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    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!"

     

    Ellis Nassour is an international media journalist, and author of Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy Cline, which he has adapted into a musical for the stage. Visit www.patsyclinehta.com.

    He can be reached at [email protected]





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