Source: Associated Press 75th Tony Awards
On June 8th, the Tony Awards will be held in the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The 78th Tony Awards are hosted by Cynthia Erivo. The awards show will be an exciting ceremony coming after a pretty stacked season for Broadway. The famed theatre community has continued to gain its footing after the COVID-19 setbacks, surpassing box office numbers from the 2018-2019 season. This renaissance in the theatre community has been nothing shy of perfect, revitalizing a culture and opening the doors for a new generation of thespians.
The Tony’s Will Be Hosted by Cynthia Erivo
The ceremony will be a full circle moment for the awards show and the theatre world as a whole. Hostess Cynthia Erivo is coming off of the massive success of the film adaptation of ‘Wicked’. A sequel to the blockbuster film was announced this week. Erivo won a Tony award for her performance in “The Color Purple” in 2016. Erivo could possibly become one of the few entertainers to achieve the exalted EGOT status. In her role as Elphaba , Erivo brought a Broadway classic to the Hollywood big screen, an incredible feat following recent film adaptations of plays that didn’t perform well.
Nominees of the 78th Tony Awards
The pool of contenders is abundant in this historic year for Broadway. With a whopping fourteen new musicals premiering, theatergoers had a great crop of shows to see. Because of this abundance, deciding on a winner will be harder than usual. The leading candidates this year are ‘Buena Vista Social Club’, ‘Death Becomes Her’, and ‘Maybe Happy Ending.’ Each of these shows have been nominated for ten Tony awards and are vying for the coveted ‘Best Musical’ title. ‘Death Outlaw’ and ‘Operation Mincemeat’ are nominees as well. Revivals like ‘Gypsy’ starring Audra McDonald and ‘Sunset Boulevard’ starring Nicole Scherzinger have received several nominations. In addition, ‘Floyd Collins’ and ‘Pirates! The Penzance Musical’ are hoping for the name of ‘Best Musical Revival.’ For the ‘Best Play’ category, productions such as “John Proctor Is The Villian” and “The Hills of California” are mighty contenders. They are tied at seven nominations each.
This year , actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein will be receiving the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Fierstein is a four time Tony award winner known for his roles on stage and in film. During his career, Fierstein’s work in plays like “Torch Song Trilogy” and “La Cage aux Folles” has made him a prominent figure in theatre.
Special Performances and a Must See Reunion
If one thing is true about Broadway, it’s that its performances will never leave you bored. This year’s Tony awards reminds viewers of that fact with a lineup that is nothing short of dynamic. Every nominee for ‘Best Musical’ as well as ‘Best Musical Revival’ will perform a number. To make the night even better, there will be performances by the cast of ‘Real Women Have Curves’ and ‘Just in Time.’ While neither of these musicals were nominated in the top two categories, there are some actors of note competing for first prize. ‘Just in Time’ star Jonathan Groff is up for Lead Actor in a Musical. With her first ever nomination, Justina Machado is vying for Featured Actress in a Musical for ‘Curves’.
With a night like this, you’d think the 78th Tony Awards couldn’t get better. However, there is slated to be a reunion of the original cast from ‘Hamilton’ as they celebrate a decade since the show first took the stage. Even ten years later, Hamilton is still touring around Broadway, leaving audiences awestruck as if it’s 2015 all over again. Their homecoming as a unit to the Tony stage will be a great reminder of the tangible impact that ‘Hamilton’ has had.
The Tony Awards will be broadcast live on CBS and Paramount+ from 8-11 p.m. Eastern/5-8 p.m. Pacific.