It was Miller time at last night's Tony Awards ceremony in New York as a 50-year-old play -- Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" -- took home more awards than any other show.

"Salesman" won best revival; the play's star, Brian Dennehy, was honored as best actor for his portrayal of the weary title character; Elizabeth Franz was named best supporting actress for her heart-wrenching depiction of the salesman's wife; and the revival's director, Robert Falls, was also honored. In addition, the 83-year-old Miller won a Tony for lifetime achievement.

Miller began collecting Tonys in 1947, the very first year the award was presented. In accepting his lifetime award, the octogenarian said, "Thank you for this honor -- just being around to receive it is a great pleasure in itself." He went on to say how rare it is nowadays to see large-scale contemporary plays on Broadway.

In keeping with the play's father-son theme, director Falls thanked his father, "for teaching me what it is to be a son," and his 3-year-old son, "for teaching me what it is to be a father." He also mentioned his wife, whom he said was at home getting ready to go into labor with their second child, "due any minute."

Similarly, Dennehy thanked his family. Holding up his award, he said, "The families pay for these things in the most precious commodity of all, which is time."

One of the evening's surprises was that the revival of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh," which had been considered tough competition for "Salesman," was shut out of all five categories in which it was nominated.

The award for best new play went to Warren Leight's "Side Man," the playwright's largely autobiographical account of his relationship with his trumpet player father. In a season dominated by plays that originated in Britain, "Side Man" was the sole new-play nominee by a living American playwright.

Leight thanked his cast, saying, "Like true side men ... they have gone out night after night and played their hearts out for this show." Actor Frank Wood, who plays the father in "Side Man," was also a Tony winner.

"Fosse," a dance revue saluting the work of the late director/choreographer Bob Fosse, was chosen best new musical. The anthology show also took the awards for lighting and orchestrations.

The now-closed musical "Parade," which many regarded as "Fosse's" chief competitor, received Tonys for best original score and best book; the latter was widely expected since "Parade" was the only traditional book musical in a field dominated by shows that were essentially revues.

One of the evening's only other predictable awards went to Dame Judi Dench for her starring role as an actress in David Hare's "Amy's View." The British performer last appeared on Broadway 41 years ago. This spring she won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in "Shakespeare in Love." The last actress to win both a Tony and an Oscar in the same year was Mercedes Ruehl in 1991.

"Annie Get Your Gun," named best musical revival, played a pre-Broadway run at Washington's Kennedy Center in January. A weeping Bernadette Peters, who portrays the pistol-toting Annie Oakley, also hit the Tony bull's eye.

For the first time in three years, the awards ceremony moved out of Radio City Music Hall and back to a standard Broadway theater, in this case, the Gershwin. Rosie O'Donnell, who emceed the Radio City broadcasts, declined that role this year. Instead, the broadcast relied on teams of presenters in place of a single host.

Besides a sampling of musical numbers, the show included a rather odd collage of intersecting lines from five of the nominated new plays and/or revivals, presented by seven actors, standing at music stands.

Among the evening's other winners was a tearful Kristin Chenoweth, who won a featured actress Tony for her portrayal of the title character's sister, Sally, in the revival of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." Her role didn't exist in the show's original 1967 incarnation.

Chenoweth had just finished performing one of the show's numbers when her name was announced. Appearing in an elegant formal gown, instead of the curly wig and little girl costume she had worn only moments before, the breathless actress said, "I've never changed my clothes so fast in my life."

Her fellow cast member Roger Bart, who received the best featured actor award for his portrayal of Snoopy, proclaimed, "My left paw just went numb." Last season Bart played Harlequin in the Broadway musical "Triumph of Love," a show that originated at Center Stage.

The award for best actor in a musical went to comedian Martin Short for the revival of "Little Me." "There are so many, many people that I really must thank and should, but the reality is, I did it all myself," kidded Short, who was at least partly justified in his comment since he plays the seven roles originally played by Sid Caesar.

Matthew Bourne, choreographer and director of "Swan Lake," took awards in both categories. Accepting the choreography prize, he quipped, "I'm just grateful Bob Fosse wasn't eligible in this category this year."

Finding himself back on stage to accept the Tony for direction, Bourne said, "I'm absolutely astonished -- best director of a musical that isn't even a musical," referring to the Tony administration committee's peculiar decision to allow the show to compete in a host of categories -- except best musical.

Continuing the procedure begun three years ago, the first hour of the three-hour ceremony aired on PBS, with 10 awards being presented. At 9 p.m., the broadcast switched to CBS for the remaining 11 awards.

Thirty-nine shows opened on Broadway in 1998-1999, an increase of six over the previous season. Attendance reached an all-time high of more than 11.6 million, up 1.7 percent from last season, and box-office grosses also set a record at $588 million, according to the League of American Theatres and Producers.

Founded in 1947, the Tony Awards are named in memory of the late Antoinette Perry, an actress, director and producer. This year's winners were selected by 812 theater professionals and journalists. The awards are administered jointly by the League and the American Theatre Wing, whose longtime chairman, Isabelle Stevenson, received one of several special Tonys presented last night.

The others went to actress Uta Hagen, the show "Fool Moon" (which played Kennedy Center in February and March) and playwright Miller. Besides his special Tony the first year of the awards, Miller received subsequent Tonys in 1949, for the premiere of "Death of a Salesman," and 1953, for "The Crucible." In addition, the regional theater award went to New Jersey's Crossroads Theatre Company.

1999 Tony Award winners

Play: "Side Man"

Musical: "Fosse"

Book of a Musical: Alfred Uhry, "Parade"

Original Score: Jason Robert Brown, "Parade"

Revival-Play: "Death of a Salesman"

Revival-Musical: "Annie Get Your Gun"

Actor-Play: Brian Dennehy, "Death of a Salesman"

Actress-Play: Dame Judi Dench, "Amy's View"

Actor-Musical: Martin Short, "Little Me"

Actress-Musical: Bernadette Peters, "Annie Get Your Gun"

Featured Actor-Play: Frank Wood, "Side Man"

Featured Actress-Play: Elizabeth Franz, "Death of a Salesman"

Featured Actor-Musical: Roger Bart, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"

Featured Actress-Musical: Kristin Chenoweth, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"

Director-Play: Robert Falls, "Death of a Salesman"

Director-Musical: Matthew Bourne, "Swan Lake"

Scenic Design: Richard Hoover, "Not About Nightingales"

Costume Design: Lez Brotherston, "Swan Lake"

Lighting Design: Andrew Bridge, "Fosse"

Choreography: Matthew Bourne, "Swan Lake"

Orchestrations: Ralph Burns and Douglas Besterman, "Fosse"

Special Awards: Uta Hagen, Arthur Miller, Isabelle Stevenson and the production of "Fool Moon"

Regional Theater: Crossroads Theater Company, New Brunswick, N.J. Pub Date: 6/07/99