FILE - Ariana DeBose speaks on stage at the 76th annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, 2023, at the United Palace theater in New York. DeBose, who hosted both the 2023 and 2022 Tony Awards, will be back this year for the ceremony June 16, and will produce and choreograph the opening number. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Ariana DeBose speaks on stage at the 76th annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, 2023, at the United Palace theater in New York. DeBose, who hosted both the 2023 and 2022 Tony Awards, will be back this year for the ceremony June 16, and will produce and choreograph the opening number. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
PM DC RANEW YORK (AP) — Ariana DeBose promises Sunday's Tony Awards will move “like a Broadway show.â€
“This is Broadway’s biggest night. Why not give the people at home even more of a Broadway experience?†the Academy Award winner and Tony nominee told The Associated Press on Thursday. “Our show is going to move like a Broadway show. We want to give you a full Broadway experience.â€
will see transitions between scenes, with cast members coming on stage to help move items and sets changing in front of the audience. In the past, a wall came down between production numbers and awards, hiding the changes.
Does that mean we can see Jessica Lange — nominated for best leading actress in a play for her work on “Mother Play†— hauling furniture? “I’m not sure that Ms. Lange will be moving a table. I just really hope she ends up having a good time,†DeBose said, laughing.
The three-hour main telecast will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+, with a free pre-show — where some technical awards will be handed out — on Pluto TV.
DeBose is a producer this year and is choreographing her opening number with her creative partner, Julius Anthony Rubio.
“I did that on purpose because I wanted to try something new. I speak dance better than I speak English,†she said. “So I kind of figured, ‘Why not?’ I’m in my Debbie Allen era.â€
DeBose saw — all 36 — to prepare for the gig: “I feel like I have a responsibility to understand the season if I’m going to weigh in on the show that we are building.â€
Other Tony hosts who have done it multiple times include Angela Lansbury, Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris and James Corden.
DeBose was praised for keeping without a script during the starting with an acrobatic opening number and a subsequent glitch-less three-hour telecast.
“I was very grateful that we were able to find a way forward. I think sometimes you just have to say, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but I’m going to do it, and it all works,’†she said.
DeBose says the recent addition of a streaming pre-show — hosted this year by Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar — takes some of the pressure off her at the main event: “I’m very excited for them. I know they have a good time.â€
___
Mark Kennedy is at
___
More on the Tony Awards:
The ºÃÉ«tv Press. All rights reserved.
Canada is entering a new era of nation-building. From clean-energy corridors and c…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
