Normally, the Tony Awards celebrating the best of Broadway and Off-Broadway is a gala event televised nationally. But 2020 is not a normal year, and the awards will livestream on June 7 instead.
Instead of a three-hour show from Radio City Music Hall, this will be a one-hour virtual event, with appearances and entertainment by Broadway and Off-Broadway stars.
The 2019-2020 Broadway and Off-Broadway season was cut short in March by the shutdown of theaters due to health risks, and theaters are not re-opening until Labor Day Weekend.
The Virtual Tony Awards also are a fund-raiser for the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League initiatives to support programming for theatre’s next generation of artists, creatives and arts administrators, and efforts to train young artists around the country and introduce them to theater careers
The Virtual Tony Awards are directed by Tony Award nominee Lonny Price and written by Tony nominee Karey Kirkpatrick, Steve Rosen, David Rossmer, Kate Wetherhead and Lauren Yee. Musical direction & supervision is by Grammy Award winner Jason Howland with choreography by Sarah O’Gleby.
The event will stream on Sunday, June 7 at 6pm exclusively on the Tony Awards website and Broadway on Demand’s website.
Broadway On Demand launched on May 17 with its debut programming, “30 Days of Opening Nights.” with a combination of music by top theater performers and interviews with them.
Tony Award nominees include:
Individual performers nominated for the Broadway League’s Distinguished Performance Award include Raúl Esparza, David Alan Grier, Jonathan Groff, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hiddleston, Kate Mulgrew, Jonathan Pryce, Tom Sturridge, Marisa Tomei, Blair Underwood, and Tina‘s Adrienne Warren
Outstanding plays, musicals and revivals nominated include The Inheritance, Jagged Little Pill, West Side Story, Betrayal, The Secret Life of Bees, A Soldier’s Play and Enter Laughing.
What do you think about this? We welcome your comments.