I’m not such an awards-show lover that I obsessively watch the Tonys, the awards for Broadway plays and musicals. The Tonys aren’t really like film and television awards shows – the Tonys seem to be more familial, kinder, and dare I say, gayer. It’s not a bad thing, but it does seem like every man who wins a Tony thanks his boyfriend or husband. It’s actually pretty sweet – most of the Tony-Award winning actors I recognize from Law & Order, and I’m always thinking to myself “Oh, that guy who played the serial killer on Criminal Intent is married to such a nice young man!”

In any case, this year’s Tony Awards went off without a hitch – with one notable exception. It was someone’s bright idea to invite Bret Michaels and Poison, to perform with the cast of the Broadway musical “Rock of Ages”. I suspect Bret was invited for kitsch value, but Bret was game. Sidenote: even though I think Bret is pretty sleazy with women, he seems like a generally nice guy. He performed his song, and then went to walk off stage when he was struck by a rogue set piece. Bret went down pretty hard. I’m trying not to laugh (he could have been really hurt) but it was pretty funny.

People has a great rundown on the show and the winners – most notably, Angela “Murder She Wrote” Lansbury! I love Angela Lansbury, she’s so friggin’ cool. Her win last night was her fifth career Tony Award, too! And they gave her a standing ovation. Good times:

Broadway did what Broadway does best to open Sunday night’s 63rd annual Tony Awards – delivering an electrifying musical number that starred Dolly Parton, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, the casts of West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Pal Joey, Shrek, 9 to 5: The Musical, Next to Normal, Rock of Ages and Billy Elliot and finished off with a love-in: a rousing rendition of “Let the Sun Shine” from the new best-revival production of Hair that got all 6,000 attendees inside Radio City Music Hall dancing in their seats.

When the spectacle concluded, the evening’s host, How I Met Your Mother star Neal Patrick Harris, called it “the biggest and most expensive number in the history of the Tonys. That is why I am your host tonight.”

But not everything went smoothly during the elaborate number, which was broadcast live on CBS. Rock of Love reality star Bret Michaels – who hit the stage with his band Poison along with the cast of Broadway’s Rock of Ages – ran into a piece of scenery when he missed his mark after performing Poison’s hit “Nothin’ But a Good Time.” He was knocked to the ground, and while the extent of his injury was not known, he did not break his nose, despite wide speculation that he had.

A publicist later told PEOPLE that Michaels was hoping to hit some after-parties but was “getting X-rays.” Calling him “a trooper,” she added that Michaels “had a blast performing.”

Besides the singing and dancing, there were awards, with Billy Elliot, composer Elton John’s adaptation of director Stephen Daldry’s 2000 film about a boy who lives to dance, sweeping the night as best musical and winning 10 Tonys in all – while French dramatist Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage was named best play.

God of Carnage – an unmannered “comedy of manners” about two married couples in Brooklyn – was also honored for its direction and its leading actress, Marcia Gay Harden.

Oscar winner (for the 1996 film Shine) Geoffrey Rush added to his trophy case with the best actor Tony for the revival of the French existential absurdist tragic-comedy Exit the King, by Eugene Ionesco.

Sopranos star James Gandolfini, now starring in God of Carnage, served as a presenter and “set the record straight,” he said. “I am not Shrek.” He and costar Jeff Daniels handed over the best featured actress Tony to Broadway favorite Angela Lansbury, for her role as spiritual medium Madame Arcati in the revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit.

The win marked Mame and Murder, She Wrote star Lansbury’s fifth Tony, and the audience – which included Anne Hathaway – received her with a standing ovation.

“This is amazing,” said the veteran actress, 83. “Who would have thought? Who knew at this time of my life that I would be presented with this lovely, lovely award. I can’t believe I am standing here.”

West Side Story’s Karen Olivo, who played the defiant Anita, was named best featured actress in a musical. In her acceptance speech, which brought tears to members of the audience, she stressed the importance of surrounding oneself “with people who love you.”

Liza Minnelli’s concert, Liza’s at the Palace, beat Will Ferrell’s one-man show, You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush, as best special theatrical event. The indomitable star thanked her parents, showbiz legend Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli, for giving her her godmother, musical stylist Kay Thompson.

Next to Normal, an offbeat musical about a family’s coping with a bipolar mother, beat Dolly Parton (for 9 to 5) and Elton John (for Billy Elliot) in the best score category, with Tonys going to composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey – who acknowledged Parton and John’s inspiration. Its star, Alice Ripley, was named best leading actress in a musical.

[From People]

Liza with a Z! I love Liza, too! Wow, Angela Lansbury and Liza Minnelli – not to mention Neal Patrick Harris. Am I geek for loving these people? So why was Bret Michaels invited again? Oh, right. For the love of kitsch. I’d really like to see that play “God of Carnage”, I’ve read a lot about it and it sounds great. Other than that… what with all of the films that get made into musicals? Billy Elliot? Really? I guess they have to give a Tony to whatever Elton John touches.

Shown at the Tony Awards are Anne Hathaway and Jane Fonda, John Stamos, Angela Lansbury, Piper Perabo, Dolly Parton, Gina Gershon and Edie Falco, Marica Gay Harden, Brett Michaeals, Allison Janney, and Liza Minelli. Credit: WENN.com.

Because Bret Michaels is semi-relevant again due to the success of his VH1 reality show Rock of Love (and its follow up Rock of Love: Tour Bus), a publishing company has paid him money to write his autobiography. The book will discuss his childhood with diabetes and his life as a rock star, as well as bringing us all up to date with his struggles to reinvent himself through his trashy reality show.

According to a rep for Michaels, the book, which is being published by Simon and Schuster, will take readers through the rocker’s humble upbringing in Harrisburg, Pa. (where he struggled with childhood diabetes), his wild ride with Poison, the car crashes that nearly took his life, and the 10-year journey to reinvent himself on VH1′s top-rated show.

