Writing The Closing Number--Backstage at the Tonys

[coolness06]

Neil Patrick Harris and Lin Manuel Miranda in the same video. I can't even deal

[weemizzi]

sutton foster winning in the background :D

[blueparrotgirl]

Oh. My. God. Neil Patrick Harris and Lin Manuel Miranda are two of my favorite people!!!!!!

[nelstein76]

This seriously has everything I love in one place... In the Heights, West Wing references, and NPH. It's perfection.

[DatKidNamedEthan1]

i was wonde3ring why his rap was so good... its cuz u wrote it...!

[bga600]

I totally was just watching this video thinking "of course Lin was the one that wrote Neil's closing rap."

[booksandbroadway]

This video has so much beauty in it.

[Kousch]

how the hell could he memorize all this stuff in this short time?!?

CAUSE HE'S AAAAAWSOOOOME!!!

[moopoint21]

my favorite part was nikki james singing along to andrew rannells on the tv

[ProblemStick]

i fucking love neil patrick harris.

[europrdel]

ok that's awesome..Neil's really great guy..and his rap?..LEGENDARY! love this ;)

[GYOChardonWest]

Seriously how many times can I watch this?

[topazcullen109]

Lol I totally love u guys u r amazing and my hero!!

[melbrooks]

Amazing as always!!! WOW!!! U r broadway's rapper! I normally hate rap, but u r the only exception!! In the Heights rocked my world! Thanx Mr. Miranda!!

[YoYoYo826]

the amount of love i have for this video. between Lin, Neil, Tommy, and the WW references, i might just die. and sorry, Tommy, but your Toby! Josh wasn't a writer, he was just the cute one that had meetings with a lot of people.

LOVE this video!

[usnavi]

@YoYoYo826 Ha! Your description of Lyman fits Tommy even better :)

[JamieAndSassenach]

wow, i kinda thought all winners were known beforehand (by the producers and neil and so on), and the song was rehearsed!

very well done, you two! (and neil, of course! i suppose, he had a teleprompter?)

[ng183lovee]

OMG I LOVE LIN AND NPH SO MUCH

[punky0urself]

So he actually learned that by heart at the end of the show?! This fast?!? oO

[avigale23]

That is amazing Lin!! Thanks for making this video =)

[dqDST1913]

Love the BTS....loving the rap goes without saying.

I just need to know whose idea it was for NPH to do the "Sexual Chocolate" mic drop....

[elliottobsessed]

OMG! While NPH was rapping, I told my husband, "That sounds like Lin!" I love being right!!!

[paulybism]

Did he write in the Sutton part before she actually won? 4:29 Hahahahhahah

[lauriroset]

Brilliant, extraordinary work from you guys writing that closing number on Tonys (which I just watched last nite- thank god for DVRs!)

Just found this via a tweet from @ActuallyNPH

[ojarespectaculeronTd]

haha I told my mom as I was watching the rap on the Tonys "Man, Lin Manuel Miranda is probably getting a kick out of this!" who knew you helped write it?

[robbwayfan]

Lin - you moved me to tears at In the Heights. This rap was wonderful. Tommy is a doll and NPH...well what can you say...the best event host in the world right now. Okay, maybe he and Hugh Jackman are tied.! Thanks for a wonderful wrap rap.

[wickedchaperone333]

I knew you had something to do with this. :)

[AvalonMorley]

So impressive! Great work, really walking that tightrope, & it came off fantastically, helping make this year by far the best Tony Awards broadcast in MANY, MANY years (like, this one was actually fun to watch, didn't make me cringe, & didn't even suck!). Bravo.

[Izzy2002g]

Seriously. I mean SERIOUSLY. with the West Wing references!! brilliant!!

[ccsdavis1]

Even before your name showed up on the credits, Lin, I knew this rap had to be your handiwork. Well done, sir.

