Had a good time emceeing the Theatre World Awards. We did it at Studio 54 where Threepenny Opera is playing – though we didn’t even charge anyone three pennies to get in. (As opposed to the Threepenny Opera -- which charges as much as 11,125 pennies to get in.) I told the six men and six women who’d made their New York stage debuts that they could be proud of themselves, because they’d bested Emmy-winners, Grammy-winners -- and at least one Oscar-winner.

First presenter Kate Burton used “extraordinariness" to describe Mamie Gummer, and the young actress came on stage and didn’t take issue with its being a term not to be found in the dictionary. Instead, she called it, "My new favorite word!" LaChanze said that while she had had plenty of leading men in her time, The Color Purple finally allowed her to have a "leading lady" in Elisabeth Withers-Mendes. Harry Groener did “Kansas City,” but not until he told as much about Oklahoma! as Max Wilk wrote in his 274-page book about that musical. Fred Barton, our expert musical director, had to vamp for many, many minutes.

After Nellie McKay gave a speech that was too soft for me to hear offstage, Tammy Grimes came on to present to Bob Martin – though she said she doesn't listen to The Drowsy Chaperone, but The Unsinkable Molly Brown and High Spirits instead – because she doesn't like people dancing around her apartment. She said that Man in Chair reminded her of Noel Coward, who told her during High Spirits, "Ghosts don't wear tummies. You've got to get rid of yours before you go on again.” Canadian Bob Martin came on and said, "I understand that mine's not a typical immigrant experience."

Jonathan Pryce said that when he moved, he put his two Tonys and Theatre World Award in the same box, and when he opened the box, he found that the heavy-based Theatre World Award crushed his plastic-based Tonys – and he was hoping he'd get a (good line!) a replacement award.

After I told of seeing John Rubinstein's go barefoot in Pippin -- assuming he did because Bob Fosse wanted him to look innocent and vulnerable -- I mentioned that years later he told me he shed his shoes one night because the ones the costumers kept giving him were terribly uncomfortable. (Fosse told him to keep doing it.) Rubenstein then came on and told about the time that Ann Reinking knocked out one contact lens, and he saw it roll all the way to the footlights. Though the Theatre World Awards are given for significant debut performances, Rubenstein said he first set foot on a Broadway stage in 1961 for Do Re Mi: He was standing in the wings because he knew Garson Kanin, and Phil Silvers grabbed him, shoved him onstage, and put him in the jury box for a courtroom scene. Problem was, he didn’t know when he should get off-stage. Eventually Bernie Gersten – then a stage manager -- yanked him out during Phil Silvers' big solo.

John Lloyd Young thanked the Drama Book Shop for having the Theatre World annuals to help him find audition materials. Lucie Arnaz said she was happy to be back at the Imperial after 27 years, before giving the award to her Witches of Eastwick co-star, calling her a survivor not only of the West End and a marriage, but also for her struggles with breast cancer. Friedman, by the way, was supposed to fly back to London on Sunday after her engagement at the Carlyle ended, but stayed around to get her prize. Good for her!

I pointed out that I had an Uncle Ralph, that I loved Ralph Kramden, and enjoyed reading all about Ralph Branca’s throwing a home run pitch to Bobby Thompson in 1951 – but that over the years, I found myself pronouncing the name differently – such as when I read 19th century American literature, I pronounce the name as Rafe Waldo Emerson; when I read about fashion, it’s Rafe Lauren; musical theater, Sheryl Lee Rafe. I said that you have to be quite a presence to make someone see a name a whole different way, but that Ralph Fiennes did that for me. What I really loved was that after Fiennes presented to Ian McDiarmid, the new winner wittily said, “Thank you Ralph" -- pronouncing it the old-fashioned way. McDiarmid said he was glad to be “recognized as a Broadway babe in his 61st year," and that that he and Faith Healer were both being recognized "without major surgery."

Ken Page said he could no longer get down on his knees to do the original choreography for "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat." Believe me, no one much cared, for he got screams of approval at the end of his larger-than-life performance. He presented to Felicia P. Fields, who cried and thanked the backstage people at The Color Purple. Presenter Patricia Neal got the day’s one standing ovation, and Jayne Houdyshell shed some tears over receiving her award from her. Richard Griffiths told about wrangling with New Zealand customs, and expecting that American customs would be worse, but they weren’t. Liza Minnelli reminisced that the award ceremony wasn’t always held in places like Studio 54; when she won in 1963, it was in “a church basement between A.A. meetings.” Minnelli also told about wanting to go into the business once her parents brought her to New York to see Bye Bye Birdie. (She also saw and liked The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Gypsy, and An Evening with Nichols & May.) She did acknowledge, "If you have famous parents, it can open a lot of doors for you -- but in theater, between eight and eleven p.m., you’re on your own.” She also pointed out that people usually win this award at the beginning of their career, but that it was just the opposite for the man to whom she was presenting: Harry Connick, Jr. When he came up, he said, “I'd like to thank Liza, especially, for helping me celebrate the end of my career today." He also graciously offered an unconditional surrender to John Lloyd Young, saying that Young won all the awards so far in which they’ve been in competition, and knows Young will win the Tony on Sunday.

For each of the last two years, I had the sad duty to end the ceremonies by acknowledging a Theatre World Award winner we’d lost. Two years ago, Dorothy Loudon; last year, John Raitt. This day, though, I was able to celebrate life. John Willis, the editor of the Theatre World annuals, and the man who put the Theatre World Awards on the map, was soon celebrating his 90th birthday. So I had all the current winners and presenters come to the stage and sing, “Happy Birthday.” (I made quite clear that we weren’t to sing "Happy Birthday" from Zorba – I was afraid and ashamed that everyone wouldn’t have known it.) So we did the more famous “Happy Birthday” song -- even though it isn’t a show tune.