2010 Tony Rehearsals LIVE Blog!

The Tony Awards will be broadcast live in HD, from Radio City Music Hall on CBS, Sunday, June 13th, 8:00 - 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT time delay). The 2010 Tony Awards are presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. To view the live Tony Awards pre-telecast and red carpet, log onto BroadwayWorld.com at 6pm tonight!

BroadwayWorld.com's Editor-in-Chief, Robert Diamond is live blogging from the 2010 Tony Award Rehearsals at Radio City Music Hall! Refresh for updates and if you don't want to be spoiled -- don't read on! 

Thanks for following along - viewers tonight are in for a lot of lively performances and a fun-packed ceremony ... and commercial for all things Broadway. Job well done by all involved in putting together where is sure to be a night to remember. BroadwayWorld.com will be bringing you Tony news all day and we'll be back officially LIVE at 5pm.

Check back to watch live coverage of the red carpet at 6pm, the creative awards at 7pm and all sorts of live and exciting coverage throughout the night!

12:26 - Just a reminder as always to set your DVRs to go long juuuuuuuust in case so you don't miss the show's closing number.

12:25 - For rehearsal purposes the winner is MEMPHIS ... but I think that they'll be up there tonight as well.

12:23 - Bernadette is here (and looking amazing and ageless as always). Lots of applause.

12:20 - Post-commercial, Bernadette Peters will present the award for Best Musical! Great choice of presenters and she herself will of course be back on Broadway soon in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC.  We'll find out momentarily if she's here or if it's a stand-in.

12:15 - We're back from commercial and Sean Hayes is back (doing a WONDERFUL) job today introducing the presenters (unidentified) for Best Leading Actor and Actress in a Musical..

12:14 - and PRISCILLA, whose footage is set to Liza singing "Single Ladies". Shame this stuff is only being shown in-house.

12:13 - And Harry Connick, Jr. who will be performing this summer at the Neil Simon Theatre (keeping it 'warm' for LOVE NEVER DIES).

12:12 - And now War Horse which is headed over from the West End to begin performances March 17, 2011 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.

12:11 - Those in the audience are now being treated to the next clip package, currently featuring the upcoming Broadway show LOMBARDI with old footage of the man himself and new footage of the show's cast discussing the show.

12:10 - Back to 'commercial' and then we're back for the show's final set of awards!

12:08 - All the song's potentially offensive words starting with the letter 'F' are being bleeped (silenced) for the broadcast.

12:08 - Great job re-creating and minifying the set of AMERICAN IDIOT for the Radio City stage. The cast is now rocking out the show's opening number. Perfect choice.

12:07 - Stand-in now for Billy Joe Armstrong to introduce AMERICAN IDIOT!

12:05 - RAGTIME got loud cheers from the audience, but I think that it's sure to go to LA CAGE tonight.

12:03 - Ladies and gentleman - Raquel Welch - here to present Best Revival of a Musical.

12:03 - Making a grand entrace is Sean Hayes as SPIDER-MAN... Sort of.

11:58 - Here doing a 'commercial' is Jackie Hoffman reading from Ethel Merman's "Who Could Ask for Anything More?"

11:56 - And it's a big finish to VERY loud applause center stage... Matthew is back to join her for the bows. Let's hope that the two both get back to live stages soon... And, we're back to 'commercial'.

11:54 - Lea is singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" which she sang here at Radio City Musical just a couple of weeks ago with GLEE Live!

11:53 - Perfect number for Matthew who is getting to show off his singing and his dancing... the camera men are rushing up the aisle now to film the entrance from the audience of Lea Michele...

11:52 - Matthew Morrison is performing "All I Need is the Girl" from GYPSY to VERY loud applause...

11:51 - Laura Bell Bundy (who made her Radio City debut at 9 years old) is now on stage to introduce GLEE! She notes that she's waiting for her offer to be on the show...

11:49 - And while she's up there, she will also present the Tony for Best Play. Who will take it? IN THE NEXT ROOM, NEXT FALL, RED or TIME STANDS STILL? We'll find out tonight. Tough category...

11:46 - Cate Blanchett will present the Tony for Best Revival of a Play.

11:44 - Uncle Fester, Kevin Chamberlain has dropped in to provide some help with the lights...

11:43 - Beautiful clip packages are being shown during the commercials about Tom Viola, B.H. Barry and the Midtown Police Precincts. Back from commercial momentarily.

11:39 - Stanley Tucci's stand-in is now here to introduce those who are no longer with us.

11:36 - Great dancing by the cast of the show ... and Paula Abdul is here to give the (rehearsal) Tony to Twyla Tharp's stand-in.

11:35 - Paula Abdul's stand-in is also introducing clip packages for the other choreography nominated shows and the live cast of PROMISES, PROMISES. The cast is here performing the show's opening number!

11:32 - There's nothing like Sinatra and the cast is dancing to "That's Life"...

