The 65th Annual Tony Awards was held on June 12, 2011, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2010–2011 season. They were held at the Beacon Theatre, ending a fourteen-year tradition of holding the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall.[1] The Awards ceremony was broadcast live on CBS[1][2] and was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.[4][6] The award nominations were announced on May 3, 2011.[7][8]

65th Tony Awards
DateJune 12, 2011[1]
LocationBeacon Theatre[1][2][3]
Hosted byNeil Patrick Harris[4]
Most awardsThe Book of Mormon (9)
Most nominationsThe Book of Mormon (14)
Websitetonyawards.com
Television/radio coverage
NetworkCBS
Viewership6.9 million[5]
Produced byNeil Patrick Harris
Ricky Kirshner
Glenn Weiss
Directed byGlenn Weiss
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The ceremony received extremely positive reviews from critics, with many citing it as a major improvement over the previous year. Numerous critics credited host Neil Patrick Harris with the success of the production, with one critic calling him "America's next great awards host."[9]

Neil Patrick Harris opened the show with a comic and edgy number "Broadway's Not Just for Gays Anymore".[10] The song was written by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger.[11] Harris and Hugh Jackman performed another comic number, a revised version of Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better), as rival awards-show hosts. This was Harris' second time hosting previously in 2009. He went on to host again in 2012 and 2013.

The smash hit musical The Book of Mormon was nominated for 14 Tony Awards winning 9 including the Tony Award's for Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book of a Musical. The musical The Scottsboro Boys was nominated for 12 awards winning none.

Eligibility

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Shows that opened during the 2010–11 Broadway season before April 28, 2011, were eligible.[1] The category of "Lead Actress in a Musical" has only four nominees. According to Tony Award rules, "Because only six actresses are eligible for nomination in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category, only four of those actors can be nominated."[12]

Ceremony

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In addition to the CBS television broadcast, the ceremony was simulcast live to Times Square and included the Tony Awards Red Carpet and the complete Tony Awards show, including the Creative Arts Awards.[13]

Presenters

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The creative arts awards presentation was hosted by Laura Benanti and Katie Finneran and were presented prior to the network broadcast of the rest of the awards and the entertainment.[14] The awards in this portion of the ceremony included those for Best Original Score, Choreography, Best Orchestrations, and others.[15]

Presenters at the ceremony included:[16][17]

Hosting

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Neil Patrick Harris, with costumed dancers and singers, opened the show with a comic and edgy number "arguing that Broadway, with its con artists, Mormons and nuns this season, is 'not just for gays anymore.'"[18] The song was written by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger.[19] Harris and Hugh Jackman performed another comic number as rival awards-show hosts. Performances from nominated musicals included: Catch Me If You Can with Norbert Leo Butz and Aaron Tveit; Sister Act with Patina Miller; The Book of Mormon with Andrew Rannells; The Scottsboro Boys with Joshua Henry; Anything Goes with Sutton Foster; and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe and John Laroquette. Other musical numbers were performed from Memphis, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Company.[20]

Harris ended the broadcast with a rap-style recap of the show.[21] The rap was notable because Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail wrote the lyrics during the show—in 80 minutes while writing backstage, Miranda and Kail created all the lyrics, and Harris, aided by a teleprompter, learned and performed the rap without rehearsal.[22]

Special awards

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The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced special non-competitive awards prior to the ceremony. The Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre is given to Athol Fugard and Philip J. Smith, Chairman of The Shubert Organization. The Isabelle Stevenson Award is awarded to Eve Ensler, founder of V-Day. The Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre is given to animal trainer William Berloni, The Drama Book Shop (West 40th Street in Manhattan), and Sharon Jensen and Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts.[23] The Special Tony Award is given to Handspring Puppet Company, "for creating lifelike horses (manipulated by three actor-puppeteers)". The Regional Theatre Tony Award is presented to Lookingglass Theatre Company (Chicago, Illinois).[8]

Competitive awards

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Source: Tony Awards[8]

