NEW YORK (AP) — Theater fans who tune in to see the Tony Awards on Sunday night will get a pair of quirky hosts, a show crammed with music and a memorable way to celebrate the passing of Broadway figures.
Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming are the hosts this year, projecting a playful, daffy chemistry that uses gentle jokes and costume changes. The show opens with them singing a medley of standards, zooms through the season’s musicals and ends three hours later with the current cast of “Jersey Boys” singing “Oh, What a Night.”
The telecast on CBS starting at 8 p.m. EDT at Radio City Music Hall will feature appearances by Jennifer Lopez, Sting, Jim Parsons, Amanda Seyfried, Kiefer Sutherland, Bryan Cranston, Sutton Foster, Jennifer Nettles, Taye Diggs and Ashley Tisdale.
Josh Groban leads a moving “In Memoriam” section when he sings “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel,” backed by the casts of all the shows appearing on the telecast, some 175 people.
For the record, there will be 11 musical performances and 24 competitive Tonys will be handed out, some tucked in during commercial breaks. The best play nominees will be showcased in video clips.
The nominated musicals “On the Twentieth Century,” “Something Rotten!” “The Visit,” “The King and I,” “On the Town,” “Fun Home” and “An American in Paris” will be performed. A few other non-nominated shows, including like Vanessa Hudgens’ “Gigi” and Matthew Morrison and Kelsey Grammer with “Finding Neverland,” also will get a spot.
Highlights include a bit with “Seinfeld” pals Larry David and Jason Alexander, Cumming appearing in a massive hoop dress, and Joel Grey, who recently announced he was gay, introducing “Fun Home” with his daughter, Jennifer Grey.
Producers are hoping to beat last year’s average of 7.02 million viewers. But as happened last year, the Tonys will have to compete against Game 2 of the NBA Finals, which starts at the same time.
A total of 37 shows opened during the season and box offices reported a record total gross of $1.36 billion — up from $1.27 billion from the previous season.
