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 liveonCBS[1][2] and was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.[4][6] The award nominations were announced on May 3, 2011.[7][8]
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
