'Yonkers' and 'Will Rogers' Win the Top Tony Awards

"The Will Rogers Follies," a corn-fed, all-American extravaganza complete with rope tricks, a dog act and long-legged Ziegfeld chorines, marched off last night with six Tony Awards, including best musical of the 1990-91 Broadway season.

"Lost in Yonkers," Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy-drama about family problems in a New York suburb during World War II, won four, including the Tony for best play.

"Miss Saigon" won three awards, including one for Jonathan Pryce as best actor in a musical. "The Secret Garden" also took three Tonys.

Tommy Tune picked up his eighth and ninth Tony Awards, winning as both best musical director and best choreographer for "The Will Rogers Follies." Mr. Tune, who was also named best director and choreographer last year for "Grand Hotel," is the first person in Tony history to capture both awards in consecutive seasons. An Early Announcement

In an apparent mixup -- seemingly also a Tony first -- when Anthony Quinn announced the award for best direction of a musical, he opened his envelope and said, "Neil Simon for 'Lost in Yonkers.' " It was about 20 minutes before the Simon play actually won.

Mr. Quinn paused and then said, "Oh, my God," before reading Mr. Tune's name.

At a news conference a few minutes later, Mr. Quinn said, "I was given the wrong paper, and I announced the wrong name, and I had to turn the paper to read the right winner." He added that he was not embarrassed. "I've been on the stage too long to be embarrassed," he said.

Keith Sherman, a spokesman for the Tonys, said the mixup had been an accountants' error. Mr. Quinn had been given the correct envelope, Mr. Sherman said, but there were notes on the back on the card inside, and Mr. Quinn read the notes.

Mr. Simon, in accepting his award, said: "I was in the men's room when Anthony Quinn was on. Did anything happen?"

The Tonys, presented by the League of American Theaters and Producers and the American Theater Wing, were broadcast live on CBS from the Minskoff Theater, with Julie Andrews and Jeremy Irons as hosts. Bitterness Over 'Miss Saigon'

"Will Rogers" and "Miss Saigon" had both earned 11 nominations and were considered the front-runners for the Tony as best musical. But many theater people predicted that "Miss Saigon," an import from London, would be the victim of a backlash.

There is lingering bitterness against both the huge amount of publicity "Miss Saigon" has received and the battle by its British producer, Cameron Mackintosh, to permit its two foreign stars, Mr. Pryce, who is Welsh, and the Filipino actress Lea Salonga, to re-create on Broadway their award-winning London roles.

"Will Rogers" is an American musical, with composers and writers -- Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Peter Stone -- who are longtime Broadway stalwarts. And it has Mr. Tune, long a Tony favorite.

Mr. Pryce and Ms. Salonga, however, survived the "Will Rogers" stampede and won Tonys as best actor and actress in a musical. Mr. Pryce portrays a sleazy Eurasian pimp. Ms. Salonga is the tragically innocent Vietnamese bar girl who falls in love with an American marine just before the fall of Saigon in 1975. Single Award for 'Six Degrees'

The triumph of "Lost in Yonkers" over John Guare's "Six Degrees of Separation" will no doubt be debated for some time. Many theater people had expected the Guare play to win the Pulitzer Prize and were surprised when it didn't. But Jerry Zaks of "Six Degrees" was named best director, winning over his "Lost in Yonkers" counterpart, Gene Saks.

"Lost in Yonkers" won three of the four prizes for dramatic acting. Mercedes Ruehl was named best actress in a play for her tragicomic and highly emotional performance as Bella, a 35-year-old woman with the mind and emotions of a 13-year-old. Ms. Ruehl won over Stockard Channing, the highly social art dealer's wife in "Six Degrees," in what was perceived to be a very close contest. Until Ms. Ruehl came along in February, Ms. Channing had been considered a heavy favorite for the Tony.

In accepting her award, Ms. Ruehl, who was wearing a tight strapless dress, noted that she was finding it very hard to breathe, and "with all due respect to the house of Chanel, the dress doesn't make it any easier."

Irene Worth won the Tony for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Bella's stern and distant mother, and Kevin Spacey won as best supporting actor for his role as Bella's lovable gangster brother.

Nigel Hawthorne, who portrayed the British philosopher C. S. Lewis in "Shadowlands," was chosen best actor in a play. 20 Minutes' Overtime

Under orders from CBS to stay within the show's allotted two-hour time period instead of running long as usual, the producers last month dropped their plans to present excerpts from the four nominated nonmusical plays. Those excerpts had been added only in recent years.

In addition, the winners of some of the slightly less glamorous awards -- for scenic, costume and lighting design, best revival and best choreography -- did not get to go onstage to make time-consuming speeches.

But the show still ran about 20 minutes long. It was not clear last night if any CBS affiliates, which had pressed for the Tonys to stay within the two hours contracted, dropped the show at 11 P.M. Thanks Amid Tears

The awards for best featured actor and actress in a musical went to Hinton Battle, the marine buddy in "Miss Saigon," and Daisy Eagan, the orphan in "The Secret Garden."

Mr. Battle, who is black, thanked his producers "for being colorblind" because "they took a chance and were daring with the casting." In London, Mr. Battle's role was played by a white actor.

Ms. Eagan, 11 years old, still managed, amid tears, to thank her agent.

"Will Rogers" also won for best musical score (Mr. Coleman, Ms. Comden and Mr. Green, who sang their acceptance speech), best lighting design (Jules Fisher) and best costume design (Willa Kim).

"The Secret Garden" also was victorious for best book of a musical (Marsha Norman for her adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's popular children's novel) and best scenic design (Heidi Landesman, for her lush Victorian sets).

The award for best revival went to the current version of "Fiddler on the Roof," starring Topol as Tevye. The Yale Repertory Theater of New Haven was given a special Tony Award for outstanding regional theater. BROADWAY'S WINNERS

Best Play: Neil Simon, "Lost in Yonkers"

Best Musical: "The Will Rogers Follies"

Best Revival: "Fiddler on the Roof"

Leading Actor in a Play: Nigel Hawthorne, "Shadowlands"

Leading Actress in a Play: Mercedes Ruehl, "Lost in Yonkers"

Leading Actor in a Musical: Jonathan Pryce, "Miss Saigon"

Leading Actress in a Musical: Lea Salonga, "Miss Saigon"

Featured Actor in a Play: Kevin Spacey, "Lost in Yonkers"

Featured Actress in a Play: Irene Worth, "Lost in Yonkers"

Featured Actor in a Musical: Hinton Battle, "Miss Saigon"

Featured Actress in a Musical: Daisy Eagan, "The Secret Garden"

Direction of a Play: Jerry Zaks, "Six Degrees of Separation"

Direction of a Musical: Tommy Tune, "The Will Rogers Follies"

Book of a Musical: Marsha Norman, "The Secret Garden"

Original Musical Score: Cy Coleman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, "The Will Rogers Follies"

Scenic Design: Heidi Landesman, "The Secret Garden"

Costumes: Willa Kim, "The Will Rogers Follies"

Lighting: Jules Fisher, "The Will Rogers Follies"

Choreography: Tommy Tune, "The Will Rogers Follies"

Regional Theater:

Yale Repertory Theater