Theater News

NEWS FLASH: Ellen Barkin, Norbert Leo Butz, Sutton Foster, Trey Parker, Mark Rylance, et al. React to Winning 2011 Tony Awards

Mark Rylance in Jerusalem
(© Simon Annand)
Mark Rylance in Jerusalem
(© Simon Annand)

The 2011 Tony Awards were held on Sunday, June 12 at the Beacon Theatre, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. TheaterMania was on hand in the media room at the nearby JCC of the Upper West Side, where the winners shared their reactions on their big night.

Trey Parker, Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Score of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, The Book of Mormon
“We’ve been to enough awards shows to know you can lose to Phil Collins any time, so I can’t say we were expecting any Tonys. Now that we have them, though, we will not make fun of them on South Park, because that wouldn’t be cool.”


Mark Rylance, Best Actor in a Play, Jerusalem
“I feel sad when I win things. I don’t know why. And in a category like this, to be nominated with actors like Al Pacino, is amazing. I got to see The Normal Heart and Joe Mantello is absolutely incredible. I don’t know how he does that eight times a week.”

Norbert Leo Butz, Best Actor in a Musical, Catch Me If You Can
“I first got this script five years ago at a time when my father was in a bad physical state. And since this show is about fathers and sons, he was on my mind then, and so I took the part as sort of a tribute to my father.”

Sutton Foster, Best Actress in a Musical, Anything Goes
“First and foremost I think of myself as an actress who sings and dances. This is the most physically demanding show I have ever done, and also because my nerves have been heightened because of awards season, I’ve lost some weight and so they’ve had to take my costume in a little. But I hope to put a little of that weight back on now. I’ve been eating a lot of chocolate.”

Ellen Barkin, Best Featured Actress in a Play, The Normal Heart
“This is the proudest moment of my career. Being involved in something this important is a once in a career opportunity. This is my first time on Broadway, but I’ve done enough theater to know that what happens between all of us on stage and these audiences is something I’ve never experienced. Being allowed to rage against the machine every night feels great.”

John Benjamin Hickey, Best Featured Actor in a Play, The Normal Heart
“This play has kind of changed my life. It’s been a scary, galvanizing, and thrilling experience, and the play resonates as much today for me as it did in 1986. I’m not that political a person, but to have people, especially young people, see that it wasn’t this huge collective of people who raged against the system back then, but it was one voice, Larry Kramer, is so important.”

Nikki M. James, Best Featured Actress in a Musical, The Book of Mormon
“One of the things I thought about saying in my acceptance speech is how exciting it is that there are no white women in our show; and how grateful I am that Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Bobby Lopez wrote this wonderful brown girl and invited me to be part of their show. I really don’t know people who work any harder than they do.”

John Larroquette, Best Featured Actor in a Musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
It was great doing “Brotherhood of Man” tonight. We knew the number so well that in a way we were able to do it the way we do every night, but obviously seeing luminaries like Kelsey Grammer and Al Pacino in front of you is a different experience, and it was lovely performing it in that beautiful theater. And then later, walking up to receive this award, I felt myself choking up a little, and I am not usually an emotional person.”

Joe Mantello and John Benjamin Hickey
in The Normal Heart
(© Joan Marcus)
Joe Mantello and John Benjamin Hickey
in The Normal Heart
(© Joan Marcus)

Daryl Roth, Producer, Best Revival of a Play, The Normal Heart
“The time was right to do this play now, but it took some passionate people to bring it together. Joel Grey directed the reading last fall. George C. Wolfe came in this spring to direct when we needed it to happen now so it could reach a wider audience; there’s an elegant set by David Rockwell; and we found a cast that brought passion and conviction to these words. I think what we have put together is a memorable and definitive production of Larry’s Kramer’s play.”


Todd Haimes, Producer, Best Revival of a Musical, Anything Goes
“We thought that people want to be entertained and enjoy life, especially after the darker days of these last years, and we thought that doing this show was a joyous way to celebrate. Once we got the rights, the first phone call we made was to Kathleen Marshall, and she did a brilliant job as our director and choreographer. Of course, we would like to extend our run past January and our dream is that Sutton Foster will stay on as Reno Sweeney, because she’s unique and she wills herself to be magnificent every night. And now that she has won the Tony tonight, maybe we can ask her.”

Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, Best Director of a Play, War Horse
“We really worked on the show once we brought it to New York. We looked at things we thought we could improve on since London, whether it was the writing or scene changes or some technical aspect. We looked at every scene in the play and wondered how we could make it better.”


Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, Best Costume Design of a Musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical
“This has been an extraordinary experience. Twenty years ago, we made a tiny film in Australia, and won an Oscar for it. And now to hold a Tony in our hands is just ridiculous. We have been encouraged to do what we want and this is what happens when you’re able to really let go.”

For TheaterMania’s full Tony Awards coverage, click here.