The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing have announced that Ariana DeBose, the Academy Award winner for Steven Spielberg movie West Side Story, and Tony Award nominee for Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, will host this year’s 75th Annual Tony Awards.
The Tony Awards ceremony will come from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday 12 June 2022, from 8pm to 11pm ET (New York Time) or 5pm to 8pm PT (LA time) on CBS in the US, and streaming live on Paramount+.
Paramount+ will also have exclusive content from 7pm to 8pm ET.
Details on other hosts and presenters will be announced soon.
Ariana DeBose is known for her roles on stage, film and TV. DeBose is best known for her ground-breaking performance in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, for which she received Oscar, BAFTA, Critics Choice, and SAG Awards for her star turning role as “Anita”. On-stage, DeBose is perhaps best known for her role as “Disco Donna” in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which earned her a 2018 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. For the same role, she was nominated for a Drama League Award for “Distinguished Performance” and won a Chita Rivera Award for “Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show.
In 2015, DeBose appeared alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda in the groundbreaking, Tony-winning musical Hamilton as a member of the original cast in both the Broadway and off-Broadway productions, as well as the Emmy Award winning film version that was later released on Disney+. After her departure from Hamilton in 2016, DeBose completed a run as “Jane” in the original Broadway cast of A Bronx Tale. Her theater credits include: Leading Player in the Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin, “Mary Wilson” in Motown The Musical, “Nautica” in Bring It On: The Musical and ensemble in Stephen Sondheim’s Company. She recently had a breakout role in Schmigadoon!, and received critical acclaim for her performance in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix adaptation of the hit-Broadway musical The Prom. Next, DeBose will star in Sony Pictures’ Kraven the Hunter; Argylle from Apple and the space thriller ISS.
DeBose currently sits on the International Board of Covenant House advocating for homeless youth, many of whom identify as LGBTQ. She is also a board member of A is For, a reproductive rights organization started by Martha Plimpton that works to ensure that all women have access to reproductive and abortion care free of stigma.
Ariana told the press that: “I’m coming home! I’m so honored to celebrate 75 years of excellence in theatre, but more importantly every member of this community who poured themselves into making sure the lights of Broadway have the opportunity to shine brightly once again! This is a dream come true, and I’m excited to see you all on June 12th.”
Heather Hitchens, President and CEO of the American Theatre Wing and Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League said: “The 75th Tony Awards celebration is a big moment for all of us in the theatre community, and in Ariana we have found the perfect host to lead this celebration. We can’t wait to see Ariana take the stage on June 12th and dazzle, inspire, and entertain us.”
Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss, executive producers for White Cherry Entertainment, said, “There’s a reason Ariana has been nominated and won so many awards … and you’ll see why on June 12th when she is back ‘home’ on a Broadway stage.”
“We are thrilled to have Ariana DeBose, who has captivated audiences with her inspirational roles on stage and in film and television, host this year’s Tony Awards,” said Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President, Specials, Music, Live Event and Alternative Programming, CBS. “After the last challenging two years there is no one better to bring the theater community together on this important night honoring the best of Broadway, and share the joys of live performing once again than this extraordinarily talented artist.”
Organisers have extended the Tony Awards eligibility cut-off date for the 2021-2022 season due to Covid, to Wednesday 4 May 2022 for all Broadway productions which meet all other eligibility requirements.
Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren and Tony Award Nominee Joshua Henry will host the 75th Annual Tony Awards Nominations on Monday, May 9th at 9:00 AM ET on the Tony Awards official YouTube page.
Subscribe to Paramount+ here (Note: Only US viewers will see the Tony Awards on Paramount+ this year. The service only starts in the UK on 22 June, although highlights and catch-up of the awards will be available)
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