Summary

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The Book of Mormon received 14 nominations, the most of any production, and won nine, including Best Musical; The Scottsboro Boys received 12 nominations, winning none.[24] The revival of Anything Goes won three awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. War Horse won five awards, including Best Play. The Normal Heart won three awards, including Best Revival of a Play. Several director-choreographers were double-nominated: Rob Ashford, Kathleen Marshall, Casey Nicholaw and Susan Stroman were nominated for both Best Director and Best Choreographer.[25] Marshall (Choreography) and Nicholaw (Best Direction of a Musical with Trey Parker) won.[24] The revival of The Merchant of Venice received seven nominations, the most for any play, but won none, followed by Jerusalem with six, winning one, for Best Actor, for the performance of Mark Rylance.[24]

Awards

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Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Play Best Musical
Best Revival of a Play Best Revival of a Musical
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Best Book of a Musical Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Best Scenic Design of a Play Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Best Costume Design of a Play Best Costume Design of a Musical
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 Direction of a Play Best Direction of a Musical
Best Choreography Best Orchestrations

Productions with multiple nominations and awards

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The following 21 productions received multiple nominations (the number of nominations is shown at left):

The following four productions received multiple awards (the number is shown at left):

In Memoriam

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Pesner, Ben. "Dates and Venue Announced for 2011 Tony Awards". TonyAwards.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  2. ^ a b Broadway.com Staff. "The Beacon Theatre Will Host the 2011 Tony Awards". Broadway.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  3. ^ "Tony Awards producers choose new home for the show". Associated Press. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.[dead link]
  4. ^ a b Lyons, Margaret (4 May 2011). "Neil Patrick Harris Will Resume Tony-Hosting Duties This Year". New York Magazine. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  5. ^ Ng, David (June 13, 2011). "CBS sees slight drop in overall Tony Awards viewers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Gans, Andrew."Neil Patrick Harris Will Host 2011 Tony Awards" Archived 2011-05-13 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, May 10, 2011
  7. ^ BWW News Desk. "2011 Tony Nominations to Be Announced May 3". Broadwayworld.com, March 16, 2011
  8. ^ a b c "Tony Award nominees, 2010–11". 2011-05-03. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  9. ^ "Entertainment".
  10. ^ Healy, Patrick. "Book of Mormon and War Horse Win Top Tonys". The New York Times, June 12, 2011
  11. ^ Gans, Andrew and Gioia, Michael. "Cry-Baby Composers Wrote Tony Awards Opening Number: Read It Here" Archived 2011-06-16 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.com, June 13, 2011
  12. ^ Gans, Andrew."Leading Actress in a Musical Tony Category Will Have Maximum of Four Nominees" Archived 2011-05-04 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, May 2, 2011
  13. ^ "Tony Awards Will Be Simulcast Live to Times Square" Archived 2011-06-13 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, June 8, 2011
  14. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Laura Benanti and Katie Finneran Will Host "Creative Arts" Portion of Tony Awards" Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.com, June 6, 2011
  15. ^ Hetrick, Adam."Playbill.com Tony Blog: The Tony Awards Press Room" Archived 2011-06-15 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, June 12, 2011
  16. ^ Gans, Andrew."Brooke Shields and Robin Williams Will Be Tony Presenters; Daniel Radcliffe To Sing" Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, June 7, 2011
  17. ^ O'Neil, Tom (May 24, 2011). "Daniel Radcliffe, Whoopi Goldberg among Tony Awards presenters". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  18. ^ Healy, Patrick. "Book of Mormon and War Horse Win Top Tonys". The New York Times, June 12, 2011
  19. ^ Gans, Andrew and Gioia, Michael. "Cry-Baby Composers Wrote Tony Awards Opening Number: Read It Here" Archived 2011-06-16 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.com, June 13, 2011
  20. ^ Stewart, Zachary. "The 2011 Tony Award Winners". Theatermania.com, June 12, 2011
  21. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Neil Patrick Harris Closing Rap Tony Awards 2011". YouTube.
  22. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Writing The Closing Number--Backstage at the Tonys". YouTube.
  23. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Athol Fugard, Philip J. Smith, Eve Ensler Win Special Tony Awards" Archived 2011-04-08 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.com, April 6, 2011
  24. ^ a b c Jones, Kenneth. "War Horse, Book of Mormon, Anything Goes, Normal Heart Win 2011 Tony Awards" Archived 2011-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.com, June 12, 2011
  25. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Twice As Nice: Several Tony Nominees Nab Recognition in Two Categories" Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.com, May 3, 2011
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