The Broadway production of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart took three honors at the June 12 awards show, which aired on CBS.
Heart, which was first produced off-Broadway in 1985, focuses on the early years of the AIDS epidemic in New York City. It won the Tony for Best Revival of a Play, and won awards for Ellen Barkin ( Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play ) and out actor John Benjamin Hickey ( Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play ) .
In his speech, Kramer said, "To gay people everywhere, whom I love so dearly, The Normal Heart is our history. I could not have written it had not so many needlessly died. Learn from it and carry on the fight. Let them know that we are a very special people, an exceptional people, and that, our day will come."
The evening's big winner was The Book of Mormon, a musical-comedy about missionaries in AIDS-ravaged Africa; the production took nine awards, including Best Musical.
Among the many other winners were Frances McDormand ( Best Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play, for Good People ) , a tearful Nikki M. James ( Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, for The Book of Mormon ) and Kathleen Marshall ( Best Choreography, for Anything Goes ) .
Lookingglass Theatre Company received a Regional Theatre Tony Award. It's the fifth Chicago company to be honored. Tony winners Laura Benanti and Katie Finnernan presented the award.
Openly gay host Neil Patrick Harris was widely praised, setting the tone for the evening with a number entitled "Broadway ... It's Not Just for Gays Anymore!" Among other things, he performed a song-and-dance number with Hugh Jackman.
Windy City Queercast contributor Colman Domingo was nominated in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his role in The Scottsboro Boys, but lost to John Larroquette ( How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ) .