11:31 - Paula Abdul's stand-in is here to talk about legendary choreographers and to introduce COME FLY AWAY.  Twyla Tharp is here watching closely from the center orchestra seats as well.

11:30 - And they're now showing clips of more earlier awards including Score, Book, Lifetime Achievement, Orchestrations...

11:29 - Michael Douglas is celebrating the 1200 productions that got their start there including AVENUE Q, NINE and more...

11:28 - Two-time Academy Award-winner Michael Douglas is here and honored to be here. Michael is here to present the Regional Theatre Award to the Eugene O'Neil Theater Center...where Michael got his start as a young, aspiring actor. He sent 3 summers there.

11:23 - Back to commercial, GLEE, COME FLY AWAY, PROMISES, PROMISES and AMERICAN IDIOT are still to come here.

11:21 - FELA! is performing a specially put together medley just for the Tony Awards -- the cast looks and sounds fantastic and after this live blog, I'm going to go home to do some situps. Yikes.

11:17 - Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith (stand-ins) are introducing FELA! who will enter from the wings and from the audience!

11:16 - Pulling double duty, Helen Mirren will also present Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.

11:15 - Walking by and in the house is Michael Douglas! Wonder who he is rooting for tonight?

11:14 - Helen Mirren is here to present Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.

11:13 - Annie's coming back to Broadway and Sean Hayes is dressed as ... Bernadette Peters.

11:09 - Now back to commercial. Next up will be GLEE and more...

11:08 - It was a great clip package filled with fun and laughs and they then went back to Times Square with Kerry Washington showing the fans that will be watching The Tony broadcast live from there and thanks the (Tony-receiving) Midtown Police Precinct.

11:07 - Sean Hayes is back to introduce a clip package about the 39 productions in Broadway's "Billion Dollar Year" with clips and snapshots from the entire season.

11:05 - And then, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE...

11:04 - Followed by THE ROYAL FAMILY!

11:03 - Next will be the cast of LEND ME A TENOR (all stand-ins here now).

11:02 - Back is Sean Hayes to introduce the nominees for Best Revival of a Play. First up are stand-ins for Denzel Washington and Viola Davis introducing FENCES.

11:01 - Christiane Noll is singing 'Back to Before' - and sounds great... So glad that they were able to include RAGTIME (and rightfully show) in the broadcast.

11:00 - Please welcome, Tony winner for WICKED - Idina Menzel. As the crowd cheers, Idina is here to introduce RAGTIME. They're showing footage from the show and Christiane Noll is here to perform.

10:58 - Back from 'commercial' and they're showing placeholder footage of the earlier creative awards that were presented pre-broadcast.

10:49 - Next up is Barbara Cook (stand-in) introducing Catherine Zeta-Jones singing "Send In the Clowns"... (no Alexander Hanson in this staging)..

10:46 - Back from another commercial - Kristin Chenoweth... Kristin has a thank you list and Sean has come out to tell her that she didn't win anything but is here to present Best Featured Actor in a Musical...

10:39 - The cast is now dancing up a storm on stage - they sound and look great. Loud cheering from the house.

10:37 - The cast of MEMPHIS is now rocking the house - Steal Your Rock 'N' Roll...

10:36 - From the New York Jets, it's theatre afficianado - Mark Sanchez introducing MEMPHIS. Sanchez says he's a huge fan of the show and introduces Chad Kimball, Montego Glover and the cast of MEMPHIS.

10:34 - Now Sean Hayes is back, introducing David Hyde Pierce (here) and Kelsey Grammer (not here). The pair will present Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Kelsey congratulates David on receiving the Isabelle Stevenson award earlier in the evening, and David congratulates Kelsey on LA CAGE, saying that he couldn't be prouder of him if they were brothers.

10:33 - Angela is talking about everything that the American Theatre Wing does and wishes all the young fans luck.

10:31 - Ted Chapin, chairman of the board for the American Theatre Wing announces that someone special will become the Wing's first ever honorary chairperson, Angela Lansbury. Angela is now on-stage to the loudest applause of the day from ALL in attendance - fans, casts and tech.

10:28 - Eugene Pack (stand-in) is here to introduce selections from CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY which will entertain the audience during the commercials. First book? David Hasselhoff's "Don't Hassle the Hoff" talking about Jekyll & Hyde.

10:27 - Next commercial package is Bon Jovi - in a pre-recorded bit from London's O2 arena wishing David Bryan (who is missing his first performance ever as keyboardist for Bon Jovi for the awards) good luck and promising that MEMPHIS is coming up next.

10:26 - Chris Noth (standin) promises more Best Plays coming up.

10:25 - Laura Linney is here to talk about TIME STANDS STILL. (ed note - loved this one, glad it's coming back this fall).

10:24 - Then Eddie Redmayne and Alfred Molina (not here) will talk about RED, they introduce each other with a great studio projection in the background.

