Actor to host award show for the third time
Neil Patrick Harris will host the Tony Awards for the third time organizers of the award show have announced.
Producers of the show announced on Tuesday that Neil Patrick Harris, Broadway veteran and sitcom star, would be back at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre on June 10 to host the ceremony.
Neil Patrick Harris said in a statement he was thrilled, adding, “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 five!”
The 38-year-old actor has starred in three Broadway productions and is currently starring as ladies’ man Barney Stinson on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother.
Neil Patrick Harris previously hosted the Tonys last year and in 2009 (the same year he hosted the Emmy Awards). As he did in 2011, he will also serve as a producer along with executive producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment. This will be Weiss’ will 13th straight year producing the show.
The Tonys are typically the least-watched of the major entertainment awards shows and have struggled with falling TV ratings in recent years. Last year’s show drew 6.9 million viewers, down from 7 million in 2010. That figure was down from 7.4 million viewers in 2009.
By way of comparison, this year’s Academy Awards show on ABC drew 39.3 million viewers, up slightly from the previous year.
The 66th Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast live (tape-delayed on West Coast), June 10 at 8 p.m. on CBS from New York’s Beacon Theater.
