In 2009 Bret Michaels performed at the Tony Awards and was walloped in the head with a descending backdrop as he exited the stage; six months later he suffered a brain hemorrhage that nearly killed him. He promptly filed a lawsuit against the awards show, and now the NY Times reports that the two parties will reunite right here in New York. more ›

The nominations for the 2011 Tony Awards were announced today, and the South Park boys Trey Parker and Matt Stone have reason to rejoice. Their show, The Book of Mormon lead the pack with 14 nominations including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, two nods for Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Nikki M. James) and Best Director (Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker). Coming in second with 12 nominations was the short-lived on Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys. more ›

Singer and reality show addict Bret Michaels performed at the 2009 Tony Awards for a tie-in with Rock of Ages, but things didn't go as planned because he was struck in the head by a piece of scenery (video below). He was pretty gracious about the incident at the time and even said he wouldn't sue but now Michaels suing the Tonys because he says the brain hemorrhage he suffered six months later was related. more ›

Last night's 64th Annual Tony Awards broadcast was, as usual, a desperate three-hour long televised advertisement intended to trick tourists into Broadway theaters with the hopes of seeing movie stars in person. But last night it seemed there was even more attention paid to big famous people than usual, with Denzel Washington, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Scarlett Johansson among the bold-faced winners. The spectacle was co-hosted by Sean Hayes (Will & Grace), who started off the show by planting a long, juicy kiss on Kristin Chenoweth, as a riposte to a controversial Newsweek editorial suggesting he wasn't a convincing straight man in Promises, Promises. Check it out: more ›

Jeff Daniels and Lea Michele woke up early this morning to announce the nominations for the 64th Annual Tony Awards, which will be distributed on June 13th. Unlike previous years, no single powerhouse show has dominated the nominations, with honors spread across the board. (Fela! and La Cage aux Folles tied for the most nominations—11) But there were some notable snubs, most notably the highly profitable yet critically panned The Addams Family. Stars Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth received no nominations, and the show is not in the Best Musical category. Ironically, the worst aspect of this mediocre tourist trap—the instantly forgettable score—was nominated for an award. more ›

Bret Michaels is continuing to talk about his mishap at the Tony Awards, when he was clotheslined by a set, resulting in some injuries to his face, including a broken nose. The Poison front man and Rock of Love star tells People, "All in all, I'd like to think I feel okay. But I got to be honest with you, I feel pretty beat up....I want to make very clear to everybody that - first and foremost - I was honored to be asked to be at the Tonys. I'd never done it before and in all my life it's not something I thought I'd be on. I was really excited. There's no lawsuit. I'm not doing any of that. I'm taking the high road." Phew. And, um, somehow he's in People's Hottest Bachelors issue. more ›

Anything related to Bret Michaels getting clotheslined at the Tony Awards is too good to pass up! We noticed that photos of his injuries were on MySpace but neglected to see what he wrote on his website. Here's an excerpt: "I feel for the actors and actresses who put in so much time and hard work on or off Broadway to get to the Tonys. This is their moment and I am sorry that some of it may have gotten overshadowed by my thick rocker cranium being struck by a stage prop. On a high note I hear it was the highest rated Tonys they have had in years. However, I was bummed that I did not get to see any of the acts perform during the Tonys as I have never seen a play on Broadway before, probably would have enjoyed it, and even more bummed that I did not get to attend the after parties, cuz rumor has it Anne Hathaway was going to be there and she is hot." [Via Pet Rock] more ›

Last we heard Bret Michaels had fractured his nose and got three stitches to his bloodied lip (luckily the hair extensions went unscathed). He's denied the Tony Awards accident was his fault, saying he hit his mark, leaving conspiracy theorists to wonder if a Rock of Love reject got behind the wheel of that particular piece of stage scenery. Probably not. But now Michaels continues to draw attention to the blunder, posting photos of his injuries up on MySpace and proving that nothing compliments stitches like a subtle soul patch. more ›

