Mark your calendars! The 2016 Tony Awards ceremony now has a date! The American Theatre Wing’s 70th Annual Tony Awards will air on CBS on Sunday, June 5, 2016 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) live from New York City.
The Tony Awards, which honors theatre professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway, has been broadcast on CBS every year since 1978. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.
This year, however, the Tonys are looking for a new place to reside. Just a few years after the awards show was welcomed back to Radio City Music Hall in 2013, Tony officials have been told that the famed theater, that can hold up to roughly 6,015 spectators, will probably be unavailable next year for the 70th Annual Tony Awards.
According to the New York Times, the show could be bounced back uptown, to the much smaller Beacon Theater. The Beacon holds about 2,900 spectators and has less space for sets and crews, almost three times less than Radio City Musical Hall. But there are also upsides to having a smaller space. Most tend to think the intimate space is more true to the scale of an actual Broadway theater.
Two other important aspects of the 2016 Tonys have also been announced:
- The official eligibility cut-off date will be Tuesday, April 26, 2016, for all Broadway productions opening in the 2015-2016 season. Productions that meet all other eligibility requirements and open on or before the eligibility date are considered eligible for 2016 Tony Award nominations.
- The Nominations for the 2016 Tony Awards will be announced live on Friday, April 29th from New York City.
Wherever the Tonys end up we are sure it will be a grand ol’ time, filled with amazing performances, heartfelt speeches and DIVERSITY in the nominations.
