Neil Patrick Harris will host the 66th
annual Tony Awards, marking his third turn as host, the AP reported.
The star of the CBS sitcom How I Met
Your Mother will return to Manhattan's Beacon Theater on June 10
to honor Broadway's best.
Last year, Harris hosted the Tonys and
also served as a producer. He first hosted the show in 2009.
Harris, 38, who starred in the Broadway
productions of Assassins, Proof, and Cabaret,
said he was thrilled to return.
“I'm thrilled to be a part of this
year's Tony Awards,” Harris said. “Not only will I be shining a
spotlight on the best that Broadway has to offer, but hopefully I'll
score some free house seats to a show or 5.”
Harris opened last year's show with a
musical tune promising that Broadway is Not Just For Gays Anymore.
Running down the aisles, he enlisted
the help of straight audience members.
“Stephen Colbert,
you're straight as they come, any thoughts?” Harris asked.
“I enjoy the
theater; I've enjoyed it all my life; I enjoy it with my female woman
wife,” Colbert sang.
“Look at this,
it's amazing,” Harris shouted as he walked up the aisle. “Look
at all these straight people. James Earl Jones, you're straight.
Vanessa Williams, you're straight. Joe Mantello … thanks for
coming.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.
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our video library for more videos.)
(Related: Neil
Patrick Harris: David Burtka first proposed marriage to me.)