A general view of the atmosphere during the 64th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall
Andrew H Walker/Getty Images
has learned that the striking Writers Guild of America has rejected a request for a special permit to allow the June 11 Tony Awards to be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.
Established this week is this season’s Tony Awards Management Committee, made up of eight representatives from the Broadway League, including President Charlotte St. Martin and noted producers Jordan Roth and Scott Sanders, and eight representatives from the American Theater Wing, including President Heather Hitchens – officially petitioned the Writers Guild for such a waiver, pointing out how much financially strapped Broadway shows depend on Tony’s show notoriety for box office boost. (Shows hoping for a rebound at Tonys this season include the hit musicals Some Like It Hot and Kimberly Akimbo, and the play Leopoldstadt.)
The Management Committee has called an emergency meeting for Monday morning to determine the best way forward.
The two alternative courses of action appearing to be weighed are: (a) sticking to the June 11 date and holding a non-televised awards ceremony, perhaps in the form of an intimate dinner or press conference with nominees and media present; or (b) postpone the ceremony until the strike is over and the show can be televised.
Representatives of the Broadway League, which includes many producers, theater owners, and operators, are more inclined to support the first option, as many shows may not survive for months without the imprimatur of a Tony on their tents and promotional materials.
However, the American Theater Wing appears to be more susceptible to a delay as that organization is seen as the custodian of the Tony Awards brand, which an untelevised presentation wouldn’t help.
As the Tony Awards honor the Broadway industry, which many in the industry claim is separate from the television and film industries and yet needs the awards show as part of its post-pandemic recovery, the ceremony will be televised on CBS and Paramount+, the members are the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
The 76th Annual Tony Awards have been announced for June 11th at the new location of the United Palace in New York’s Washington Heights. (The ceremony traditionally takes place at Radio City Music Hall). Ariana DeBose has been tapped to host the ceremony for the second straight year.
The show was scheduled to be split into two parts, with a pre-show titled “The Tony Awards: Act One” airing live on the FAST platform from 6:30pm-8pm ET/3:30pm-5pm Aired by Paramount Global, Pluto TV, p.m. PT. The main ceremony aired on CBS from 8pm to 11pm ET/5pm to 8pm PT and also streamed live and on-demand on Paramount+. The presenters ahead of the show have not yet been announced.
This is the second time in recent history that the Tony Awards have been suspended. The 74th Tonys in honor of the 2019–20 Broadway season was held in September 2021, 15 months after the original date. Theaters were closed most of the time, but the ceremony also coincided with marketing around Broadway’s comeback.
At least one other awards ceremony has been disrupted by the WGA strike. The MTV Movie Awards were moved from a live ceremony on May 7 to a pre-taped show after the WGA announced it would be holding the awards ceremony. Host Drew Barrymore also quit in solidarity with the WGA before the show was switched to pre-recording. The guild has called off his picket line after the formatting has changed.
Caitlin Huston contributed to this story.