February 8, 2025

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Ariana DeBose talks hosting Tony Awards

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Award host and theater veteran Ariana DeBose says this year’s telecast will unfold its arms broader than just Broadway’s stars and celebrate the unsung heroes like understudies and swings who held exhibits open in the course of the pandemic restart.

“As the host of this particular Tony ceremony and as a person of your possess, I say to those men and women, ‘I assure you, I acquired you,’” she informed The Affiliated Push. “There’s no way in the earth that this Tony Awards will go by with out us having the time to glow the light-weight.”

The Oscar-profitable and Tony-nominated actress — who was at the time an ensemble member and understudy on Broadway — will for the 1st time host the 3-hour awards present Sunday on CBS, supporting hand out the best competitive Tonys.

“We’re going to have a large amount of exciting. I’m hoping to retain it mild, preserve it joyful, say a tiny a thing that possibly we need to listen to. But we’re celebrating,” she explained. “It feels excellent. I am, in the phrases of Stephen Sondheim, ‘excited and fearful.’”


DeBose is really acquainted with the huge Radio City Music Corridor stage. She’s performed throughout a few former telecasts such as in “Summer,” “Motown the Musical” and “Bring It On: The Musical.”

“It is useful, but I really do not consider any of all those periods actually compares to this a single. I feel like I’m becoming tasked with driving the train a minor little bit,” she said. “I consider, if I’m honest, I do sense the stress. But it’s mainly because I have pores and skin in the game. It is due to the fact I treatment.”

The time — with a whopping 34 new productions — represents a full return to theaters after practically two several years of a pandemic-mandated shutdown. DeBose phone calls it a roller coaster of a time with commences and stops.” The truth that the Tonys are even happening looks like a get.

“Thank goodness we’re likely to have a Tonys that are are living,” stated playwright Lynn Nottage, nominated for the enjoy “Clyde’s” and the musical “MJ.” “The theater feels like it’s been resuscitated, and the truth that we can have this large celebration just speaks to the resilience of the variety and of the local community.”

The telecast will have performances from this year’s Tony Award-nominated musicals, like “A Strange Loop,” “Company,” “Girl from the North State,” “MJ,” “Mr. Saturday Evening,” “Music Male,” “Paradise Square” and “Six.” The initial solid associates of the 2007 Tony-successful musical “Spring Awakening” will also reteam and complete.

At the previous Tonys nine months ago, the winners had been pulled from just 18 eligible plays and musicals and several of the competitive groups had been depleted types as Broadway seasoned an 18-month shutdown. At that ceremony, Leslie Odom Jr. hosted a “Broadway’s Back again!” celebration on Paramount+ for the second 50 % of the 4-hour demonstrate, with performances from the 3 prime musicals.

The shows this time vying for hardware are an extremely diverse good deal, from a David Mamet revival to one particular by Paula Vogel, golden-age classics like “Funny Girl” to very present entries like “A Strange Loop.” There is Stephen Sondheim’s gender-switched “Company” and a show celebrating Michael Jackson.

Producers are as soon as once again applying a greater clearly show footprint thanks to streaming associate Paramount+, including an more hour before the 3-hour principal awards show to rejoice the innovative Tony winners. Emmy Award-winners Darren Criss and Julianne Hough are internet hosting that hour which will be aired exclusively on the streaming network. Criss will open up that portion with an initial song.

“A Strange Loop,” a theater meta-journey about a playwright crafting a musical, goes into the show with a leading 11 Tony nominations. Ideal powering with 10 nominations each is “MJ,” a bio musical of the King of Pop stuffed with his greatest hits, and “Paradise Sq.,” a musical about Irish immigrants and Black Us residents jostling to endure in New York Town all around the time of the Civil War.

Historical past could be produced in a number of groups.

L Morgan Lee of “A Bizarre Loop” is the first out trans performer nominated for a Tony Adam Rigg, scenic designer of “The Skin of Our Teeth,” is the initially out nonbinary designer nominated and Toby Marlow, co-creator of “Six” is the initial out nonbinary composer-lyricist nominated.

Camille A. Brown and Lileana Blain-Cruz are vying for finest direction of a participate in and if either wins, she would be the first Black feminine winner in the group. If Marianne Elliott prevails in that category, she will be the initially lady to settle for a few Tonys for direction.

If playwrights Michael R. Jackson (“A Weird Loop”), Lynn Nottage (“MJ”) or Christina Anderson (“Paradise Square”) consider dwelling the Tony for best guide of a musical, they would be only the 2nd Black winner after Stew’s victory for “Passing Strange” in 2008. And Jiyoun Chang (“for colored girls”) and Yi Zhao (“The Skin of Our Teeth”) could grow to be the very first lighting designer of Asian descent to get a Tony.

And the Tonys may usher in the newest EGOT winner: Jennifer Hudson, who has an Emmy, Grammy and Oscar, could sign up for that elite team if “A Peculiar Loop” wins finest musical — she’s a producer.

Some sadness crept into the days just before the Tonys as word that two stalwart musicals from the 2016-17 year — very best musical Tony-winner “Dear Evan Hansen” and ideal musical nominee “Come From Away” — posted closing notices, a reminder that absolutely nothing lasts for good on Broadway. An additional lover preferred, “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” also will close after some 500 demonstrates.

Some of the stars anticipated on Sunday contain Broadway royalty like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth, Kelli O’Hara, Danny Burstein, Cynthia Erivo, Raúl Esparza, Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter and Nathan Lane. Some of the Hollywood stars will be Andrew Garfield, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Chastain, Laurence Fishburne, at this time on Broadway in “American Buffalo,” Sarah Paulson, Paris Jackson and Zach Braff.

DeBose mentioned she was heartened by the truth that several Black artists have been nominated in just about every one functionality class. There are 16 Black efficiency nods out of 33 slots or 48%.

“I assume the nominations are reflective that the Tony delegation has been listening. It’s an amazingly varied team of nominees,” she stated.

“I’m honored to be the person with the privilege to check out and offer a instant of joy and real celebration for not only all the headliners and nominees, but for our community at huge, which is some thing I assume we seriously require right now,” she explained.

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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits