Lauper won her first Tony on Sunday for writing the 15-song score to "Kinky Boots." The pop star thanked her old friend Harvey Fierstein, the book writer for "La Cage aux Folles" and "Newsies," to lure her to Broadway. She added, "I want to thank Broadway for welcoming me. I understand how hard you work...your hard work inspires me." The "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" singer was part of an impressive group of women who took top honors. Diane Paulus and Pam MacKinnon both won for directing -- a rare time women have won directing Tonys for both a musical and a play in the same year. (It also happened most recently at the 1998 Tonys.) In addition to winning best musical and score, "Kinky Boots" also won for choreography, two technical awards and leading man in a musical, which went to Billy Porter.

Porter beat "Kinky Boots" co-star Stark Sands and told him from the stage: "You are my rock, my sword, my shield. Your grace gives me presence. I share this award with you. I'm gonna keep it at my house! But I share it with you."

Durang, whose other works include the play "Beyond Therapy," was a Tony nominee for "A History of the American Film" and his "Miss Witherspoon" was a Pulitzer Prize nominee in 2006. Paulus won her first Tony for directing the high-energy revival of the musical "Pippin," which also earned the best musical revival honor and helped Patina Miller earn a best leading actress trophy. MacKinnon won for directing the play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," a year after earning her first nomination for helming "Clybourne Park." Her revival of Edward Albee's story of marital strife won the best play revival and earned Tracy Letts his first acting Tony, an upset beating of Tom Hanks. "The greatest job on Earth. We are the ones who say it to their faces, and we have a unique responsibility," Letts said. Andrea Martin won as featured actress in a musical for "Pippin," while Gabriel Ebert of "Matilda the Musical" won as best featured actor in a musical.

The Tonys were broadcast live by CBS from Radio City Music Hall. Neil Patrick Harris was back for his fourth turn as emcee, leading a show featuring talented children and pulse-pounding musical numbers. The night's opening number started with Harris simply holding a guitar in a pub like in "Once," but quickly morphed into a flashy razzle-dazzle number that showcased performers from almost a dozen musicals -- and even ex-boxer Mike Tyson dancing. Harris sang "It's bigger! Tonight it's bigger," jumped through a hoop, vanished from a box and promised a "truly legendary show" before glitter guns went off. Courtney B. Vance won for best featured actor in a play for portraying a newspaper editor opposite Tom Hanks in "Lucky Guy." He dedicated his award to his mother. Judith Light won her second Tony in two years, following up her win last year as a wise-cracking alcoholic aunt in "Other Desert Cities" with the role of a wry mother in "The Assembled Parties," in which she goes from about 53 to 73 over the play's two acts. "I want to thank every woman that I am in this category nominated with: you have made this a celebration, not a competition," she said. Cicely Tyson, 88, won the best leading actress in a play honors for the revival of "The Trip to Bountiful," the show's only award of the night. It was the actress' first time back on Broadway in three decades. "'Please wrap it up,' it says. Well, that's exactly what you did with me: You wrapped me up in your arms after 30 years," she said. Some of the telecast highlights included the stunning kids on Broadway -- the orphans in "Annie," the actor Raymond Luke Jr. as a pre-teen Michael Jackson in "Motown the Musical," and the dancing tots in "A Christmas Story, the Musical," plus the four young women in "Matilda." Harris got his face licked by the dog playing Sandy in "Annie," made fun of Tyson and Shia LaBeouf, who left a revival of the play "Orphans" before the show opened and then tweeted about it, and joined with "Smash" star Megan Hilty, "Go On" star Laura Benanti and former "The Book of Mormon" star Andrew Rannells to skewer theater stars who seek fame on TV shows with a twisted version of "What I Did For Love" from "A Chorus Line."

Presenters included Jesse Eisenberg, Jon Cryer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick, Zachary Quinto, Sally Field, Audra McDonald, Alan Cumming and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

The Tony winners were picked by 868 Tony voters, including members of The Broadway League, American Theatre Wing, Actors' Equity, the Dramatists Guild, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society as well as critics from the New York Drama Critics Circle.

Nominees and Winners:

Best Play

• The Assembled Parties     Author: Richard Greenberg  
• Lucky Guy   Author: Nora Ephron  
• The Testament of Mary   Author: Colm Tóibín  
• Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spik   Author: Christopher Durang

Best Musical

• Bring It On: The Musical
• A Christmas Story, The Musical
• Kinky Boots
• Matilda The Musical

Best Book of a Musical

• A Christmas Story, The Musical       Joseph Robinette
• Kinky Boots      Harvey Fierstein
• Matilda The Musical    Dennis Kelly
• Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella    Douglas Carter Beane

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

• A Christmas Story, The Musical   Music and Lyrics:  Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
• Hands on a Hardbody    Music: Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green   Lyrics: Amanda Green
• Kinky Boots    Music & Lyrics: Cyndi Lauper
• Matilda The Musical    Music & Lyrics: Tim Minchin

Best Revival of a Play

• Golden Boy
• Orphans
• The Trip to Bountiful
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Revival of a Musical

• Annie
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Pippin
• Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

• Tom Hanks    Lucky Guy
• Nathan Lane   The Nance
• Tracy Letts   Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• David Hyde Pierce    Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
• Tom Sturridge    Orphans

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

• Laurie Metcalf    The Other Place
• Amy Morton    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Kristine Nielsen    Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
• Holland Taylor    Ann
• Cicely Tyson    The Trip to Bountiful

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

• Bertie Carvel    Matilda The Musical
• Santino Fontana    Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
• Rob McClure    Chaplin
• Billy Porter    Kinky Boots
• Stark Sands    Kinky Boots

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

• Stephanie J. Block    The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Carolee Carmello    Scandalous
• Valisia LeKae    Motown The Musical
• Patina Miller    Pippin
• Laura Osnes    Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

• Danny Burstein    Golden Boy
• Richard Kind    The Big Knife
• Billy Magnussen    Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
• Tony Shalhoub    Golden Boy
• Courtney B. Vance    Lucky Guy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

• Carrie Coon    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Shalita Grant    Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
• Judith Ivey    The Heiress
• Judith Light    The Assembled Parties
• Condola Rashad    The Trip to Bountiful

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

• Charl Brown    Motown The Musical
• Keith Carradine    Hands on a Hardbody
• Will Chase    The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Gabriel Ebert    Matilda The Musical
• Terrence Mann    Pippin

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

• Annaleigh Ashford    Kinky Boots
• Victoria Clark    Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
• Andrea Martin    Pippin
• Keala Settle    Hands on a Hardbody
• Lauren Ward    Matilda The Musical

Best Direction of a Play

• Pam MacKinnon    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Nicholas Martin    Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
• Bartlett Sher    Golden Boy
• George C. Wolfe    Lucky Guy

Best Direction of a Musical

• Scott Ellis    The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Jerry Mitchell    Kinky Boots
• Diane Paulus    Pippin
• Matthew Warchus    Matilda The Musical

Best Choreography

• Andy Blankenbuehler    Bring It On: The Musical
• Peter Darling    Matilda The Musical
• Jerry Mitchell    Kinky Boots
• Chet Walker    Pippin

Best Orchestrations

• Chris Nightingale    Matilda The Musical
• Stephen Oremus    Kinky Boots
• Ethan Popp & Bryan Crook    Motown The Musical
• Danny Troob    Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Best Scenic Design of a Play

• John Lee Beatty    The Nance
• Santo Loquasto    The Assembled Parties
• David Rockwell    Lucky Guy
• Michael Yeargan    Golden Boy

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

• Rob Howell    Matilda The Musical
• Anna Louizos    The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Scott Pask    Pippin
• David Rockwell    Kinky Boots

Best Costume Design of a Play

• Soutra Gilmour    Cyrano de Bergerac
• Ann Roth    The Nance
• Albert Wolsky    The Heiress
• Catherine Zuber    Golden Boy

Best Costume Design of a Musical

• Gregg Barnes    Kinky Boots
• Rob Howell    Matilda The Musical
• Dominique Lemieux    Pippin
• William Ivey Long    Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Best Lighting Design of a Play

• Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer    Lucky Guy
• Donald Holder    Golden Boy
• Jennifer Tipton    The Testament of Mary
• Japhy Weideman    The Nance

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

• Kenneth Posner    Kinky Boots
• Kenneth Posner    Pippin
• Kenneth Posner    Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
• Hugh Vanstone    Matilda The Musical

Best Sound Design of a Play

• John Gromada    The Trip to Bountiful
• Mel Mercier    The Testament of Mary
• Leon Rothenberg    The Nance
• Peter John Still and Marc Salzberg    Golden Boy

Best Sound Design of a Musical

• Jonathan Deans & Garth Helm    Pippin
• Peter Hylenski    Motown The Musical
• John Shivers    Kinky Boots
• Nevin Steinberg    Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Special Tony Award® for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre

• Bernard Gersten
• Paul Libin
• Ming Cho Lee

Regional Theatre Award

• Huntington Theatre Company

Isabelle Stevenson Award 

• Larry Kramer

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre

• Career Transition For Dancers 
• William Craver
• Peter Lawrence
• The Lost Colony
• The four actresses who created the title role of Matilda The Musical on Broadway -  Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence,  Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro

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The Tony Awards 2012

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The Tony Awards 2011