New York ? The profane and hysterical “The Book of Mormon” took home nine Tony Awards on Sunday including the prize for best musical, a considerable achievement for a pair of first-time Broadway playwrights known more for their raunchy cartoons featuring potty-mouthed kids.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the Emmy Award-winning “South Park,” found a kindred soul in Robert Lopez, who co-wrote the Tony-winning “Avenue Q,” and all three found themselves with plenty of awards when they collaborated to gently mock Mormons and send up Broadway itself.

Collecting the best musical prize, a subdued Parker, who tied Josh Logan of “South Pacific” with four Tonys in one evening — said he’d be remiss if he didn’t thank his late book co-writer — Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion.

The show, which netted honors for best musical, best book, best direction of a musical, best score, best featured actress and four technical awards, came in with a leading 14 nominations and was the heavy favorite for the top musical prize.

“War Horse” — a World War I tale about horses told with puppets and actors — won five Tonys, including the best prize award. The revival of “The Normal Heart” and “Anything Goes” both won three each.

Mark Rylance won the best acting award for a play for his powerful role of Johnny “Rooster” Byron in Jez Butterworth’s “Jerusalem.”

Norbert Leo Butz won for best actor in a musical. Butz, who plays a frumpy FBI agent hot on the heels of a con man in “Catch Me If You Can” took home his second Tony. His previous win was in 2005 for “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”

Sutton Foster won for best actress in a musical and gave a tearful speech. “It doesn’t feel like a job,” she said of the Cole Porter musical “Anything Goes,” which also won best musical revival and earned Kathleen Marshall an award for best choreography.

Frances McDormand was declared the best leading actress in a play for portraying a South Boston blue-collar woman who reconnects with a high school boyfriend in the David Lindsay-Abaire play “Good People.”

The best direction of a musical award went to Casey Nicholaw and Parker for “The Book of Mormon.” Parker — as well as co-writers Stone and Lopez — later returned to the stage to accept the Tony for the best book of a musical.

The top directing prize for a play went to Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris for the weepy British import “War Horse.” “We quite like it when people cry,” Morris cracked backstage.