'Producers' Ties Record With 10 Tony Awards
N E W Y O R K, Jun 3, 2001 -- 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." The Producers swept the design honors, too — Robin Wagner,scenery; Peter Kaczorowski, lighting; and William Ivey Long,costumes. Also honored: Doug Besterman, who orchestrated Brooks'score.
Other People Won, Too
Daniel Sullivan took the direction-play award for Proof andjoked: "There must be some mistake. I had nothing to do with TheProducers." His leading lady, Mary-Louise Parker, picked up thebest actress-play award. The best musical revival award went to the tapping 42ndStreet, and its star, Christine Ebersole got the top femalemusical prize. The play revival award went to One Flew Over theCuckoo's Nest. Richard Easton, who plays poet A.E. Housman in "The Inventionof Love," took the top actor-play prize, while Robert SeanLeonard, who is the younger incarnation of the same man, won in thefeatured category. Viola Davis, the fiery wife in King HedleyII, received the featured actress award.
Hello, Producers: 10 Ties Dolly Record
In giving a gaggle of prizes to The Producers, Broadwayanointed its biggest hit in years. The success of The Producers, however, dwarfed just abouteverything else that happened on Broadway during the 2000-2001theater season. From its $100 ticket price — announced the same day the show'srave reviews came out — to the desperate tactics of theatergoerstrying to get into the musical to its million-dollar-plus weeklygrosses, the production commanded attention. Its arrival heralded a rebirth of old-fashioned musical comedy,full of gags, girls and political incorrectness, as the sun startedsetting on the long-running empire of big British musicals. Two ofthe biggest — Cats and Miss Saigon — ended their Broadwayruns in the season which ended May 31.
A Financially Healthy Broadway Season
Yet there was other news, too. The resurrection of the newAmerican play, for example, long an endangered species on Broadway.The last year saw the opening of Proof, The Tale of theAllergist's Wife and Neil Simon's The Dinner Party, all ofthem popular hits which made money. Financially, the Broadway season was rosy. New box office andattendance records were set. Receipts climbed to more than $665million, according to figures released by the League of AmericanTheaters and Producers, up by more than 10 percent from theprevious year. Attendance also jumped, hitting some 11.9 millionafter a slight decline last season. Network executives hoped interest in The Producers wouldjump-start the ratings for the televised ceremony, shown on PBS forthe first hour and then CBS for the final two. Last year's CBSratings of the show were the lowest ever on the commercial network.
The Tony Awards, which were founded by the American Theater Wingin 1947, are voted on by 702 members of the theatrical professionand journalists. Special awards this year include a regional theater prize toVictory Gardens Theater of Chicago and a lifetime achievement awardto Paul Gemignani, veteran musical director of many Sondheimmusicals.