Tonight was Broadway’s big night as the American Theater Wing and The Broadway League presented the 65th Annual Tony Awards from a new home The Beacon Theater.  The show was once again hosted by Neil Patrick Harris (who hosted in 2009) who once again proved his a true triple threat by opening the show a song/dance “Broadways Not Just for Gays”.  The song featured dancers dressed in outfits from the shows nominated for Best Musical: “Sister Act”, “Catch Me If You Can”, “The Scottsboro Boys”, and “Book of Mormon”.

After the opener, the show just kept going with Daniel Radcliffe performing with the cast of the Best Revival of a Musical nominated show “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (and yes, he really can sing) and special guests Hugh Jackman; who did a “Host-Off” with Neil Patrick Harris (Jackman is a 3 time host of the show).  Paul Shaffer brought out Martha Wash from “The Weather Girls” to perform “Its Raining Men” with the cast of “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert”.  Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Chistina Hendricks, Martha Plimpton, and Patti Lupone joined Neil Patrick Harris for a performance of the The New York Philharmonic presented Stephen Sondheim’s “Company”.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to the winners and the biggest winner of them all was “The Book of Mormon” who took home Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and more for a total of 9 awards.  Several time in their thank you speeches both Matt Stone and Trey Parker made a point to thank South Park fans for part of the success of the show.

Other winners of the night included Ellen Barkin and John Benjamin Hickey for “Normal Heart”, “War Horse”, John Larroquette for “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert”.

Full winner list of the 65th Annual Tony Awards
Best Musical
The Book of Mormon
Best Play
War Horse
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Frances McDormand, Good People
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Mark Rylance, Jerusalem
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
Best Direction of a Play
Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, War Horse
Best Direction of a Musical
Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Ellen Barkin, The Normal Heart
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
John Benjamin Hickey, The Normal Heart
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Nikki M. James, The Book of Mormon
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Best Revival of a Play
The Normal Heart
Best Revival of a Musical
Anything Goes
Best Book of a Musical
Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone, The Book of Mormon
Best Orchestrations
Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus, The Book of Mormon
Best Original Score Written for the Theater
Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone, The Book of Mormon
Best Choreography
Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Brian Ronan, The Book of Mormon
Best Sound Design of a Play
Christopher Shutt, War Horse
Best Costume Design of a Play
Desmond Heeley, The Importance of Being Earnest
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Rae Smith, War Horse
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Scott Pask, The Book of Mormon
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Brian MacDevitt, The Book of Mormon
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, War Horse

The 65th Annual Tony Awards in Pictures