Sean Hayes Named Host of This Year's Tonys

Current Promises, Promises Tony nominee and past Will & Grace Emmy winner Sean Hayes will host June 13's 64th annual Tony Awards ceremony, CBS – which will broadcast the show live from Radio City Music Hall – announced Monday.

The Tonys honor Broadway's best. This year's top nominees include the musicals Fela!" and La Cage aux Folles, with 11 nods each, and the revival of the drama Fences, starring Denzel Washington, with 10.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be hosting the Tony Awards," Hayes, 39, said in a statement. "As the new guy on Broadway, it's an honor to be included in the established alumni."

Hayes was also the subject of a controversial Newsweek essay on April 26, in which journalist Ramin Setoodeh suggested that gay actors (Hayes has recently come out) could not be believed in straight roles. The reaction was swift and severe.

Hayes's Promises costar, Kristin Chenoweth, led the charge, labeling Setoodeh's position "moronic."

All-Star Roster

Besides Hayes and Washington, other familiar names nominated for Tonys this season include Jude Law in Hamlet; Alfred Molina, in Red; Liev Schreiber in A View from the Bridge; Christopher Walken in A Behanding in Spokane; Kelsey Grammer in La Cage; Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury in A Little Night Music; Linda Lavin in Collected Stories; and Valerie Harper in Looped.

For a complete list of nominees, visit the Tonys website.