Hairspray, based on gay filmmaker John Waters' camp classic, won the Best Musical award Sunday at the Tony awards in New York.
The gay baseball play Take Me Out won top honors for Best New Play.
Hairspray was up for 13 awards and won eight: Best Book ( Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan ) ; Score ( by Marc Shaiman and
Scott Wittman ) ; Director ( Jack O'Brien ) ; Leading Actress ( Marissa Jaret Winokur ) ; Leading Actor ( gay actor Harvey Fierstein playing
the Mom ) ; and Featured Actor ( Dick Latessa ) .
Take Me Out, by non-gay writer Richard Greenberg, is about a baseball player's coming out. Director Joe Mantello, and Featured
Actor, Denis O'Hare received awards as well.
Long Day's Journey into Night won for Best Revival, with Vanessa Redgrave winning her first Tony for her role in the play. Her co-
star, Brian Dennehy, won for Leading Actor.
Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, a spoken word treat which included lesbian Staceyanne Chin ( rumored to be
coming to town for C.C. Carter's poetry slam during Black Pride ) won for Best Special Theatrical Event.
Jane Krakowski won for Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in Nine.
Twyla Tharp won for Choreography for Movin' Out, which also won an award for orchestrations for Billy Joel and Stuart Malina.
Best Regional Theatre went to The Children's Theatre of Minneapolis.