Ariana DeBose hosts the 2023 Tony Awards
Ariana DeBose, the West Side Story star and Hamilton alum, hosted the 2023 Tony Awards at New York City’s United Palace Theatre on Sunday. This marked her second consecutive hosting stint for Broadway’s annual awards show. DeBose performed a series of impressive dance moves to a medley of Broadway hits, including a gravity-defying stunt in which she flung herself down a flight of stairs, only to be caught spectacularly.
The 76th annual Tony Awards aired as an unscripted broadcast and production due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, which began on May 2. The Writers Guild did not grant the Tony Awards a waiver to allow the ceremony to air as originally planned, originally casting doubt on whether the ceremony would happen at all. The WGA later announced it would not picket the event after the Tony Awards producers committed to altering the show « to conform with specific requests from the WGA, » according to THR.
Some Like It Hot leads the ceremony with 13 nominations
Some Like It Hot, the musical adaptation of the 1959 hit comedy, leads the ceremony with a whopping 13 nominations, including best musical. Other best musical nominees, including & Juliet, New York, New York, and Shucked, followed suit with nine, while Kimberly Akimbo, the other nominee, earned eight. Stars like Jessica Chastain, Jodie Comer, Ben Platt, Brian D’Arcy James, Sara Bareilles, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Samuel L. Jackson, among others, were nominated for various acting awards at Sunday’s awards ceremony.
DeBose went viral for another awards show gig back in February when she went viral for her musical number performed at the 2023 BAFTA Awards, hosted by Richard E. Grant. At the London-based awards show, DeBose opened the ceremony with a rap celebrating the female nominees.
Overall, the 2023 Tony Awards was a night of celebration for the Broadway community, despite the ongoing writers’ strike. DeBose’s hosting skills and impressive dance moves were a highlight of the night, and the nominees and winners were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the theater industry.
Keywords: Ariana DeBose, Tony Awards, Broadway, Writers Guild of America strike, Some Like It Hot, Jessica Chastain, Jodie Comer, Ben Platt, Brian D’Arcy James, Sara Bareilles, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Samuel L. Jackson.
