NPH Opens Tony Awards With Bigger Spectacle

SLIDESHOW: Red Carpet Fashion at 67th Annual Tony Awards

Last night's Tony Awards promised to be "bigger" according to host Neil Patrick Harris, since it returned to Radio City Music Hall. But he also knew it was gonna be the gayest: with more plays and musicals with queer characters, as well as openly gay actors playing them and nominated for awards. NPH got it all started with a song from Once. And then amped up the opener--with surprise guest Mike Tyson!--and a jab at the Les Miserables musical movie when he called for a closeup and said: "On Broadway, we don't need extreme close-ups to prove we're singing live. We do it eight shows a week."

The rest of the evening included big wins for Cyndi Lauper for Best Original Score of a Musical for the clear favorite, Kinky Boots, which also won the coveted award for Best Musical over Matilda. and earned Billy Porter the award for Best Actor in a Musical. Seems things will be getting "kinky" for years and years to come. (Read Michael Musto's take on the awards here.)

Other highlights: Diane Paulus finally got the recognition she deserved for her revival of the spectacular Pippin. And Cicely Tyson won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Play (although we still think that Holland Taylor deserved it for her magnificent turn in Ann, but it was stiff competition).

SLIDESHOW : The 67th Tony Awards From The Red Carpet

To add to the gayest evening on earth, Out favorites Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, and Alan Cumming were all on hand, looking smashing in their duds.

Watch this snippet of the opener below:

Complete list of winners below:

Best Play
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, by Christopher Durang

Best Musical
Kinky Boots, The Musical

Best Book of a Musical
Matilda, The Musical, Dennis Kelly

Best Revival of a Play
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Revival of a Musical
Pippin

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Kinky Boots, Music and Lyrics: Cyndi Lauper

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Tracy Letts, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Billy Porter, Kinky Boots

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Patina Miller, Pippin

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Courtney B. Vance, Lucky Guy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Judith Light, The Assembled Parties

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Gabriel Ebert, Matilda The Musical

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Andrea Martin, Pippin

Best Scenic Design of a Play
John Lee Beatty, The Nance

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Rob Howell, Matilda, The Musical

Best Costume Design of a Play
Ann Roth, The Nance

Best Costume Design of a Musical
William Ivey Long, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, Lucky Guy

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Hugh Vanstone, Matilda The Musical

Best Sound Design of a Play
Leon Rothenberg, The Nance

Best Sound Design of a Musical
John Shivers, Kinky Boots

Best Direction of a Play
Pam MacKinnon, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Direction of a Musical
Diane Paulus, Pippin

Best Choreography
Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots

Best Orchestrations
Stephen Oremus, Kinky Boots