Trey Parker thanks Joseph Smith, the other author of The Book of Mormon

Local boys Trey Parker and Matt Stone made good -- very, very good -- last night when the former University of Colorado students won nine Tony awards, including Best Musical, for The Book of Mormon. But while they were embraced by the traditional theater community, they showed some of the...

By Patricia Calhoun

June 13, 2011

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Local boys Trey Parker and Matt Stone made good -- very, very good -- last night when the former University of Colorado students won nine Tony awards, including Best Musical, for The Book of Mormon.

But while they were embraced by the traditional theater community, they showed some of the edge that made their South Park such a long-running hit, as Trey Parker thanked the other author of their musical: "Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion. He couldn't be here tonight, but you did it Joseph. You got the Tony!"

The Book of Mormon wasn't the first musical by Parker and Stone, of course -- although it was their first collaboration with Joseph Smith. At CU, Parker and Stone created Alferd Packer: The Musical, a celebration of Colorado's famous cannibal. They talked about that controversial creation in their first interview with Michael Roberts back in 1993, which you can read here.

And click here to see the five best The Book of Mormon moments at the Tony awards.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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