SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS: DAY 8 - Sean Hayes, Kristin Chenoweth & PROMISES, PROMISES

As a super-special Spring extension of BroadwayWorld's SOUND OFF column, every day until the Tony Awards on June 12 we will be presenting a spectacular new entry in the SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS series featuring a particularly entertaining, interesting, relevant and exciting Tony Awards-related clip from the last sixty-three years of the ceremonies (and subsequent seasons on Broadway) with a rundown and commentary on the sights, sounds and showmanship on display in each carefully chosen selection - all, of course, coming in anticipation of Broadway's biggest night, which will be broadcast on CBS this year, as always. Once again this year, BroadwayWorld is the official home of the 2011 Tony Awards and we will also be featuring exclusive interviews, articles, photos, video content, interactive features and more in the coming days and weeks leading up to the event so be sure to check back daily for your theatre fix!

Today we are revisiting the most recent Tony Awards, which took place on June 13, 2010 on CBS - the 64th telecast - with a look at the audience-favorite Emmy-winning star of WILL & GRACE who made his debut last season in the hit revival of Burt Bacharach/Hal David/Neil Simon's PROMISES, PROMISES, co-starring Kristin Chenoweth, and who acted as amiable host for the festivities: Sean Hayes! We will also be casting a glance at the show he starred in last season, PROMISES, PROMISES, with a performance from the Rob Ashford-directed revival featuring Kristin Chenoweth and the talented cast - including Tony-winner Katie Finneran.

What Do You Get When You Host The Tonys?

It's a thankless job to host an award show - recent examples include: Ricky Gervais, who most recently found out Hollywood has a hard time laughing at themselves at the Golden Globes; James Franco and Anne Hathaway managed to simultaneously prove that there is such a thing as too little and too much; five reality hosts hosting the Emmys; and, the list goes on - so, when someone like Neil Patrick Harris brings us back to the Alexander Cohen-produced heydays of Angela Lansbury, Lauren Bacall, Jason Robards and Colleen Dewhurst on the Tony Awards he is due much, much praise. It is, after all, essentially exhuming a corpse since your job as Tony Awards host is to introduce the rest of America to the season on Broadway, more or less, which often includes many productions and nominees from productions that are already closed. So, it's no easy feat. Last year's host managed to score major points and provide mainstream laughs and esoteric guffaws in almost equal measure to the delight of the Radio City audience - I am speaking of course of today's Tony Awards Countdown subject, Mr. Sean Hayes.

First, take a look at this fun promo where Hayes discusses his preparation for the hosting duties of the night and also be sure to check out the performance clips from PROMISES, PROMISES that are included in this montage made for CBS.com.

Now, here is Hayes and his more-than-merely-winning opening monologue featuring lots of laughs and an ingratiating beginning to a generally successfully smooth and relatively streamlined show.

Of course, PROMISES, PROMISES was Sean's big Broadway debut last season - and what a debut it was! Singing the swingin' sixties score by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, featuring gems such as the title song, the crossover hit "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" as well as - for this production, at least - "Say A Little Prayer" and "A House Is Not A Home", he made the role of Chuck Baxter his own and gave an energetic, athletic and endearing performance, while not quite erasing memories of Jerry Orbach in the original. Yet, this was a much different show than the original and he was ideal for the world created in the new production. Here, highlighting the Best Choreography category, as introduced by Paula Abdul: the phenomenal revival company of PROMISES, PROMISES, featuring Sean Hayes.

Now, click through to sample Kristin Chenoweth performing "Say A Little Prayer" in the opening number for the 2010 Tony Awards and, later, even making out with her co-star and the night's host live onstage to catcalls and coos from the crowd! Plus, she even pokes fun at her nomination omission for the show in a particularly Karen/Jack-esque exchange. And… we're good!

https://www.youtube.com/embed?feature=player_detailpage&v=TDZJtSE7tCQ

Also, as a special bonus, here is "Turkey Lurkey Time" from PROMISES, PROMISES 2010.

That's all for today. Be sure to stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for all things Tony Awards and subscribe to this column to be the very first to check out the clips, commentary and take part in the conversation in our deluxe toast to the one and only Antoinette Perry every day until June 12 - and, especially, on that day! Until then…