'Mormon,' 'War Horse' are the big winners at Tonys

NEW YORK -- A slew of acclaimed shows were up for Tony Awards in a remarkably competitive year, but a production that wasn't even eligible still managed to cast a shadow -- well, shall we make that a web? -- over the proceedings.

On a night when the hilariously profane "The Book of Mormon" reigned supreme, the famously troubled "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" got attention both positive and negative at Sunday's Tonys. There was a performance plus a plug from its famous composers, Bono and The Edge. And of course, there were the obligatory "Spider-Man" jokes, without which no awards show would be complete.

There were jokes even about the ubiquity of "Spider-Man" jokes. Host Neil Patrick Harris said he would limit himself to a 30-second speed round, getting his biggest laugh with a quip about the show's ousted original director: "Julie Taymor knew it was over when she woke and found the head of "'War Horse" in her bed."

Still, the breadth represented by the evening's nominees and winners showed that there's a lot going on in Broadway theater that doesn't involve comic-book superheroes.

At the top of the heap was "Mormon," which has taken Broadway by storm this season. It captured nine awards, including best musical, for its offensive yet good-natured look at two missionaries who arrive in Uganda and get way more than they bargained for, including gun-toting warlords, whole villages infected with HIV and a running gag about maggots in a man's scrotum.

"War Horse," a World War I tale about horses told with puppetry won five Tonys, including best play. The revival of Larry Kramer's AIDS play "The Normal Heart" won three, as did a revival of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" with Sutton Foster, who won best actress in a musical.

Norbert Leo Butz won for best actor in a musical for playing a frumpy FBI agent hot on the heels of a con man in "Catch Me If You Can," his second Tony. He movingly paid tribute to his sister, who was killed while he was working on the show. Unfortunately, the wrap-it-up music was playing him off.

Frances McDormand, who showed up to the awards ceremony at the Beacon Theatre in a short denim jacket over her long striped dress, kept on the casual jacket as she accepted her best actress award for her portrayal of a South Boston, blue-collar woman in the David Lindsay-Abaire play "Good People."

The directing prize for a play went to Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris for "War Horse," which goes for the tears every night with its story of a boy and the horse he loves. "We quite like it when people cry," Morris cracked backstage.

Shows left empty-handed included "The Scottsboro Boys," which had 12 nominations, "Sister Act," "The Merchant of Venice," and "The Motherf---- With the Hat."

Nikki M. James, who won for best featured actress in a musical in "The Book of Mormon," dedicated the award to her dad, who died while she was in high school, and to her nephew Ozzie, who was born with kidney problems.

Kramer's "The Normal Heart" won the best revival prize and two actors from the AIDS drama -- Ellen Barkin and John Benjamin Hickey -- also won. Barkin, making her Broadway debut, won best actress in a featured role in a play, while Hickey won best actor in a featured role.

John Larroquette, in his Broadway debut, won the award for best actor in a featured role in a musical for "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." He thanked his co-star Daniel Radcliffe, who was not nominated but played a prominent role in the Tony telecast, saying that without the "Harry Potter" star he'd be "home, sitting in my underwear, watching this on television."

In awards presented off camera, "The Book of Mormon" won for orchestration, sound design, scenic design of a musical, score and book of a musical. "War Horse" won for best sound design of a play and best scenic design of a play.

The costume award in a musical went to "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" for flamboyant concoctions by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner -- including drag queens dressed as colorful frosted cupcakes -- and Desmond Heeley won for his costumes for "The Importance of Being Earnest."