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Kevin Spacey Poked Fun at Rumors About His Sexuality in the Tonys Opening Number
The actor did so with the help of some major celebrity cameos.
Kevin Spacey kicked off the 2017 Tony Awards with an unforgettable opening number. But instead of lovingly poking fun at the best and brightest of Broadway as usual, the actor instead gave it a personal touch with some self-deprecating humor.
As the Oscar winner parodied the songs from the shows nominated for Best Musical, Kevin not only poked fun at rumors that the Tonys had trouble nailing down a host for this year's telecast and his own emceeing skills as reportedly not the first choice, but he also seemed to make a couple of references to rumors about his own sexuality, although the actor has long kept his personal life private.
The first came when past Tonys host Whoopi Goldberg stepped out of a closet to give Kevin some advice on being at the helm of the event. "Whoopi, how long have you been in that closet?" Kevin said, to which Whoopi replied, "Well, Kevin, it depends on who you ask."
Kevin later received some more words of wisdom in the form of a taped message from Billy Crystal, who offered up this advice: "Kevin, if all else fails, put on a dress." Kevin then appeared in a gown looking just like Sunset Boulevard's Norma Desmond and began to sing his own take on the musical's classic tune "As If We Never Said Goodbye." "I'm coming out," the host started the song. "No, wait. I'm going into makeup..."
The Tonys opening number also featured cameos from Stephen Colbert, the cast of the Tony-nominated musical Come From Away, and the Radio City Rockettes. The rest of Kevin's time at the Tonys was similarly star-studded in the form of the actor breaking out his impersonations of Johnny Carson and Bill Clinton for some jokes and introductions. He also made an appearance as his House of Cards character, Frank Underwood, along with his wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) and Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) to hand the Best Musical envelope to presenter Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Kevin closed the show with a lovely duet with Patti LuPone to Bobby Darin's "The Curtain Falls."