[Justlov4]

I had to dvr the Tony's because I was rehearsing so I was watching highlights when I got home. Long story short I saw the ending number and I was like this sounds like Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote it....You are legit perfect! This is absolutely fantastic. Lots of talented writers!

[Justlov4]

I had to dvr the Tony's because I was rehearsing so I was watching highlights when I got home. Long story short I saw the ending number and I was like this sounds like Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote it....You are legit perfect!

[jasminehare1]

"You wanna say something about what she's wearing?" <3

[airamlara]

Amazing! How can anyone dislike this?

[TheAirInTheBalloon18]

you're insane. this was great.

[yellohcards]

Lin Manuel Miranda + Neil Patrick Harris = Insane amounts of talent & good looks

The rap was fantastic & delivered wonderfully

[KeepItGayStageNazi]

Will there be a NPH/Lin-Manuel album dropping soon? I would buy it in a hearbeat.

[creativethingsx]

I LOVE that Tommy Kail insists on being Josh Lyman.

[Calgarylames]

<3 West Wing :)

[jbers97]

You guys were awesome. NPH can hold it down! Lin- Manuel Miranda your the best! Not only can you create an amazing broadway show but you helped my 4 year read. Your a ninja ; )

[amywnyc]

BRILLIANT WORK.  BRAVO!

[uzamaki19]

Of COURSE Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the ending Tony's rap! I thought it was brilliant, and very LMM-esque!

[ManBig4]

I KNEW U WROTE IT!!!!!!

[uscfb10]

Wow cool! I was wondering how this was put together and by who. awesome. :)

[pinoyidol2006]

I love it!

[MissMandaPandpants]

Loveeeeeeeeeeeeee himmmmmmmmmmmm :)

[aphoticjade]

'no tickets availbale to 2015' ahahaha true

[BroadwayBabe102]

I SO CALLED THIS.

[Abberssssssss]

You are great. Thank you for this!

[jjparkin]

THANKS FOR THIS! AMAZING!

[sonotajenny]

I loved seeing this happen on one square foot of real estate. No crisis of confidence here and you didn't need your wife to come in and cut off your tie. Bravo!

[usnavi]

@sonotajenny For all the awesome WWing references you just made, I give you this hug through the interweb. Bravo!

[ohhdangggggg]

AHHHH knew it knew it knew it. No one else could have written so brilliantly. :) So happy!

[mprmike]

Who's the douche who gave this a thumbs down?

Amazing.

[GodmanBG]

so did he memorize all of this, or was he reading it from a monitor?

[TheJuliox21]

haha i knew it sound like his work

[Reluctantwriter7]

Do you realize how awesome it is when someone else can speak, but somehow it is YOUR voice that comes out? People have a much harder time lying on you or stealing your work!

Your talent is extraordinary, just magnificent Mr. Miranda - as usual, just saying :-).

[xonerdox100]

@ActuallyNPH brought me here ;)

[showersinger34]

I pray that someday I'll be in a room filled with that much awesome.

[AneesaHi]

YASSS LIN

[nheimi99]

I KNEW IT!!!

[nroden1]

Lin is a genius!! Such a fan!!

[MarineForceAlpha]

So no wonder we aint see yo face, i was angrier than a giraffe with a short neck -_-

[AnotherIncipient]

Can Lin host next year? Please? Pretty Please?

[iggyosobo]

the whole time he was doing it I was thinking how they should have gotten you to say it! So glad to know it was you who worked on it!

[sweetcuppincakes19]

couldn't have been anyone less astute.

[beyondtheflowers2]

Someday I hope to be locked in a basement writing raps for the Tony's

[caraelisee]

I love this more than life itself, hahaha <3

[laika1615]

Dear Tony Awards,

Please get Lin to host next years awards :) It would be the most amazingly funky spazztastic show ever!

That is all.