10:24 - Then comes NEXT FALL. The actors talk about the show -- lots of funny banter.

10:23 - IN THE NEXT ROOM will be first with Laura Benanti and Michael Cerveris (not here). They talk about the play with minimal set pieces in front of a digital set projection. On camera, it looks great!

10:22 - Chris Noth (not here) next introduces the category of Best Play.

10:21 - The stand-in girl for Bill T. Jones asks Antonio for a hug, which he gives her to loud applause.

10:19 - Antonio Banderas will also present Best Direction of a Musical.

10:18 - Back on, Sean Hayes dressed in a dance belt, talking about BILLY ELLIOT, and introduces Antonio Banderas (who is here) as soon to be returning in ZORBA, THE GREEK. Antonio will present Best Direction of a Play.

10:12 - And we're back in 'commercial'. Audemars Piguet is presenting BC/EFA with a check for 1.3 million dollars, the highest donation EVER!

10:10 - A special treat, La Cagelles (and Robin deJesus) enter via the house for a spectacular finish to the number!

10:08 - Douglas Hodge will be coming out into the audience for some hilarious interaction with some of the evening's celebrity guests...

10:07 - Next up, it's Kelsey Grammer to introduce LA CAGE AUX FOLLES - The Best of Times is NOW! Kelsey introduces Tony nominees - himself, Douglas Hodge and the cast of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. Lots of loud cheering as Douglas Hodge starts off the song...

10:04 - Sean guys 'live' to Times Square to show the PROMISES billboard in Times Square with Kristin and a lampost in front of him. Sean then introduces (not here) Lucy Liu who will present the nominees for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

10:02 - Now back from 'commercial' in 40 seconds...

10:00 - Those attending the awards get to watch a bunch of (fun) clip packages during the commercials -- the first one is 'Old Broadway TV Commercials' featuring RAGTIME, the original LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, LEND ME A TENOR and Lena Horne: The Lady And Her Music.

9:59 - Great job by the cast of MDQ who play out into the commercial as well treating those in the house to a bit more...

9:55 - MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is performing  a medley and sounds fantastic. Great camera work that I'm sure they'll repeat tonight showing Levi Kreis and his very fast fingers.

9:54 - Introducing - Ricky Martin, soon to return to Broadway in EVITA. (He's not here at the dress), but tonight, he'll be introducing MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET to perform the first nominated musical number.

9:54 - Throughout the dress rehearsal, awards are announced 'for this rehearsal only' and stand-ins come up to make acceptance speeches. Lots of fun.

9:53 - The fans up in the mezzanine are loving Daniel Radcliffe, cheering everytime he talks. Daniel is of course headed back to Broadway in 'HOW TO SUCCEED' this Spring...

9:52 - First presenters, Daniel Radcliffe and Katie Holmes! Daniel is here, Katie has a stand-in. They'll be presenting 'Best Featured Actress in a Play'.

9:51 - Great opening comedy lines from Sean Hayes -- introducing many of this year's first-time nominees - Scarlett Johannson, Christopher Walken and more...

9:50 - Kristin Chenoweth has come out on stage to 'surprise' Sean Hayes.... What she does, well, let's just say Newsweek might not approve.

9:49 - Your host, Sean Hayes!

9:48 - Ok, the opening number is done and it's live from Radio City Music Hall - the 64th Annual Tony Awards (dress rehearsal).

9:36 - This time it's for real, the dress rehearsal has begun...time for the opening number and then full coverage of everything that happens next! Kudos to everyone for being in great vocal shape and all stretched out at this early (especially for Broadway) hour!

9:28 - They're about to run through the opening number for the second time before the full dress rehearsal begins. When that happens, I get to share all the fun, until then, won't spoil all the opening number surprises!

9:19 - Blogging will be more regular as soon as the official dress rehearsal begins... The first run-through of the opening number was just completed and was FANTASTIC!

9:01 - They've just called '1 minute' till the first run-through of the opening number. All the casts in the opening are now backstage and ready to go. BTW, the 'enhancements' to this years set look REALLY great.

8:56 - They are about to run through the opening number for the first time for rehearsal. The official dress rehearsal will start around 9:30am. Now it's just rehearsal for the rehearsal.

8:52 - All the casts of the opening number have been called to the stage for last minute instructions before rehearsal begins!

8:47 - At a few readers requests, I'm going to post new entries on top for easier refreshing... Sean Hayes is now here out in the house, as is Twyla Tharp along with lots of technicians ready to help make some Tonys magic.

8:43 - They're testing some lighting and sound cues on stage, the Cagelles are in the house and soon the doors will open to other invited guests.

8:37 - Nothing to report yet... Spoilers will follow on everything EXCEPT the opening and closing number which we've been asked not to blog about. More to come!

8:30 AM - Just took our seats in the orchestra in the Radio City MusicAl Hall - waiting for the rehearsal to begin! Excitement is in the air...