'Producers' Ties Record With 10 Tony Awards
N E W Y O R K, Jun 3 -- The Producers, led by a merry Mel Brooks,made Broadway history Sunday night, winning a record 12 TonyAwards, including best musical. The best play award went to"Proof," which won three.
"I'm going to have to do the hardest thing I've ever done in mylife — act humble," said double-winner Brooks, who picked up theprizes for best score and, along with co-author Thomas Meehan, bestbook of a musical. He had a hard time being humble as The Producers steamrolledto the Tony record. "I'll see you in a couple of minutes," hesaid after winning his second award of the night."I want to thank Stephen Sondheim for not writing a show thisyear," Brooks cracked as he continued a laundry list of thankyous.
Nathan Lane, the musical's bumbling showman Max Bialystock, wonthe best actor-musical prize, giving the production itsrecord-shattering 11th Tony, surpassing the 10 won by Hello,Dolly! in 1964. A genuinely touched Lane, who previously won for A Funny ThingHappened On The Way To The Forum, dragged his co-star and fellownominee, Matthew Broderick, out on stage and accepted the award onbehalf of both of them. "Without him, I'm nothing," Lane said,with his arm around Broderick.
'Heil, Mel'
Susan Stroman also won twice, for the musical's direction andchoreography, a prize she has won three times previously. Shethanked Brooks, who she said advised her "don't tap the bell, ringthe bell" when creating the dances. "May you all be blessed with the laughter I have had over thelast year," an emotional Stroman said on her second trip to thepodium. The musical took both featured performance prizes — Gary Beachfor the flamboyant director, Roger DeBris, and Cady Huffman, whoportrays the blond bombshell in the show. Beach, who plays the Fuehrer in the "Springtime for Hitler"number, yelled out "Heil, Mel" and threw a straight-armed saluteto the show's creator. Later, Brooks cracked: "I want to thank Hitler for being such afunny guy on stage."
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