'Spamalot' takes top Tony musical award

NEW YORK, June 6 (UPI) -- "Monty Python's Spamalot" won three Tony awards, including the top one for best musical in the 59th annual award ceremony.

The play is an adaptation of the 1975 movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," and has seen excellent ticket sales since opening on Broadway in March. Director Mike Nichols and actress Sara Ramirez also won for their roles in the play.

"Doubt, a Parable," John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about suspected child abuse in a Roman Catholic school picked up four Tonys, including best play, best direction by Doug Hughes and best actress in a play, Cherry Jones.

"The Light in the Piazza," a romantic musical of young love and its limitations was the biggest winner in terms of number of awards. Produced by the non-profit Lincoln Center Theater, the show took six awards, sweeping the musical design categories and winning for its score by Adam Guettel and the performance by its leading lady, Victoria Clark.