<3

[audgiepoo1805]

Lin, you did an awesome, phenomenal job on the rap!!!!!! You have an amazing talent to come up with all this on the fly!!! (and all during the show no less!!!!) So, just wanted to say you are amazing and keep up the awesome work!!!! :-D

[zakresnick]

one of the best parts of the show! Thanks Lin! -resnick

[littleme543233]

buck sent me



[gsfallcab]

I knew it was Lin-Manuel the minute NPH opened his mouth. This video, seeing things behind the scenes, made my DAY!!!!

[hslevin]

Reminds me of your brilliant acceptance speech... :)

[lessasgirls]

They are amazing!! NPH was incredible in his delivery too!

[WHATTHEBUCKSHOW]

well this is AMAZING! thank you for posting! Love, Buck

[ADDawning]

That was such an amazing rap! Neil rocked it!

[RosesNightengales]

*Smirks* "No tickets available till 2015!" XD

[RosesNightengales]

You are amazing Lin! Its funny... to watch you guys (:

[Nich188]

NPH sent me here :)

[kmarshstpete]

crazy talent to write so quickly kudo's,

[joanbennettnyc]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!



[beardedartisan]

Geniuses at work.

[LAndreaDeLeon]

Lin and Neil...just makes sense.

[JillyX]

You are astounding as always!

[xdokstuhx]

omg so I was right ! When I heard the rap, I can tell Lin wrote it because it is legit!

[Greengumdrop30]

thought it sounded familiar... lol i want a copy of it on my ipod!

[CarlitoPucl]

AH HA!!!!!!!!! I screamed out loud last night .....'LIN JUST WROTE THIS FOR SUREEEEEE'. Loved it :)

[GsoPRO]

SOOOO DOPE!

-Horace

[vhlbasketball]

how did you do that??? you guys are amazing!!!

[chocococo321]

I KNEW IT! I knew you had something to do with the closing!

[TheNevilleFangirl]

The two of you together is just too much precious for my mind to handle!!!

[xLe]

Dear Tony Awards,

I vote for Lin-Manuel Miranda to co-host with Neil Patrick Harris next year under the direction of Tommy Kail.

Sincerely,

xLe

[CapitalCH]

when i watched it last night i was thinking he was copying you from the time you won lol

[dianehochman]

I love West Wing!!!!

[dancethrulife1]

That dance to "Don't Break the Rules" Watch out Norbert Lin's coming for you role! ;) Great job, I was so impressed! I told my mom it , sounded like your freestyles. Recognize your "Voice" anywhere!

[shumeyks2492]

mini dance party? yup. that's about what I was doing during the Tony's as well =) OBSESSED WITH THIS.

[vzlaimprov]

That was phenomenal!!! The highlight of the Tony Awards!

[gluepieone]

this is incredible

[potterbroadwayfan92]

Fantastic!!!

[Set1291]

I KNEW IT! I WAS WATCHING AND I SO THOUGHT OF YOU!

[hitch4645]

Hey hey hey. Josh Lyman wasn't a writer. Toby and Sam were the writing crew.

[usnavi]

@hitch4645 You're absolutely right, technically. But even though the writer analogy breaks down, Tommy is SO Josh Lyman.

[vigwig]

Y'all did a FABULOUS job.

[JoshMalinaFan]

@vigwig It seems like a stereotype to say Tony writers did a "Fabulous" job. How about "wicked badass."

[live2tivo]

I was freaking out that it was the best Tony moment since your acceptance speech. And then I saw your tweet about it and freaked out exponentially more.

[vzlaimprov]

@live2tivo I totally agree!

[SissySassafras]

Love it!!

[geneshi]

LIN YOUR FREAKING AMAZING!!!

[MissPochaccoPnai]

Lin & NPH - yessss best collab

[CassidyIsHere]

I honestly can't handle this much awesome in one video.

[guavagirl1101]

YES I knew you wrote it!

[ssergiosilva]

Lin and NPH awesome

[foreverjynxed]

I love seeing you writing this! xD I was wondering who wrote the awesome rap at the end!

Sucks that you were forced to sit backstage and watch the ceremony on the screen this whole time.

[sarapinsky]

<3 the tony's