Now, follow us on this. The Tonys this year will be a four-hour multi-platform event to celebrate the return to live theatre. It will begin on the streaming service Paramount+ live from the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City on September 26th at 7:00 PM, ET/ 4:00 PM, PT.

Audra McDonald will host the exclusively live-streamed Paramount+ event that is set to honor the outstanding shows, performances, and artistry of the 2019-2020 Broadway season, which was brought to a halt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Later the same night, Leslie Odom Jr. will host the CBS Broadcast special event titled The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back! This celebration is billed as “a live concert event featuring superstar Broadway entertainers and Tony Award winners re-uniting on stage to perform beloved classics and celebrate the joy and magic of live theatre.” The show will include special performances from the three Best Musical Tony nominees (Jagged Little Pill, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, and Moulin Rouge! The Musical) as well as a live presentation of three Tony Awards, including 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,” said Leslie Odom, Jr.  “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 very happy to host The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!”

This will be the first time in 13 years that the host of The Tony Awards will be non-white. Whoopi Goldberg was the last person of color to take on the honor of hosting duties in 2008.

“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,” said Audra McDonald.  “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.”

The post Audra McDonald & Leslie Odom Jr. Will Host The 74th Annual Tony Awards appeared first on Broadway Black.

One such community is the Broadway community, who despite having been shut down and theater houses being dark for such a long time, have decided to open their doors to be vaccination hubs for the citizens of New York City. Many live entertainment venues have shown their support for fighting the virus by being testing centers, and now that a vaccine has been available to the general public, more and more space is needed to provide health support for those that need it. 

The Broadway League recently wrote a letter to President Joe Biden offering theater venues and ticket management systems as a means to streamline the vaccination accessibility process. Opening up this opportunity would allow for furloughed theatre workers to reenter the workforce after a nearly 10-month stint of no work because of their experience with handling large amounts of people and advanced ticketing procedures. The letter reads, “Live events is one of the best prepared, best equipped, most experienced industries in America to manage and control large crowds in a rapid, organized fashion.” 

Many of the shows that have had to postpone an opening include the revival of Caroline, Or Change (slated for a fall opening with The Roundabout Theater Company) and the new original Michael Jackson bio-musical, MJ (also slated for fall 2021). Other shows that have been put on pause include Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Aint Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, Hamilton: An American Musical, and countless others.

Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin said, “Broadway is often called the beating heart of New York City, but it also provides real jobs that deliver real benefits to not just the Times Square area, but to the entire city.” As the country still awaits the roll-out of more vaccines, New York City and Broadway will be ready to lead the country in managing an ever-changing health landscape. Broadway may be dark now, but the light at the end of the tunnel promises health and wellness for a safer reopening. 

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