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	The Tony Awards Spread the Wealth By Ed Siegel Boston Globe [New York] June 6, 2005 There was never any doubt about "Doubt," John Patrick Shanley's provocative drama about certainty vs. uncertainty, winning the Tony Award last night as best play along with three other awards. Cherry Jones as the redoubtable nun who accuses a priest of sexual abuse without any evidence, was awarded best actress along with featured actress Adriane Lenox and director Doug Hughes. In fact, there wasn't much doubt about anything last night as the four nominated musicals split the awards, as predicted, with "Monty Python's Spamalot" named the best musical and "The Light in the Piazza" taking the most statues, six. Bill Irwin, though, pulled the one upset of the night, as best actor in a play for his revelatory performance as George in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," which began life in Boston. He won over the favored Brian F. O'Byrne in "Doubt." Irwin's was a brilliantly ironic makeover of a role that had seemed to belong to Richard Burton. Although this was a tight contest in the musical categories, last night's onstage performances demonstrated that it wasn't the greatest year in history for the form. None of the scores was particularly memorable and none of the numbers on CBS measured up compositionally to the medley from the revival of "Sweet Charity." And none of the new musicals had great choreography, so it was easy to see why Jerry Mitchell won for the revival of "La Cage aux Folles," which beat out "Sweet Charity" as top revival. Which isn't to say that there wasn't great entertainment this year and for the most part quality was rewarded. The extended excerpt from "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," with Al Sharpton as a surprise guest speller, showed Rachel Sheinkin's winning, witty, mischievous book to great effect and Dan Fogler's hysterical dancing speller was the winner as best featured actor, joining the hyper-energetic Norbert Leo Butz of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (best actor), Victoria Clark of "The Light in the Piazza" (best actress), and Sara Ramirez of "Spamalot" (featured actress) as best actors in a musical. "The Light in the Piazza," a melodically challenged musical about a mentally challenged woman who finds love in Italy (Clark plays her mother), took early, expected honors in set, costumes, and lighting, and after it added those for orchestration and Adam Guettel's score, it looked as if it might be poised for an upset for top honors. But when Ramirez and director Mike Nichols won as best director for "Spamalot" it seemed as if the irreverent, boisterous, and more deserving musical version of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was back on track. Things got off to a great start when the show began and up popped Mr. Oscar, Billy Crystal, as if he were host of the show. Crystal was a shoo-in to win in the Special Theatrical Event category for his one-man show, "700 Sundays," and he demonstrated why with a series of great one-liners: "I want to announce that I, too, am head over heels in love with Katie Holmes"; "Welcome to the Tonys or as CBS likes to call it. CSI: Broadway." In fact, Crystal and the lackluster Hugh Jackman, his third straight year as host, made you wish that Crystal had taken over for the evening. Jackman, though, somewhat redeemed himself as he and Aretha Franklin made their contrasting styles work together in navigating the difficult shoals of "Somewhere." Two playwrights of note were honored. Edward Albee, the author of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" was rewarded for lifetime achievement, which he dedicated to his partner of 35 years, Jonathan Thomas, who died of cancer last month. David Mamet won his first Tony for the riveting revival of "Glengarry Glen Ross" and there's no more riveting actor around today than Liev Schreiber, who took the featured actor in that play. Two local theaters could take joy in the winners. American Repertory Theatre alumnae Jones (her second) and Catherine Zuber won for costumes in a musical for "The Light in the Piazza." Theatre de la Jeune Leune, ART's collabators in last year's production of "The Miser" as well as the upcoming "Amerika" was this year's regional theater awardee. Barrington Stage Company in Sheffield, which midwifed the birth of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," could bask in Sheinkin's and Boston University graduate Fogler's awards. The company also gave Sara Ramirez the spotlight in 2003, with "The Game," a musical version of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," and last night could take special notice of whether she was going to be able to pull up her red gown or become the next Janet Jackson for CBS.
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