Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom to host 74th Tony Awards specials
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NEW YORK — This year’s Tony Awards will feature some Broadway-grown star power.
Tony and Grammy award winners Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. have been tapped to host the 74th Annual Tony Awards on Sept. 26.
McDonald, who made Tony Award history in 2014 with a record six wins in different categories, will host the awards portion of the evening, which streams exclusively on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. EDT.
Odom Jr., of “Hamilton” fame, is set to emcee the live concert event, “The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!,” at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS, in addition to streaming on Paramount+ and the CBS app.
The concert will include special performances from the three Tony-nominated best musical contenders “Jagged Little Pill,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical.”
The performances will be followed by the live presentation of three Tony Awards: best play, best revival of a play, and best musical.
“Broadway is a part of my DNA and I’m so thrilled to see it open back up again,” Odom Jr. said. “There are so many talented artists going back to work and doing what they love for audiences who have missed these tremendous performances.”
“I’m elated that the Tony Awards are back! I am so glad that we’ve found a way to gather safely to honor and recognize all the incredible work that was done in the 2019-20 season,” McDonald said with Monday’s announcement. “While we look back, my greatest hope is that this event marks the beginning of a new era for Broadway — one with renewed commitment to inclusivity and belonging as well as appreciation for the sacred experience of live theater.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic limiting performances, the Tony Awards pulled nominations from just 18 eligible plays and musicals compared to 34 shows the season before, the Associated Press reported.
On March 12, 2020, Broadway theaters shuttered their doors, effectively canceling all shows, including 16 that were scheduled to open in the spring.
Emmy-nominated Odom Jr. received two Academy Award nominations for best supporting actor and best original song (from “One Night in Miami”) earlier this year. The Philadelphia native will appear on the big screen in David Chase’s “Sopranos” prequel, “Many Saints of Newark,” set for an Oct. 1 release.
The Emmy-winning McDonald, starring on the Paramount+ drama “The Good Fight” and currently appearing in the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect,” is up for a Tony Award for best actress in a leading role in a play for her work in a revival of the Terrence McNally play “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.”
A limited number of tickets to attend the ceremony at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theater are available.
