The 75th Annual Tony Awards will be hosted by one of Broadway's own: Tony nominee and Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose. The ceremony will broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in a four-hour television and streaming event June 12 beginning at 7 PM ET. Nominations for the honors are set to be announced May 9 by Tony winner Adrienne Warren and Tony nominee Joshua Henry.
Hosting the Broadway honors will cap off DeBose's domination of the 2022 awards season, which saw her receive Academy, BAFTA, Critics Choice, and SAG Awards for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of West Side Story. DeBose's stage credits include Bring It On: The Musical, Motown The Musical, Pippin, Hamilton, A Bronx Tale The Musical, and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. DeBose was Tony-nominated for her performance in Summer and won a Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway show.
“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!,” says DeBose in a statement. “This is a dream come true, and I’m excited to see you all on June 12th.”
“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,” adds American Theatre Wing President and CEO Heather Hitchens and Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin. “We can’t wait to see Ariana take the stage on June 12th and dazzle, inspire, and entertain us.”
DeBose also starred in the Netflix film version of Broadway's The Prom and Apple TV+'s golden age musical theatre satire Schmigadoon! "Action star" seems to be next up for the Broadway favorite, with upcoming appearances in Sony Pictures' Kraven the Hunter, Apple's Argylle, and the space thriller ISS.
“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,” says CBS Executive Vice President Jack Sussman. “After the last challenging two years there is no one better to bring the theatre 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.”
Following last year's two-part broadcast shared by CBS and streamer Paramount+, the 2022 Tony Awards will include an hour of exclusive programming streaming on Paramount+ June 12 from 7 PM ET, followed by the three-hour main awards ceremony airing live on CBS and streaming simultaneously on Paramount+ (for premium-level subscribers only) from 8 PM ET, making this year's ceremony the first in Tony Awards history to be available live nationwide. The broadcast will also be available to stream on demand on Paramount+ for all membership tiers following the live stream.
