Summary

TAPE_NUMBER: EN9923/a IN_TIME: 10:28:20 LENGTH: 05:59 SOURCES: APTN/CBS RESTRICTIONS: CBS MATERIAL - no resale FEED: SCRIPT: xfa New York, June 6th NEW YORK THEATRELAND HONOURS ITS FINEST A revival of the classic Arthur Miller play "Death of a Salesman" was among the big winners at yesterday's Tony Awards, in an evening in which no single production dominated the awards for the past Broadway theatre season. - "Salesman" won four Tonys, including the hotly contested prize for best revival, while "Side Man" was named best play and "Fosse" best musical. - Fifty years after it was named best play, "Salesman" also picked up acting nods for BRIAN DENNEHY and ELIZABETH FRANZ, its true-believing Willy and loyal Linda Loman, and the direction prize for Robert Falls. "I feel like Cathy Rigby", said Dennehy, referring to the high-flying actress who plays Peter Pan in the current Broadway revival. He also paid tribute to "Salesman" playwright Arthur Miller who received a lifetime achievement award during the ceremony. - The audience stood to cheer the 83-year-old Miller when he came out onstage. "Just being around to receive it is a pleasure," the playwright joked. In his acceptance speech, Miller expressed the hope that Broadway would provide the changes "so that a new generation of fiercely ambitious playwrights will ... once again find welcome for their big world-challenging plays, somewhere west of London, somewhere east of the Hudson River." - Shut out of any prizes was the revival of "The Iceman Cometh" which, along with its star KEVIN SPACEY, was expected to provide "Salesman" with its stiffest competition. - Warren Leight's "Side Man" - the story of a dysfunctional family set against a backdrop of jazz musicians - was the only new American drama nominated for best play. Also up for the award was Tennessee Williams' 1938 play "Not About Nightingales" only now running on Broadway by way of the Royal National Theater in London and Houston's Alley Theater. - JUDI DENCH, who already won an Academy Award this year, picked up a Tony for her role as an elegant, embattled actress in David Hare's drama "Amy's View". - "The winning bit is not the best, the nominating bit is the best ... there is no such thing as doing a performance on your own, unless you are doing a one-woman show," said Dench, who adds this award to the supporting actress Oscar she received for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in "Shakespeare in Love". - "Annie Get Your Gun" captured the best-musical revival prize, and its star, Bernadette Peters, won her second Tony for best actress in a musical. - Both "Fosse", a revue saluting the work of choreographer Bob Fosse, and "Swan Lake" won three Tonys. - Matthew Bourne took two Tonys, for best direction and best choreography of a musical for his work on "Swan Lake", a modern-dress retelling of the famous ballet with an all-male corps of swans. - "Parade", a short-lived musical love story set against the backdrop of a murder and lynching of a Jewish man in pre-World War I Georgia, picked up awards for best score (music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown) and book. - As expected, Kristin Chenoweth, a sassy, unrepentant Sally Brown in "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown", was chosen best featured actress in a musical. - "I've never changed my clothes so fast in my life," said Chenoweth, accepting the prize right after doing a production number from the show. Roger Bart, who plays Snoopy, won the featured actor-musical prize. - Both box office and attendance figures rose during the 1998-99 Broadway season although not as much as in previous years. Total grosses topped $588.1 million, while more than 11.6 million people saw a Broadway show. Production climbed, too, with 39 new shows, compared to 33 the previous year. The Broadway stars made their way to the Gershwin Theater Sunday night in high expectations of great performances on stage and the big news as to who won what awards. The Tony's were a more star studded affair than usual. Many stars of the movies have migrated to the big stage of New York City. . .Making it a great year for plays and musicals. SHOTLIST: SHOWS: BRIAN DEENEHY ANNOUNCES AWARD TO ARTHER MILLER ; BS MILLER ; SOT MILLER ; EXTRACT FROM AMY'S VIEW ; SOT DAME JUDI DENCH ; LAURENCE FISHBURNE ANNOUNCES BEST ACTOR ; DENNEHY GETS OUT OF CHAIR ; SOT KEVIN SPACEY ; CAST AND PRODUCERS OF SIDEMAN GET OUT OF SEAT ; ANNOUNCE BEST MUSICAL ; CAST OF FOSSE OUT ONTO STAGE ; EXTRACT FROM FOSSE ; ANGELA LANSBURY ARRIVES AT AFTER SHOW PARTY ; SOT LANSBURY ; ARRIVAL MATTHEW BRODERICK ; SOT BRODERICK (ON MOVIE STARS PLAYING ON STAGE) ; SOT CHRISTIAN SLATER ; ALEC BALDWIN ARRIVAL ; SOT CALISTA FLOCKHART ; SOT KEVIN SPACEY ; ARRIVAL GIOLDIE HAWN AND KURT RUSSELLL ; ARRIVAL MARTIN SHORT ; ARRIVAL JUDI DENCH ; WS DAVID HARE AT PRESSER ; SOT HARE ; WS DENCH ; SOT DENCH ; WS MILLER ;SOT MILLER ; B-ROLL PARTY?