The Book of Mormon (and Harold Camping?) make for big Colorado night at Tony Awards

We've been following The Book of Mormon's march to theatrical dominance for months, from first raves to Drama Desk nominations and Tony nods -- fourteen of them, leading to nine victories at the awards ceremony last night, including Best Musical for hometown boys made good Trey Parker and Matt Stone,...

By Michael Roberts

June 13, 2011

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We've been following The Book of Mormon's march to theatrical dominance for months, from first raves to Drama Desk nominations and Tony nods -- fourteen of them, leading to nine victories at the awards ceremony last night, including Best Musical for hometown boys made good Trey Parker and Matt Stone, of South Park fame. Also sharing the spotlight -- Boulder-born apocalypse predictor Harold Camping.

No, Camping wasn't on hand -- but Bono, who took the stage to introduce a (terrible) number from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, said he'd been assured by Camping that the beleaguered production would finally open this week -- a joke, obviously, given that Spider-Man's blown even more deadlines than Camping has.

Still, the night belonged to Parker and Stone, as referenced by Chris Rock in his hilarious introduction to the Best Musical category. Yes, everyone knew Mormon was going to win, and it did. Parker, accepting in a Broadway-appropriate sparkly shirt, gave thanks to Joseph Smith, who he cheekily credited as a co-writer.

This pair has come a long way since Westword first interview with them, back in April 1993, when they were CU students putting together their first film project, Alferd Packer: The Musical. Could that classic wind up on Broadway someday, too? Stranger things have happened -- like this pair being the toast of the Great White Way. Check out the Best Musical win below.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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