| 66th Tony Awards | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the Official Program for the 66th Annual Tony Awards | |
| Date | June 10, 2012 |
| Location | Beacon Theatre |
| Hosted by | Neil Patrick Harris[1][2] |
| Most wins | Once (8) |
| Most nominations | Once (11) |
| Website | tonyawards |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | CBS |
| Viewership | 6.0 million[3] |
| Produced by | Neil Patrick Harris Ricky Kirshner Glenn Weiss |
| Directed by | Glenn Weiss |
The66th Annual Tony Awards was held on June 10, 2012, to recognize achievement inBroadway productions during the 2011–2012 season. The ceremony was held at theBeacon Theatre, and was broadcast live onCBS television.[4]
With Neil Patrick Harris was the host of the ceremony, it marked the third time that Harris hosted the Tony Awards show. He previously hosted the show in 2009, 2011 and later in 2013.[5] The original musical number that opened the show had Harris singing and dancing to "What If Life Were More Like Theatre?" with appearances byPatti LuPone,Amanda Seyfried, andJesse Tyler Ferguson. The telecast had 6.01 million viewers (preliminary numbers), in contrast to the 2011 Tony Awards telecast, which had 6.950 million viewers.[6]
Alan Menken's win for theTony Award for Best Original Score forNewsies marked it his first win after three nominations. He was previously nominated forBeauty and the Beast (1994),The Little Mermaid (2008),Sister Act (2011).
TheSpecial Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre has been awarded toEmanuel Azenberg.[7]Bernadette Peters was presented with theIsabelle Stevenson Award andSpecial Tony Awards were given toHugh Jackman and theActors’ Equity Association.[8] TheRegional Theatre Tony Award has been awarded to theShakespeare Theatre Company.
Shows that opened on Broadway during the 2011–12 season before April 27, 2012 are eligible.[9]
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Neil Patrick Harris was the host of the ceremony. This marked the third time that Harris hosted the Tony Awards show.[5]
The telecast had 6.01 million viewers (preliminary numbers), in contrast to the 2011 Tony Awards telecast, which had 6.950 million viewers.[6]
There were performances from musicals includingEvita featuringRicky Martin andElena Roger,Follies, withDanny Burstein singing "Buddy's Blues" and introduced byBernadette Peters,Ghost the Musical,Godspell,Hairspray (from a production on aRoyal Caribbean ship),Jesus Christ Superstar,Leap of Faith withRaúl Esparza and company,Newsies featuringJeremy Jordan and company,Nice Work If You Can Get It withKelli O'Hara,Matthew Broderick and company,Once featuringSteve Kazee and company, andThe Gershwins' Porgy and Bess featuringAudra McDonald andNorm Lewis.[10][11] There also were performances from Tony-nominated plays, includingEnd of the Rainbow withTracie Bennett,One Man, Two Guvnors withJames Corden, andPeter and the Starcatcher, withChristian Borle,Celia Keenan-Bolger andAdam Chanler-Berat.[12]
The Book of Mormon cast members, along with Harris, started the show by singing a version of "Hello". The original musical number that opened the show had Harris singing and dancing to "What If Life Were More Like Theatre?" withPatti LuPone,Amanda Seyfried,Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and company.[13] The closing musical number was "If I Had Time," sung by Harris. Both the opening and closing musical numbers were written byDavid Javerbaum andAdam Schlesinger.[14]
As announced on June 1,Angela Lansbury,Candice Bergen,Jessica Chastain,Jim Parsons,Christopher Plummer,Tyler Perry,Nick Jonas,Amanda Seyfried,Paul Rudd,Ellen Barkin,Bernadette Peters,James Marsden,Mandy Patinkin, andSheryl Crow, among others, were presenters.[15] On June 7,Matthew Morrison,Josh Groban, andCote de Pablo were added to the presenter line-up.[15] Other presenters includedPatti LuPone,Trey Parker andMatt Stone.
Several awards, named the "Creative Arts" awards, were presented prior to the main televised ceremony as well as during breaks. These included awards for: Best Lighting Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Best Sound Design of a Play, Best Sound Design of a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Play, Best Costume Design of a Musical, Best Orchestrations, Best Scenic Design of a Play, Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Choreography. These awards were announced byNorbert Leo Butz andBeth Leavel.[16][17][18]
The nominees were announced on May 1, 2012.[19] The winners were announced on June 10, 2012.[20]
TheTony Award for Excellence in the Theatre has been awarded toFreddie Gershon, Artie Siccardi and theTDF Open Doors Program.[21] Those awards were presented at the Tony Eve Cocktail party, held on June 9, 2012 at the InterContinental Hotel (Times Square).[22] TheSpecial Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre has been awarded toEmanuel Azenberg.[7]Bernadette Peters was presented with theIsabelle Stevenson Award andSpecial Tony Awards were given toHugh Jackman and theActors’ Equity Association.[8] TheRegional Theatre Tony Award has been awarded to theShakespeare Theatre Company.