Billy Elliot stars, from left David Alvarez, Kiril Kulish, and Trent Kowalik, shared the Tony Award for best performance by a leading actor in a musical for Billy Elliot, in which they take turns playing the lead role. (Seth Wenig/Associated Press)Billy Elliot has won the Tony as Broadway's best musical.

The show about a British coal miner's son who dreams to dance was the biggest musical hit of the season.

The show won 10 awards, including for the three actors who star in the title role. Montreal-born David Alvarez was one of the young stars.

Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish traded off thank-yous during their acceptance speech, shyly thanking people associated with the show only by their first name.

The trio also acknowledged siblings and parents. Finally, Kulish told the cheering crowd at Radio City Music Hall: "We want to say to all the kids out there who might want to dance, 'Never give up."'

David's father, David Alvarez-Carbonell, said his son got so excited when he heard his name called, he forgot his speech. As for the family, they were overcome with emotion, he said.

Alvarez-Carbonell said his son has the discipline of a much older person when it comes to dance and performing.

"When he's working, he's really into it," Alvarez-Carbonell told CBC News. "He doesn't think about anything else; he doesn't think about going to the park or playing games. He wants to give the audience everything he has."

Billy Elliot received other awards, including director of a musical, book of a musical and choreography, but composer Elton John was upset for best score.

That award was taken by Next to Normal, which seemed to stun Normal composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey. Alice Ripley, whose character battles mental illness in Next to Normal, received the actress musical prize.

West Side Story's Karen Olivo holds her Tony Award for featured actress in a musical at Sunday's gala in New York. (David Goldman/Associated Press)God of Carnage, Yasmina Reza's savage comedy of manners about two liberal, middle-class couples whose children get into a fight, was named best play and picked up two other major awards, one for its director, Matthew Warchus, and the other for actress Marcia Gay Harden.

Reza, who previously won a best-play Tony for Art, said: "Maybe you missed my accent; you wanted to hear it again. I'm very grateful for all the people who gave their best for the production."

Harden won the actress-play award and director Matthew Warchus picked up a prize for Carnage."

The director/musical award went to Stephen Daldry of Billy Elliot.

"I have been blessed in my life to spend the majority of last 10 years of my life working on the story of Billy Elliot," said Daldry, who called it "a long, extraordinary journey."

He said the award belonged to everyone connected to the show and especially to "three great gifts of Broadway, our three little Billys."

Billy also received prizes for featured actor (Gregory Jbara), sets, lighting, sound and a tie with Next to Normal for best orchestrations, which Kitt shared with Michael Starobin.

Geoffrey Rush's extravagant portrait of a dying monarch in Exit the King took the top actor prize.

"I want to thank Manhattan audiences for proving that French existential absurdist tragicomedy rocks," Rush said.

Angela Lansbury wins 5th Tony

Angela Lansbury poses with her trophy for best performance by a featured actress in a play for Blithe Spirit. (David Goldman/Associated Press)Angela Lansbury received her fifth Tony, this time for her performance as the dotty medium Madame Arcati in a revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit. Her win in the featured-actress category tied the record for acting prizes held by Julie Harris, who has five plus a special lifetime achievement award given in 2002.

"Who would have thought," the 83-year-old Lansbury began, drowned out by a standing ovation. "Who knew that [at] this time in my life that I should be presented with this lovely, lovely award. I feel deeply grateful."

An emotional Liza Minnelli accepted the prize for special theatrical event for her show Liza's at the Palace.

"This is exquisite," Minnelli said, asking for a list of people to thank because she didn't think she was going to win. "Lastly, I want to thank my parents and the greatest gift they ever gave me, Kay Thompson," her godmother. Minnelli recreated part of Thompson's club act as part of her Palace entertainment.

Roger Robinson's portrayal of a mystical shaman-like character in Joe Turner's Come and Gone was honoured with the featured-acting prize.

"It has taken me 46 years to come from that seat, up these steps, to this microphone," said Robinson, who thanked his mother in Bellevue, Wash., "who's 98 years old … who encouraged me and raised seven children single-handedly."

Featured actress-musical went to Karen Olivo as the spitfire Anita in the revival of West Side Story.

"I'm completely unprepared for this … I just want to dedicate this to everyone who has a dream," Olivo said, thanking the production's 91-year-old director, Arthur Laurents, and then dissolving in tears.

The Tonys Twittered this year, with Mark Indelicato of Ugly Betty as the night's über-Tweeter from backstage.

Bret Michaels injured himself in the show's opening production number when he rocked it out with a number from Rock of Ages. The extent of his injury was not immediately known.

Broadway had a great season

Broadway had a surprisingly robust 2008-2009 season.

Attendance during the 2008-2009 season slipped a bit (to 12.15 million from 12.27 million the previous year) but not as much as was feared because of the recession. And grosses for plays and musicals actually were a bit higher than a year earlier, setting a record of $943.3 million US.

Forty-three shows opened during the season, the highest number of new productions since 50 opened during the 1982-83 season.

The awards were voted on in 27 competitive categories by more than 800 members of the theatrical community, including producers, actors and journalists. The Tonys are presented by the League and the American Theatre Wing, a nonprofit service organization. The Wing founded the Tonys in 1947.