Des McAnuff has won two Tony Awards and is about to open his smash production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" on Broadway.

But when the Toronto-bred theatre guru learned he'd won a $25,000 National Arts Centre Award in honour of his hugely successful year, there was one person who made sure he didn't get too cocky.

"I did what all red-blooded Canadian boys do when they get good news: I called my (87-year-old) mother," McAnuff, 59, said Tuesday in an interview from Calgary, where the prize was announced.

"She said: 'Well dear, I'm really quite surprised.' So immediately you come down three storeys. That's what mothers are for."

The stop in Calgary was due to be a lightning-fast one for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival artistic director, who was set to travel to Las Vegas later in the day to help mount a transfer of another of his hit shows, "Jersey Boys." Then, he planned to head back to New York to continue preparations for the March 22 opening of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

McAnuff's edgy remount of the Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera has been nothing short of a phenomenon. It opened last summer in Stratford to rave reviews and soon became the hottest ticket at the festival.

Before long, buzz about a Broadway run was deafening; three of the show's stars were featured in the latest edition of Vanity Fair magazine.

Asked about the show's monster success, McAnuff mentions "virtuosic talent," an "intimacy in storytelling" and the fact that there was simply "something in the air."

"As we were doing 'Superstar,' the Arab Spring was exploding in the Middle East and it gave the piece a kind of immediacy and familiarity that I think is really powerful," he said.

While the NAC Award celebrates "exceptional achievement over the past performance year," McAnuff can look forward to an eventful summer as well. He's returning to Stratford to direct Christopher Plummer in a one-man show called "A Word or Two."

Plummer, of course, has had a not-too-shabby year himself, recently nabbing the supporting actor Academy Award for "Beginners." It was the 82-year-old's first Oscar, and made him the oldest-ever acting prize winner.

McAnuff said he speaks to Plummer all the time, but never mentioned the Academy Awards so as not to jinx his friend.

"We had not had a single conversation about it," he said, before describing how he experienced the glitzy awards show.

"We were in my apartment in New York with the 'Superstar' leads and my daughter, Julia, and my fiancee Bryna," McAnuff recalled.

"Let me tell you, when he won, with those voices in the room, there was an ear-piercing scream that I think probably would have travelled a hundred blocks in New York."

Added the director: "It was a moment of ecstasy."

Still, McAnuff says it's a testament to Plummer's longevity that the legendary actor's focus soon shifted to his next project.

"I spoke to him on the phone the day before yesterday," said McAnuff.

"Of course we talked about the Oscars, but that part of the conversation was very brief. He really wanted to talk about 'A Word or Two' .... That dominated the conversation. So here's a man who's won the Oscar at 82 ... and he's focused on his next project."

McAnuff wasn't the only one to be feted in Calgary on Thursday.

Six Canadian artists -- including Oscar-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta, power rock trio Rush and actress Mary Walsh -- were announced as the latest recipients of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.

Rounding out the list was concert pianist Janina Fialkowska, dancer Paul-Andre Fortier and theatre director Denis Marleau.

Each laureate will receive $25,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Longtime arts supporter Earlaine Collins, meanwhile, was announced as the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the awards.