My husband wondered more than once last night why I was watching the Tony Awards, especially since I will probably never see any of the plays or musicals, unless they make their way to a city near me.

I guess it’s the one night I get to feel like a New Yorker. The musical performances they stage give me some taste of what shows I would watch if I ever made it to the Big Apple. Ever since seeing the original cast of “The Lion King” on Broadway, I told myself to make a point to come back. And yet I missed “Aida,” “The Producers,” “Mamma Mia!” and “Avenue Q.” If I manage a flight out to New York, “Spring Awakening” and “Company” are definitely two I’d make sure to catch this time.

Oh, and I’d be in the front row for “Curtains,” the last musical written by the great songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb. Not because I thought the songs were catchy or that the plot was exciting, but because I want to support the newest actor put on Hollywood’s Gay List.

David Hyde Pierce, who is most famous for being Niles Crane for 11 years on “Frasier,” won best actor in a musical for “Curtains,” a bit of a surprise, and the last person he thanked was his partner, Brian. And I don’t think he meant his business partner.

True, the Tonys is the only awards show where the gay men bring their husbands and actually give them a big smooch on the air, but DHP didn’t kiss Brian before going to the stage. He just hugged him. I think if DHP had kissed Brian, it would have been the talk of the night, just as Marc Shaiman kissing partner Scott Wittman at the Tonys in 2003 was the highlight of the evening then.

For those of you who chose to watch “The Sopranos” last night (and I don’t blame you, after watching the ending on the Internet this morning) there were many other memorable moments at the Tonys besides DHP publicly announcing his homosexuality. Raul Esparza stopped the show with a blistering solo from “Company” and the show opened with “One” from “A Chorus Line.” And the man who won for best choreography for “Spring Awakening” practically squeezed the life out of the presenters and the trophy girl.

I’m sure no one watched the Tonys last night, especially if you have HBO. But we didn’t, and I didn’t think “Fast Cars and Superstars” was a viable alternative. Of all the major awards shows, the Tonys is the least-watched of them all, because of that disconnect I mentioned earlier. The majority of the people in Middle America probably never knew “Spring Awakening” existed, or that Angela Lansbury and Audra McDonald were going for their fifth Tony each (they both lost). But the show is a wonderful advertisement for New York. Heck, if I could find a good deal, I’d be on my way right now.

Update: Apparently there was a story about DHP around the time of the Tony nominations. Had I read that, I still would have been in shock.