Broadway will celebrate and honor
Broadway's best this Sunday, live from the Beacon Theatre, at the 66th
Annual Tony Awards hosted by Tony favorite, TVs six-time Emmy nominee and
two-time winner and four-time Golden Globe nominee Neil Patrick Harris, who can
be expected to deliver pointed humor barbs and even perform.
If you can't be at the Tonys, well,
there are ways you can be part of all the excitement.
First, on CBS, which telecasts the
Awards in a three-hour special beginning at 8 P.M.
Second, at what could easily be
called the viewing party of the year, watch the entire spectrum of the Awards
in Times Square on Clear Channel's huge SpectacolorHD screen, courtesy of the Times Square Alliance, with
thousands of enthusiastic fans beginning at 6 P.M. with the red carpet
arrivals, sponsored by Nexxus Hair Care.
Hosting will be the irrepressible
Rod and Lucy [puppets] of 2004's Tony-winning musical, Avenue Q, still
holding strong at New World Stages. [At home, tune in to NY1, available
on Time Warner Channel 701]. Avenue Q has been part of the Tonys since
the puppets' 2003 appearance on the red carpet. The musical's returned in 2004,
winning three Tonys, including Best Musical. Subsequently, Rod
co-presented with Broadway favorite and Tony winner, Christine Ebersol.
Fans in Times Square will get to
test their knowledge in a Broadway trivia contest. Winners receive gift baskets
full of Nexxus products, some of the same items in the elegant gift bags given
to Tony presenters. The Creative Arts Awards, presented by InterContinental
Hotel and Resorts, which are not seen on the CBS broadcast, will be shown.
This party is first come, first serve; so arrive early - especially if
you want seats on the Duffy Square/TKTS Booth red stairs. Be sure to bring
snacks and (non-alcoholic) beverages.
The 66th annual Tonys will feature appearances by Nina Arianda,
Ellen Barkin, Candice Bergen, Michael Cerveris, Stockard Channing, Jessica
Chastain, James Corden, Sheryl Crow, Tyne Daly, Hugh Dancy, Nick Jonas, James
Earl Jones, Stacey Keach, Angela Lansbury, Judith Light, James Marsden, Matthew
Morrison, Jim Parsons, Adam Pascal, Mandy Patinkin, Tyler Perry, Bernadette
Peters, Christopher Plummer, Paul Rudd, Amanda Seyfried, and Ben Vereen - these
and the nominees of the 2011-2012 Broadway season.
Another way to keep up-to-the-minute with
the Tonys is by visiting www.TonyAwards.com, where you'll find information, clips and posters from
plays and musicals, photos, video visits with Tony nominees and previous Tony
winners, facts and trivia galore, fan predictions, a printable ballot so you
can vote, and a feature on the life and times of Awards namesake Antoinette
Perry. Follow the Tonys on Facebook.com/theTonyAwards and
Twitter.com/theTonyAwards.
This year's Tonys will be packed
with more entertainment than ever. There'll be musical numbers by Corbin
Bleu and cast (Godspell); Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara (Nice
Work If You Can Get It); Tracie Bennett (End of the Rainbow);
Christian Borle and Celia Keenan-Bolger (Peter and the Starcatcher);
Danny Burstein (Follies); James Corden (One Man, Two
Guvnors); Raúl Esparza (Leap of Faith); Jeremy Jordan (Newsies);
Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti (Once); Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis, and
David Alan Grier (Porgy and Bess); Ricky Martin and Elena Roger (Evita);
Bryce Pinkham and Caissie Levy (Ghost); and Josh Young (Jesus Christ
Superstar).
The 2012 Tony nominees for Best Musical are: Leap of
Faith, Newsies, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and Once; and
for Best Play: Clybourne Park, Other Desert Cities, Peter and the
Starcatcher, and Venus in Fur. For
a complete list of the nominations, go to www.TonyAwards.com.
Official Tony partners include IBM, which develops, designs, and
hosts the Tony website, Audemars Piguet, United Airlines, and Avis car rental.
"We're thankful to all our partners
who for four years have made the Tony Awards Time Square Simulcast a fun and
exciting tradition," says Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The
Broadway League [producers and theatre owners].
Heather Hitchens, executive
director, American Theatre Wing, co-presenter of the Awards with the League,
adds, "There's nothing like celebrating Broadway's biggest night, with
Broadway's biggest fans, right in the heart of Times Square. It's the next best
thing to being at the Beacon!"
