NEW YORK, May 23 (UPI) -- "Monty Python's Spamalot" won the New York critics' Drama Desk Award Sunday, solidifying its standing as a front-runner for the Tony Award.
The theater critics and journalists honored "Spamalot" as outstanding new musical and Eric Idle for outstanding lyrics in the popular play, the New York Post reported.
Also shoring up its status as a Tony candidate was John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt," which took the Drama Desk Award for outstanding new play, the New York Post reported.
Leo Butz was named outstanding actor in a musical for his performance in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and Victoria Clark as outstanding actress in a musical for her work in "The Light in the Piazza."
Both "Spamalot" and "Doubt" are favored to win Tonys when the awards are presented June 5, the newspaper reported.
