BWW TV: Inside the 2012 Special Tony Honoree Cocktail Party - Presentations, Speeches & More!

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Tonight may be the big night but last evening, June 9, The Tony Awards Administration Committee hosted the annual Tony Eve Cocktail Party Tony at the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts to celebrate this year's Special Tony Award winners. 

The Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre were established in 1990 and are awarded annually to institutions, individuals and/or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in theatre, but are not eligible in any of the established Tony Award categories. This year's Tony Honors were presented to: Freddie Gershon, CEO and Chairman of Music Theatre International, Artie Siccardi, Production Supervisor of Arthur Siccardi Theatrical Services, Inc. who has overseen more than 200 Broadway productions, and TDF Open Doors, Theatre Development Fund's arts education program.

Also on hand to receive a spcial honor for Lifetime Achievement was producer Manny Azenberg, who has produced 65 productions for Broadway, receiving 25 Tony Award nominations and 8 Tony Awards. Collectively, elements of those productions have received 49 Tony Awards from more than 150 nominations. Mr. Azenberg has produced more than twenty Neil Simon shows, including all productions from 1970 through 2009.

For more on each of these special winners CLICK HERE, and go inside the ceremony below.

Additional special honorees this year include Bernadette Peters, recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Award; The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC; recipient of the Regional Theatre Award; and Hugh Jackman and Actor's Equity Association.

The 2012 Tony Awards will be broadcast live on on CBS tonight, June 10, and are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. The 66th Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from the Beacon Theatre on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 10, 2012.