won three times previously. She thanked Brooks, who she said advised her ‘‘don’t tap the bell, ring the bell’’ when creating the dances.
‘‘May you all be blessed with the laughter I have had over the last year,’’ an emotional Stroman said on her second trip to the podium.
‘‘The Producers’’ took both featured performance prizes - Gary Beach for the flamboyant director, Roger DeBris, and Cady Huffman, who portrays the blond bombshell secretary in the show.
Beach, who plays the Fuehrer in the Springtime For Hitler number, yelled out ‘‘Heil, Mel’’ and threw a straight-armed salute to the show’s creator.
The Producers swept the design honours, too - Robin Wagner, scenery; Peter Kaczorowski, lighting; and William Ivey Long, costumes. Also honoured: Doug Besterman, who orchestrated Brooks’ score.
Daniel Sullivan took the direction-play award for Proof and joked: ‘‘There must be some mistake. I had nothing to do with The Producers.’’
His leading lady, Mary-Louise Parker, picked up the best actress-play award.
The best musical revival award went to the tapping 42nd Street, and its star, Christine Ebersole got the top female musical prize. The play revival award went to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Richard Easton, who plays poet A E Housman in The Invention of Love, took the top actor-play prize, while Robert Sean Leonard, who is the younger incarnation of the same man, won in the featured category. Viola Davis, the fiery wife in ‘‘King Hedley II,’’ received the featured actress award.
In giving a gaggle of prizes to The Producers, Broadway anointed its biggest hit in years.
The musical’s success dwarfed just about everything else that happened on Broadway during the 2000-2001 theatre season. From its $100 (£70) ticket price announced the same day the show’s rave reviews came out - to the desperate tactics of theatregoers trying to get into the musical to its million-dollar-plus weekly grosses, the production commanded attention.
Its arrival heralded a rebirth of old-fashioned musical comedy, full of gags, girls and political incorrectness, as the sun started setting on the long-running empire of big British musicals.
Two of the biggest - Cats and Miss Saigon - ended their Broadway runs in the season which ended May 31.