Michaels, whose season finale of Rock of Love Tour Bus winds up on April 12, and Poison will be on tour this summer with fellow hair-metal band Def Leppard.

[from People]

On the official cover of the book Bret is doing his best impression of Mary-Kate and Ashley’s prune faces, and wearing his trademark bandanna and mascara.

I’m still not sure how Bret Michaels has kept a name for himself this long. He’s touring this summer with his band Poison and Def Leppard, so there’s clearly demand enough for an autobiography, but I can’t imagine there will be anything much we haven’t heard before.

The book, called Roses & Thorns, comes out June 23rd.

Bret Michaels is shown at a Super Bowl party at the Playboy Mansion on 2/1/09. Credit: WENN.com

Yesterday Celebitchy reported on the shockingly brutal altercation between Brangelina’s security team and photographers. At first it seemed like a relatively minor incident, but later in the day it was revealed that a lot more was involved, including a good bit of blood. Literally.

One can’t help but think that neighbors in the small French village of Brignoles are getting pretty annoyed with all the drama – and according to E! that’s very much the case. Residents are upset not just by the attention, but by the way Brad and Angelina are constantly monopolizing the town’s resources.

Sources tell E! News that a main point of conflict between the privacy-seeking superstar couple and the residents of Brignoles is that the village only has a few police officers, whose primary civic duty, the neighbors say, should not be to help ward off paparazzi.

“They told them to hire more security and that they can’t be called out every day because Brad and Angie aren’t happy,” a police source says. “They have other crimes like burglaries and muggings to look into. French tax payers shouldn’t have to pay to protect a couple of American celebrities.”

Residents also say the Jolie-Pitts could take a page from the playbook of fellow locally dwelling celebs Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, who have lived in the area for years without ever feeling the need to use up police resources. Instead, Depp and Paradis simply sue if a publication uses any privacy-invading pictures, and the paparazzi, locals say, have learned to leave the twosome alone.

And unlike the Jolie-Pitts, Depp and his common-law missus have never sold photos of their brood, so locals complain the Jolie-Pitts are bringing their paparazzi problems on themselves by seeking to control which shots are allowed for general consumption.

[From E! News]

Another issue that’s already garnering a lot of attention is the planned schooling of the Brangelina clan. Other parents don’t want the herd attending the same school as their children, for fear the paparazzi will stake out the area and invade their own children’s privacy.

But it’s not just the strain on the fuzz that has locals barking at Brangelina. A group of citizens has already voiced dissent over the possibility of Maddox & Co. enrolling in a local school this fall, grousing about the possibility of shutterbugs camped outside the campus.

“This is a beautifully peaceful area of the world, and Brad and Angelina are threatening that peace,” says one disgruntled resident.

“Their kids have the right to go to school but not if it means strange men hanging around at the gates with cameras threatening local kids’ privacy. A lot of villagers aren’t happy at all that they’ve moved here and wish they’d move away again.”

[From E! News]

It stinks for the kids, because parents can – and probably will – make that argument anywhere they attend school. Maddox has been attending the prestigious Lycee Francais schools, which has a network of over 400 schools around the world. Presumably attending schools that are somewhat linked like that gives the kids a bit of continuity they wouldn’t otherwise have. But it makes perfect sense that other parents wouldn’t want to bring that level of drama into their kids’ lives. Brad and Angelina need to find some way to make peace with the locals. Maybe following the Johnny Depp plan really is a good idea.

If you have seen either season of the VH1 reality dating show “Rock of Love,” starring washed up Poison frontman Bret Michaels (whom I am convinced is totally bald under that stupid bandanna), then you know that the “ladies” on this show enjoy getting wasted, getting naked, getting in catfights, throwing up all over the place and trashing stuff. Yes, it’s quite highbrow entertainment. Now, the owner of the $9 million mansion where the show was taped is pissed off and wants the show’s producers, including Michaels, to foot the bill for the damage.

The Poison rocker turned reality-TV lothario has been added to a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed Friday against the producers of Rock of Love by the owner of the $9 million home where they filmed the VH1 series’ second season last winter.

Ray Sahranavard claims at least $380,000 worth of damage was done to his Encino, Calif., mansion after Mindless Entertainment Inc. promised to take care of the residence and provide an additional $3 million of liability insurance for him—just in case.

According to his complaint, upon returning to his home after two months of filming, Sahranavard found holes in the walls and ceilings, the doors had been removed, most of his grass and outdoor plants had died, and the interior of the home had been almost entirely repainted.

A general contractor assessed the damage at $380,000, but then the producers attempted to distance themselves from what went on inside the house, claiming they were not aware of what Michaels was up to when not being monitored by the company, the lawsuit states. They later admitted they never obtained the extra insurance, either.

In his original suit, the disgruntled homeowner accused Mindless Entertainment of breach of contract, fraud, negligence and negligent misrepresentation. And on Wednesday, he amended the complaint to include Michaels as a defendant, also accusing the 45-year-old musician of intentional destruction of property.

Reps for Michaels and Mindless have not yet commented on the suit.

[From E!Online]

How could the producers claim to be unaware of what was going on that house when they encouraged it? Some of the crazy bitches – er, I mean contestants from last season’s show spoke about their experiences on the show and said that they were constantly being provided with alcohol and very little food at all hours of the day. I guess the producers wanted the girls to stay trashed because it makes for great drama. And I’m sure they realized after the first day that keeping 16 lowlife ex-strippers smashed for weeks is going to get messy, too. So here’s your lesson for the day, kids: if you own a multimillion dollar home, never allow it to be rented for a reality show.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Header photo is from July, 2007 and was found on tv.yahoo.com.