Neil Patrick Harris stepped onto the stage of Radio City Music Hall on June 9, 2013, and basically told the entire world that theater was bigger than ever. He wasn't lying. If you weren't watching the 2013 Tony Awards opening live, you missed a literal tidal wave of energy that shouldn't have been physically possible to execute on a live broadcast. It wasn't just a song. It was a statement.
"It's Bigger" was the title of the track, written by the powerhouse duo of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt. At the time, Lin wasn't the household "Hamilton" name he is now, but he was already the guy who knew how to pack more syllables into a measure than anyone else on Broadway. The performance started with a quiet, solo acoustic guitar. Just NPH, a stool, and some self-deprecating humor about being the "straightest man in show business." Then, the wall behind him vanished.
Suddenly, you had the cast of Matilda, Kinky Boots, Pippin, and Motown: The Musical all colliding in a choreographed fever dream. It was massive.
The sheer logistical insanity of "It's Bigger"
Most people see the final product and think, "Cool, a lot of dancers." They don't think about the wings. Broadway stages are cramped, but Radio City is a cavern. Even so, fitting the entire casts of nearly every major running musical into one eight-minute window is a nightmare for a stage manager. There were 150 performers involved. Think about that for a second. That is 150 microphones that need to be live or tracked, 150 pairs of shoes hitting the floor at once, and roughly zero room for error.
The 2013 Tony Awards opening succeeded because it leaned into the absurdity of its own scale.
One of the best moments—and honestly, one of the balliest moves in award show history—was the Mike Tyson cameo. Yes, Iron Mike was there because he had a one-man show, Undisputed Truth, running at the time. Watching a heavyweight boxing champion attempt to keep up with Broadway ensemble choreography was the kind of "did that really just happen?" television that Google Discover was basically invented to surface years later. It was weird. It was clunky. It was perfect.
Why Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt were the secret weapons
You can't talk about this performance without Tom Kitt and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Kitt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer of Next to Normal, handled the soaring, classic Broadway swells. Miranda handled the rhythmic, rapid-fire patter. When NPH started rapping about the "legendary divas" and the "spectacle" of the night, you could hear the DNA of what would eventually become the Hamilton sound.
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The lyrics were biting, too. They poked fun at the fact that half the people watching at home were just waiting for The Big Bang Theory to come back on. It addressed the "Tom Hanks" of it all—referencing the movie stars who descend on Broadway to get their EGOTs.
It felt self-aware. That’s the key.
Breaking down the "Bigger" moments
The transition from the Matilda kids doing their "Revolting Children" stomp into the Kinky Boots drag queens was a masterclass in contrast. You had the gritty, industrial vibe of a British schoolhouse suddenly being overtaken by the high-glitz, high-energy world of Cyndi Lauper’s score.
Then came the magic trick.
NPH somehow found time to do a costume change while hidden behind a group of dancers for about four seconds. It shouldn't have worked. If a zipper had snagged, the entire opening would have stalled. But it didn't. He emerged in a gold blazer, jumping through a hoop—literally—as the stage rose on hydraulic lifts.
- The Pippin Connection: The cast of Pippin (which won Best Revival that year) brought the circus element. You had acrobats flying over the heads of the Bring It On cheerleaders.
- The Motown Medley: A brief but soulful injection of Berry Gordy’s empire.
- The Newsies: Even though they had opened the year prior, the "King of New York" tap break added a percussion layer that grounded the whole chaotic mess.
Why we haven't seen anything like it since
Honestly? It's too expensive. And it's too risky.
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The 2013 Tony Awards opening cost a fortune in rehearsal time alone. You aren't just paying the actors; you're paying the stagehands, the union fees for the orchestra, the insurance for the stunts, and the writers. In the current streaming-heavy landscape, network TV rarely shells out for that level of "live event" spectacle anymore.
Also, Neil Patrick Harris was in a league of his own. Hosting the Tonys four times gave him a comfort level with the room that allowed him to ad-lib when the teleprompter lagged or when a dancer got too close. He was the glue. While Hugh Jackman and James Corden have had great moments, the 2013 show felt like the peak of the "Host as Super-Athlete" era.
There’s a misconception that theater is "niche." The 2013 opening proved that Broadway could produce a viral moment before "going viral" was even a formalized marketing strategy. It wasn't just for the people in the 42nd Street seats. It was for the kid in Ohio who had never seen a play but suddenly thought, "Wait, that looks incredible."
What this performance tells us about the "Broadway vs. Hollywood" debate
For years, there was this weird tension where Broadway felt it had to apologize for not being the Oscars.
The 2013 Tony Awards opening stopped apologizing. It leaned into the fact that theater is live, dangerous, and physically demanding in a way that film isn't. When NPH sang about how they don't have "close-ups" or "CGI," he was throwing down a gauntlet.
The irony, of course, is that the 2013 ceremony was littered with film stars. Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jake Gyllenhaal—they were all there. But the opening number didn't center them. It centered the ensembles. It centered the "gypsies," the dancers who work eight shows a week for years.
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The technical "fails" that weren't
If you watch the 4K clips now (or as close as you can get to 4K from a 2013 broadcast), you can see the sweat. You can see the slight wobbles.
During the Bring It On toss, one of the cheerleaders is slightly off-axis. During the A Christmas Story segment, the leg lamps are a bit precarious. But that’s why it works. If it were perfect, it would be a movie. Because it’s slightly chaotic, it’s theater.
The 67th Annual Tony Awards ended up winning several Emmys, including one for that specific opening number. It’s one of the few times a "variety special" song actually lived up to the hype of the industry it was celebrating.
How to appreciate the 2013 Tonys today
If you're looking to revisit this, don't just watch the YouTube clip. Look for the "behind the scenes" rehearsal footage if you can find it. Seeing the "Matilda" kids practicing their blocks next to the "Kinky Boots" cast in a rehearsal hall in Midtown puts the scale into perspective.
The lesson for modern producers is simple: don't play it safe.
Lately, award shows have become shorter, tamer, and more focused on social media "bits." The 2013 Tony Awards opening was the opposite. It was a long-form, high-effort, maximalist explosion of talent. It didn't care about being "memeable"; it cared about being undeniable.
Actionable Insights for Theater Fans and Creators:
- Study the Transitions: If you’re a director or choreographer, watch how Kitt and Miranda used "musical bridges" to move between radically different genres (from pop to rap to classic 4/4 Broadway).
- The "Host" Factor: Notice how NPH doesn't just stand and sing; he participates in the stunts. Real engagement from a host raises the stakes for the entire ensemble.
- Audience Awareness: The lyrics specifically targeted the "non-theater" viewer. When creating content about a niche subject, always find a "hook" that relates to the general public’s perspective.
- Embrace the Live Element: Stop trying to make live performances look like edited music videos. The 2013 Tonys succeeded because it looked—and felt—live.
The 2013 telecast remains a gold standard because it understood its mission: to prove that Broadway wasn't just a tourist trap in New York, but a powerhouse of American culture that could still out-dance, out-sing, and out-perform anything on a movie screen. It was bigger. And honestly, we’re still waiting for something to top it.