(from L to R): Norbert Leo Butz, John Lithgow and Sherie Rene Scott in a scene from "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (photo by Carol Rosegg) Download a high-resolution version

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Alabama alumnus Norbert Leo Butz won a Tony Award with his performance in the musical comedy “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”

Butz, who co-starred with John Lithgow in the comedy, received the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards have been presented annually since 1947 and are considered theater’s version of the Oscar Award.

He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from UA in 1993 and was a resident company actor in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival professional acting program, offered in partnership with UA.

Butz, who has also earned television, film and recording credits, accepted the honor June 5 after performing “Great Big Stuff” with Lithgow at the awards, broadcast live from New York on the CBS network.

“First and foremost I want to thank God, because there is no way that somebody with my name from South St. Louis ends up at Radio City Music Hall holding one of these without some divine intervention,” Butz told the black-tie, star-studded audience.

Dr. Ed Williams, chairperson of the department of theatre and dance, remembered directing Butz as a student actor.

“He was a brilliant performer,” Williams said. “It’s that simple. When Norbert was on stage, it was hard to look at anybody else. He was very compelling.”

The musical is based on the popular 1988 movie by the same title. Butz plays Freddy Benson, a small-time crook who attempts to out-con the more sophisticated criminal Lawrence Jameson, played by veteran actor Lithgow, according to the official “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” website.

This Broadway play was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and played to sold-out audiences.

The 5th Annual Broadway.com Audience Awards bestowed on Butz its award for Favorite Actor in the Musical Category for that role, as well as awarding the Butz- Lithgow team the Favorite On-Stage Pair award.

The actor’s numerous honors and nominations include a 2002 Tony nominee for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in “Thou Shalt Not.”

Butz’s other Broadway credits include being in the original debuting cast of “Rent” and lead roles in “Wicked” and the “Last Five Years.” He starred in “Lizard” for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, which he later performed in the Theatre Series for the 1996 Olympic Arts Festival.

He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Webster University in St. Louis.

Montgomery’s Alabama Shakespeare Festival is the only year-round professional repertory theater in the Southeast and is the fifth-largest Shakespeare festival worldwide. The University offers a Master of Fine Arts (professional actor training) through the College of Arts and Sciences, in conjunction with the festival.

The College of Arts and Sciences is Alabama’s largest liberal arts college and the University’s largest division, with 355 faculty and 6,600 students.