Neil Patrick Harris will help celebrate the best of the Broadway season as host of the 2009 Tony Awards.
Harris is known for his roles on such TV shows as “How I Met Your Mother” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” but the 35-year-old actor is also a stage veteran, having appeared in the Tony-winning drama “Proof” as well as revivals of “Cabaret” and “Assassins.”
“His love for Broadway and great knowledge of theater combined with his on-stage presence makes him the perfect person to guide us through what is sure to be a great night,” Tonys co-executive producer Ricky Kirshner said in a statement Thursday.
Harris said he hoped to help provide “a first-class evening for all” as host.
“The discipline of live theater – doing the same perfect thing night after night, eight times a week – never ceases to amaze me,” he said in the statement. “I’m truly honored to have been chosen as the master of ceremonies for this year’s Tony Awards.”
The awards will be presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 7. The ceremony will air on CBS starting at 8 p.m. EDT.
Nominations were announced May 5. The best musical contenders are “Billy Elliot,” “Next to Normal,” “Rock of Ages” and “Shrek The Musical,” while the nominees for best play are “Dividing the Estate,” “God of Carnage,” “reasons to be pretty” and “33 Variations.”
