By Garth Bardsley

On Sunday evening, the Tony Awards, celebrating the best of Broadway, will be presented at Radio City Musical Hall. And while the shows on the Great White Way this season might not be the most MTV-friendly fare (another "Guys and Dolls" revival?), the Tony producers chose a host with a broad spectrum of fans: star of stage, screen and Internet, Neil Patrick Harris.

"This is certainly a different way to go than a rock concert," Harris told MTV today, "but it's story-based, and I think a lot of the music is really great.

"A lot of people attribute, I think, Broadway and musicals with, like, jazz hands and razzmatazz, but there's a show this season called 'Next to Normal' about a woman that's going through mental issues. 'Rock of Ages' is a jukebox musical full of '80s hits with Constantine Maroulis, which is really a pretty kick-ass show.

"If people think Broadway's not for them, this demographic, there's a lot of cool shows to see."

One thing you won't see? A barely clad Brüno landing on someone's face, though Harris jokingly claims that the Tonys had the idea first.

"It's a shame," Harris said, "because we were really looking forward to that bit. But you guys copped it before we were able to get to it. Maybe next year.

"We couldn't get Eminem here," he continued. "Liza Minnelli isn't going to face-plant anywhere."

Live from New York, it's my first time at "Saturday Night Live"!

Earlier this week, I got the offer from Taylor Swift's publicist to stop by the "SNL" rehearsals to interview Ms. Swift, as well as the show's host, Mr. Doogie Howser himself, Neil Patrick Harris. What was I going to do, say no?

So, I rolled up to 30 Rock with my crew and embarked on the exciting chance to check out the famous studio for myself. As I said yesterday, the studio was smaller than I expected. It's unimaginable how they turn a pretty sparse room into weekly TV magic. Although, it was cool to see the music stage, as well as the stage that they do the monologue in front of.

Not to get all Hollywood on you here, but I've met Taylor Swift on several occasions, and it seems like every time we meet up, I have a new hairstyle (for those keeping track, I now have bangs) and she is a bigger superstar than the time before. And I never mind when she gives me one of her famous hugs.
Read more...

When we caught wind that MTV favorite Taylor Swift was going to be the show's musical guest, we jumped at the opportunity to stop by rehearsals and get a first-hand look at what happens just days before the show goes live. It also didn't hurt that the show's host is Neil Patrick Harris.

It was interesting being in the "Saturday Night Live" studio at 30 Rock — it's much smaller than it appears live from New York every Saturday night. But you get the sense that comedy magic is brewing in that room. We arrived just as Taylor was finishing up her soundcheck, but we had the opportunity to catch a bunch of other fantastic moments.

We got a little peek at one of the sketches set to possibly air on Saturday — Neil plays David Frost and spoofs the film "Frost/Nixon" by interviewing other famous people of the '70s.  It was really funny, so hopefully it will make it to air.  We also had the opportunity to meet one of the newer castmembers, Bobby Moynihan, who, needless to say, made us chuckle a few times.
Read more...

· The upcoming 39th season of "Sesame Street" will rock with a drop-in from Feist. The Canadian songstress will sing "Songs" with Elmo on August 11, joining a roster of guests that also includes Jack Black, Jessica Alba, David Beckham, Heidi Klum, Neil Patrick Harris and Jenny McCarthy.

· First he brushed the dirt off his shoulder in homage to Jigga. Now presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has given a shout-out to Weezy at a town-hall meeting in Powder Springs, Georgia. Obama delivered a speech about high school dropout rates and told teens that they were better off staying in school than wishing for NBA or hip-hop glory. "You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school," he said.

· It will probably take another month for Michigan authorities to determine what caused the deaths of a 33-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man at last weekend's inaugural Rothbury Festival, which featured sets from Snoop Dogg, Dave Matthews and John Mayer. Initial autopsies showed no sign of foul play.

· The Smashing Pumpkins are celebrating their upcoming 20th anniversary by playing a series of mostly smaller venues in August, with the promise of "unique sets and songs." The only date announced so far is an August 9 gig in Hammond, Indiana. In November, the band will play anniversary shows in New York, Los Angeles and their hometown of Chicago.

· Ludacris has reportedly signed a multimillion-dollar deal with AT&T to be their spokesperson and appear in commercials beginning next month. Somewhere, Bill O'Reilly is changing phone companies.

· Amnesty International is launching a campaign called the Small Places Tour in which bands will play hundreds of shows across the globe to help raise money and spread the word about global human rights issues on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The spokesmen for the tour are U2's the Edge and Peter Gabriel, and acts are encouraged to sign up on MySpace for a single gig or a full-blown tour.

· Ne-Yo was sentenced to 24 hours of community service after pleading guilty to driving without a license and no contest to reckless driving. He must also perform for a local Boys & Girls Club and attend a defensive driving class.

· Her second go-round as ditsy receptionist Abby may have been a bit rocky, but one-time doubter Neil Patrick Harris is totally down with Britney Spears popping in for another episode of "How I Met Your Mother."

· In his short career, Kevin Federline has been nominated for, well, no awards, really. But Britney's baby daddy will be handed a Father of the Year honor (his second one, actually) by the Las Vegas club Prive on June 13.

· The Doggfather will star in the feature-length straight-to-DVD cartoon "The Adventures of tha Blue Carpet Treatment," "a psychedelic stream-of-consciousness trip through the magical mind of Snoop Dogg." Is there any other kind?

· The widow of R&B singer Sean Levert has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Cuyahoga County, Ohio, accusing her late husband's jailers of not attending to his medical needs after he was arrested for failing to pay child support.

Britney Spears is returning to the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” tonight to reprise her role as Abby, a flaky office assistant.

In her first cameo, Britney's character developed a crush on Ted (Josh Radnor, above), who then began dating her boss. In this episode, Abby tries to get back at Ted by hooking up with his friend Barney (the inimitable Neil Patrick Harris).

In spite of reportedly mixed reactions from some of her castmates, Britney's first appearance was met with great reviews and 10.6 million viewers -- a big jump from the show’s usual 8.1 million. Let's see if people tune in again for her follow-up. The show's producers seem confident that they will: they've apparently signed up the (cough) "embattled" pop star for a third appearance, next season.

Did you catch Britney's TV comeback? Are you planning on tuning in again tonight?