Year by Year

2012 – 66th Annual Tony Awards

Sunday, June 10, 2012
Beacon Theatre
Broadcast on CBS

Executive Producers: Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss, White Cherry Entertainment
Director: Glenn Weiss
Musical Direction: Elliot Lawrence
Writer: Dave Boone
General Managers: Alan Wasser and Allan Williams

“The Best of Broadway”

Host

Neil Patrick Harris

Presenters

Ellen Barkin, Candice Bergen, Jessica Chastain, Sheryl Crow, Harvey Fierstein, Deborra-Lee Furness, Josh Groban, Nick Jonas, Angela Lansbury, John Larroquette, Patti LuPone, James Marsden, Matthew Morrison, Cote de Pablo, Trey Parker, Jim Parsons, Mandy Patinkin, Tyler Perry, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Plummer, Paul Rudd, Amanda Seyfried, Matt Stone, Ben Vereen, and BeBe Winans.

Musical Numbers

• The Book of Mormon – The company greeted viewers with the show’s opening number, “Hello,” led by Nic Rouleau, Jared Gertner and 2011 Tony Award nominee Rory O’Malley, with cameos from Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Judith Light, Ricky Martin and Cynthia Nixon.
• Opening number: Host Neil Patrick Harris sang an original song written by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger asking, “What If Life Were More Like Theatre?” featuring Elizabeth De Rosa from Mary Poppins, past Tony Award winner Patti LuPone, forthcoming Annie star Lilla Crawford, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Amanda Seyfried. Written by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger.
• Newsies – Tony nominee Jeremy Jordan, Kara Lindsay, Ben Fankhauser and the company performed “Once and for All” and “Seize the Day.”
• Follies – Tony nominee Danny Burstein, Kiira Schmidt and Jenifer Foote performed “The God-Why-Don’t-You-Love-Me Blues.”
• Ghost – Cast members Richard Fleeshman, Caissie Levy and Bryce Pinkham offered a medley of “Unchained Melody” and “I Had a Life.”
• Jesus Christ Superstar – Nominee Josh Young betrayed his talents by leading the company in “Superstar.”
• Nice Work If You Can Get It – Nominee Kelli O’Hara opened with “Someone to Watch Over Me” followed by Matthew Broderick and the company with “Sweet and Lowdown.”
• The Year in Plays – A scene from Peter and the Starcatcher featured Tony winner Christian Borle, nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger and the company. Tony Award winner James Corden dove into a monologue from One Man, Two Guvnors and nominee Tracie Bennett channeled Judy Garland with a medley of “You Made Me Love You (I Didn’t Want to Do It)” and “The Trolley Song” from End of the Rainbow.
• Best Score – Host Neil Patrick Harris delivered a mash-up of songs from Tony Award winning scores featuring South Pacific, Cabaret, Rent, A Chorus Line, Cats, Evita, Avenue Q and many others.
• The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess – Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and nominees Norm Lewis and David Alan Grier led the company in a medley including “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty of Nothing,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “I Loves You, Porgy.”
• Once – Tony Award winner Steve Kazee spun “Gold,” accompanied by nominees Cristin Milioti, Elizabeth A. Davis and the company.
• Evita – Ricky Martin, Elena Roger and company performed “And the Money Kept Rolling In.”
• Live from the high seas – The Royal Caribbean Cruise Line production of Hairspray performed a medley of “Good Morning Baltimore” and “Nicest Kids in Town” from aboard the Oasis of the Seas.
• Godspell ­– The company led by Corbin Bleu performed a medley including “Day by Day” and “Light of the World.”
• Leap of Faith – Raúl Esparza and company exhorted the audience to “Rise Up.”
• Finale – “If I Had Time,” Host Neil Patrick Harris’s solo closing number, recapped the night’s winners, presenters, and performances. Written by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger.

Other Elements

Past Tony winners Norbert Leo Butz and Beth Leavel returned to host the presentation of the Creative Arts Awards (sponsored by InterContinental Hotels and Resorts), which took place prior to and during breaks in the telecast.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Tony Awards were simulcast live on Clear Channel's SpectacolorHD screen in Times Square. “Rod” and “Lucy” from the cast of Off-Broadway’s Avenue Q hosted the festivities, which included the Tony Awards Red Carpet which was presented by Audemars Piguet, courtesy of NY1; the entirety of the Tony Awards show, including the Creative Arts Awards.

Emmy Awards

Outstanding Special Class Programs 2013
White Cherry Entertainment in association with Tony Award Productions; Executive Producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss; Host/Producer Neil Patrick Harris

Outstanding Music Direction 2013
Elliot Lawrence, Music Director

Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics 2013
“If I Had Time,” Music by David Javerbaum, Lyrics by Adam Schlesinger

Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special 2013
Eric Becker, Technical Director; Rob Balton, Camera; Gerard Cancel, Camera; Bob DelRusso, Camera; Charlie Huntley, Camera; Ernie Jew, Camera; Salvatore “Tore” Liva, Camera; John Meiklejohn, Camera; Lyn Noland, Camera; Mark Renaudin, Camera; Shawn Harkins, Camera; Jay Kulick, Camera