Period Pieces Coast Through Tony Awards Spring Awakening, Coast of Utopia make history at theater honors By Greg Atwan Posted Jun 11, 2007 8:38 AM CDT Copied Michael Mayer, director of "Spring Awakening," poses backstage with his Tony for Best Director of a Musical at the 61st Annual Tony Awards in New York, Sunday, June 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Jeff Christensen) (Associated Press) The Coast of Utopia, Tom Stoppard’s marathon glance back at 19th-century Russia, became czar of the Tonys at last night's 61st annual ceremony in New York. The $7-million, 8-hour epic claimed more statuettes than any drama in history—including honors for best play and director—in a year when Broadway attendance smashed records. Spring Awakening, a musical about sex-crazed teens in the same epoch in Germany, won big in its category, taking home eight awards including musical and book; the voters snubbed the more profitable revival of A Chorus Line. The best actress in a play trophy made for the most drama, with Julie White of The Dog that Laughed beating out legends Vanessa Redgrave and Angela Lansbury. Read These Next State Department abandons a Biden-era font, blaming DEI. Police say a woman with 100+ prior arrests fatally struck a musician. The checkbook may soon be a thing of the past. Another big brand delivers an AI-driven holiday dud. Report an error