Remember the Tony Awards? They’re those coveted statuettes handed out annually, under the auspices of the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, for theatrical excellence on the Broadway stages.
Nominees for the past 2019/2020 season – a season abruptly cut short in March 2020 by the government-mandated shutting of theatres in the face of the pandemic crisis – were disclosed more than seven months ago. Since then, there has been hardly a peep as to when the award-winners would be revealed and the trophies doled out.
Now, however, the suspense – if any indeed was left – has ended. It has been announced that the 74th annual Tony Awards will be held on 26 September 2021. And with the date, it was revealed that the show – usually a three-hour or more affair televised nationally over the CBS Network – will have a new four-hour format.
The first two hours (starting at 7pm Eastern time US) will see most of the awards presented and will be streamed – rather than televised – on Paramount +, the CBS streaming affiliate. The next two hours will feature a gala concert of Broadway music along with the presentation of the evening’s three top awards: Best Play, Best Play Revival and Best Musical. This portion will be televised nationally on CBS while continuing as well on the streaming service.
The Best Musical award has only three contenders reflecting the abbreviated season. They are Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Tina – The Tina Turner Musical. A fourth musical, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical was eligible for nomination but totally ignored by the Tony nominators.
There will be no award for Best Musical Revival. West Side Story, the only musical revival to open during the shortened season, was deemed as opening too late to give a sufficient number of Tony voters the opportunity to see it.
Still, with its planned celebratory mood, the timing of the Tonys show is seen as bolstering the September start of the reopenings of the Broadway theatres.
“After this devastating past year-and-a-half for our industry, our city, and for the entire world, we are excited to finally be able to celebrate the return of Broadway, our Tony Award nominees and winners in this new and exciting format,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, president and chief executive officer of the American Theatre Wing, in a statement.
“There is nothing that compares to the magic of live theatre and we are thrilled to be able to share its celebratory return and the incredible talent and artistry of the abbreviated 2019-2020 season with theatre fans everywhere.”
Ron Cohen
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