How very dignified. Now, how about another song?

This year’s Tony Awards had no host, no comedian; I forgot to check if there was even red carpet coverage beforehand.

Was there? Was Ryan Seacrest out there, terrorizing some Royal Shakespearean with his E! voodoo mumbo jumbo?

I’m not even sure why the Tonys are on TV anymore, really, not when we have grand dames like the MTV Movie Awards. The Tonys aren’t a ratings-getter for the obvious reason (that ain’t Jessica Alba in “Sweeney Todd”).

Unlike the Oscars or Emmys, which celebrate that which can be brought into your living room, the Tonys honor artistic achievement in that place you’re always meaning to get to more often -- the theater.

This year’s event was the 60th annual -- “60 stars, 60 years” was the Tonys’ tagline. It brought out Julie Andrews and Patricia Neal and Bernadette Peters, although I suspect the Tonys would bring them out anyway.

What helps get you through the telecast’s three hours are the musical numbers -- for much of the country it’s the most affordable, if abridged, way to see the sold-out “Jersey Boys” or the revival of “Threepenny Opera” starring Alan Cumming and Cyndi Lauper.

The actual telecast began with Harry Connick Jr., starring in a revival of “The Pajama Game.” He came out to sing a few perfunctory bars of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “Tonight” before yielding to a grandstand of nominees in a group photo op.

It was all less than stirring; the next thing you knew, regal actor folk from across the pond were being utterly graceful winners -- Ian McDiarmid, who won for his performance in Brian Friel’s “Faith Healer,” and Frances de la Tour, who won for her role in “The History Boys.”

The no-host thing was hardly bothersome; the star of the Tonys is not a person but a place -- or more accurately a construct: Broadway. The Tonys telecast is so under-scrutinized vis-a-vis the Oscars that the teleprompter gaffes can be charming, as when Paul Rudd, having trouble seeing his lines, said, “I need Lasik.”

Julia Roberts came out to present best actor in a play, but I can’t even remember what she wore. Oh, yeah, something in black.

“I just want to take this opportunity to say that you people are insanely talented,” she told the room.

There’s a conversation-stopper. Roberts, starring in “Three Days of Rain,” with Rudd, the one who needs Lasik, brought onstage the most popular winner of the night, Richard Griffiths, star of “The History Boys.” He winningly thanked his wife for preventing him from quitting the show but was disappointingly played off as he started to quote Walt Whitman.

Conversely, there was a cool moment when Patricia Neal, whose 1947 Tony for supporting actress apparently had been stolen, was presented with a replacement statuette all these years later.

If Tonys can be re-given, can Oscars be recalled?