It was a battle for the ages: One impeccably dressed, show-stopping song-and-dance man against another. And they both just happened to be huge stars in the worlds of TV, film and Broadway.

'How I Met Your Mother' star Neil Patrick Harris defended his right to host the Tony Awards against former Tony MC Hugh Jackman.

Dueling it out in a very Great White Way, Harris and Jackman referenced the past 60 years of Broadway and Hollywood musicals in a toe-tapping bid to outdo one another onstage at New York's Beacon Theatre.