Tony Awards: ‘Book of Mormon’ wins nine awards, including top musical
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‘The Book of Mormon,’ the cheerfully offensive musical from the creators of ‘South Park,’ was the big winner at Sunday’s Tony Awards, winning in nine categories including best musical. The show’s creators -- Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez -- each won multiple awards in the writing and other creative categories.
Parker, in accepting the top award, jokingly thanked ‘our co-writer who passed away, Joseph Smith,’ who is the founder of the Mormon faith.
The record for the most Tonys is held by ‘The Producers,’ with 12 wins.
‘Mormon’ was the favorite going into Sunday’s ceremony, with a total of 12 nominations. The musical won in the categories of score and book of a musical, which were both written by Stone, Parker and Lopez.
The musical tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries who travel to a remote village in Africa. The show makes fun of various religions, the AIDS crisis and other hot-button topics.
The show also won for direction (Casey Nicholaw and Parker). Actress Nikki M. James, playing an African villager, took home the award for featured actress in a musical.
‘Mormon’s’ other wins came in the categories for scenic design, lighting, sound design and orchestration.
‘War Horse,’ the British drama that uses life-size puppets to represent its equine characters, received five Tonys, including best play. The drama also won for direction, scenic design, lighting design and and sound design.
Revivals of ‘Anything Goes’ and ‘The Normal Heart’ both won three Tonys, including musical revival and play revival, respectively.
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--David Ng
Photo (top): Trey Parker accepts the award for best musical for ‘The Book of Mormon.’ Credit: Jeff Christensen / Associated Press