By now you've seen the funny video of Poison singer Bret Michaels getting hit on the head with a piece of scenery during the Tony Awards show Sunday night. (It's no "Man Getting Hit by Football," but we've found that it does stand up to repeated viewings.) And though the video makes it seem like Michaels smashed into the scenery because of his own rock-god obliviousness, the singer's publicist categorically denies a Tonys spokeperson's assertion that the rocker "missed his mark." Michaels's rep tells People, "By all means, he did not miss his mark. He did exactly what they asked him to do in rehearsal, where everything went fine. And when the sign came down [at the show], it smacked him on the head. He may have to cancel his next show - we'll see. Bret is a tough son of a bitch, but he's really banged up." Michaels—who fractured his nose, had to get a CAT scan, and required three stitches to his bloodied lip—says, "All I remember is Shrek and the donkey helping me up, and Liza [Minnelli] giving me a towel." more ›

The 2008 Tony Award nominees were just announced, and looking over the list we’ve got to admit that it was a pretty good year for Broadway, at least in terms of quality. The phenomenal rock musical Passing Strange picked up seven nominations, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Lead Actor (Stew, pictured). Also competing in the Best Musical category are the tepidly received Cry-Baby, the harmless Xanadu, and the underdog Latino musical In the Heights. more ›

Although the mass media informs us that our nation was monolithically united around last night's final Sopranos episode, we believe a small pocket of dissenters were tuned into CBS, where the 61st Annual Tony Awards were broadcast over the span of three hours. We know from The Playgoer’s pithy live-blogging that there were big musical numbers by each of the nominated musicals, a (“thankfully”) drunk Eddie Izzard and an appearance by American Idol sensation Fantasia Barrino belting out a song from The Color Purple. more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: more ›

Broadway's big night celebrated two hit shows, both with word "Boys" in the title. "Jersey Boys," the musical about singing group, The Four Seasons, won Best Musical and two actors won Best Actor (John Lloyd Young) and Best Featured Actor (Christian Hoff), and "The History Boys," a play about British education, won Best Play, Best Direction and Best Actor (Richard Griffiths). The speeches were all very heartfelt, touching and classy - Frances de la Tour, who won as Best Featured Actress in The History Boys, graciously thanked the crew and said she felt at home in "New York, New York." LaChanze won Best Actress in a Musical for The Color Purple, and thanked Oprah Winfrey at the very end. And Cynthia Nixon won Best Actress in a Play for The Rabbit Hole, and called herself a theater geek. The team behind The Drowsy Chaperone, the throwback to the 1920s musical, won a bunch of big awards, including Best Book and Best Score, with its Canadian creators thanking America. more ›

EVENT: NYC Photobloggers will take over the Apple Store again tonight, for the 7th of their events there. The A-list...um, list, of past photographers is a long one. Six more will join the ranks tonight, as they are the centerpieces for this event. They are: more ›

The Reverend Al Sharpton is not much of a speller. He joined the cast of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee during the Tony Awards telecast yesterday and participated in the bee. He was given the word "dengue," which pretty much means diarrhea to the hundredth degree, though the CDC doesn't really expound that part at length. Now, we're not sure if Sharpton was playing a poor speller or just badly spelling, but he spelled "D-E-N-K-E" or something very far off. (Gothamist guessed "D-E-N-G-H-E".) more ›

The rarified air around tippy-top Broadway shows is abuzz this week with anticipation of the Tony Awards. Clicking through the official website, Gothamist couldn’t help but snort at some of the pomposity going on for a ceremony that no one outside theater could care less about, but it’s probably to be expected. With celebrity presenters ranging from Julia Stiles and Allison Janney to James Earl Jones and Alan Alda, the Tonys have to keep up appearances and satisfy the big Hollywood tastes these folks have developed. This is particularly obvious in the huge number of gifts presenters receive, as Playbill reports; the goodies aren’t quite Oscar-caliber, but there are several nice bits of bling (Gothamist’s eye lingered on the Swarovski crystal-studded earphones) but apparently the award organizers want to help these poor deprived folks get total makeovers, with gift certificates for Lasik and teeth bleaching as well as “Life Coaching” sessions and language-learning software. Because, you know, now that these people are at the top of their game, they really need some extra assistance. Sheesh. more ›

Where can I take beginner Bollywood style dance classes? more ›

And as reader Brian Van points out, since favored musical Wicked did not win, we'd like Times public editor Daniel Okrent to make good on his claim that "if [Wicked] loses the Tony I'll eat my black satin jacket from the road company of Jekyll and Hyde." You name the venue, Daniel! more ›