What to watch for at the Tony Awards, Broadway’s biggest night

NEW YORK Twenty-nine shows on Broadway got Tony Award nominations this season but not all will walk away with a trophy and the box office attention they usually bring Here are selected key things to know as Broadway s biggest night approaches including how to watch who is poised to make history what old favorite gets to take a win lap and how you can see George Clooney on Broadway from the comfort of your couch FILE A view of the stage appears before the start of the th annual Tony Awards on Sunday June at Radio City Music Hall in New York Photo by Charles Sykes Invision AP File FILE George Clooney appears at the Good Night and Good Luck Broadway opening night on April in New York Photo by Andy Kropa Invision AP File Enjoyment Woods left and Audra McDonald appear during a performance of the Broadway musical Gypsy in New York Julieta Cervantes via AP This image issued by Polk Co shows Megan Hilty left and Jennifer Simard during a performance of Death Becomes Her in New York Matthew Murphy Polk Co via AP This image published by Polk Co shows Wesley Wray with the Broadway company of Buena Vista Social Club during a performance in New York Matthew Murphy Polk Co via AP Cole Escola appears during a Broadway performance of Oh Mary in New York Emilio Madrid via AP Show Caption of FILE A view of the stage appears before the start of the th annual Tony Awards on Sunday June at Radio City Music Hall in New York Photo by Charles Sykes Invision AP File Expand When are the Tony Awards The Tonys will be broadcast to both coasts on Sunday June from p m ET- p m ET p m PT to p m PT live from Radio City Music Hall How can I watch them On CBS and streaming on Paramount in the U S Who s hosting the Tony Awards Tony- Emmy- and Grammy-winner and three-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo the Wicked star will be making her debut hosting the Tonys She won the lead actress in a musical Tony in for The Color Purple and will have just disclosed her new album I Forgive You A pre-show will be broadcast on Pluto TV from p m - p m ET p m - p m PT where selected Tonys will be handed out Darren Criss and Ren e Elise Goldsberry will host that telecast Viewers can access it on their smart TV streaming device mobile app or online by going to Pluto TV and clicking on the Live Music channel discovered within the Entertainment category on the utility How countless awards are there A total of competitive categories from lead and featured actors to scenic costume and lighting design Specific technical award handouts may be pre-taped and winners won t appear on the live show only cut down into edited bits sandwiched into the telecast What are the top nominees There are three of them Buena Vista Social Club which takes its inspiration from Wim Wenders Oscar-nominated documentary Death Becomes Her based on the cult classic film and Dead Outlaw a musical about a real life alcoholic drifter shot dead in and whose afterlife proved to be stranger than fiction Each have a leading nominations Who is vying for best new play and musical For new musicals it s Buena Vista Social Club Dead Outlaw Death Becomes Her Maybe Happy Ending and Operation Mincemeat A New Musical For new plays it s English The Hills of California John Proctor Is the Villain Oh Mary and Purpose A great number of of the races are unusually tight this year the product of a Broadway heaving with shows after having largely rebounded from the pandemic I haven t seen one nominated show that I haven t been wowed by Everything brings something says Lowe Cunningham lead producer of Death Becomes Her and also a Tony voter How dare the Broadway district come together with such excellent work she jokes I needed everything else to be much worse and I don t appreciate it Can history be made Audra McDonald the the bulk recognized performer in the theater awards history could possibly extending her Tony lead Already the record holder for majority of acting wins with six Tonys McDonald could add to that thanks to her leading turn in an acclaimed revival of Gypsy She will push the record for a performer to majority of wins with seven if she prevails on Tony night And Kara Young the first Black actress to be nominated for a Tony Award in four consecutive years could become the first Black person to win two Tonys consecutively should she win for her role in the play Purpose Other attainable firsts Daniel Dae Kim could becomes the first Asian winner in the category of best leading actor in a play for his work in a revival of Yellow Face And Marjan Neshat and her co-star Tala Ashe are vying to become the first female actors of Iranian descent to win a Tony A special guest Normally shows open for several years don t get any Tony telecast attention but Hamilton is no normal show The original cast will celebrate the show s th anniversary on Broadway with a performance featuring creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and actors Goldsberry Ariana DeBose Daveed Diggs Jonathan Groff Christopher Jackson Jasmine Cephas Jones Javier Mu oz Leslie Odom Jr Okieriete Onaodowan and Phillipa Soo What will producers hope to avoid Any repeat of last year when Jay-Z s electrifying reunion with Alicia Keys on what appeared to be a live duet of Empire State of Mind was authentically pre-taped hours before the live show The appearance by the rapper in help of Keys musical Hell s Kitchen turned out to be a piece of Hollywood trickery undercutting the Broadway locality s full-throated embrace of live melodizing and dancing Broadway s big season The physical condition of Broadway once very much in doubt during the pandemic lockdown is now very good at least in terms of box office The - season took in billion the highest-grossing season in recorded history overtaking the pre-pandemic previous high of billion during the - season Related Articles Review Great script meets expert acting in Park Square s Between Riverside and Crazy Theater review History Theatre s Whoa Nellie tunefully tackles issues of gender and fame Park Square Theatre s th season to include world premiere from Jefferey Hatcher Review The jukebox musical reaches its zenith with Juliet In new season Theater Mu to focus on stories about the past future and group In terms of attendance Broadway welcomed nearly million ticket buyers the second best attended season on record behind only - But sky-high ticket prices have led to fears that Broadway is getting financially out of touch A revival of Othello with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal broke the record for top-grossing play in Broadway history with a gross of for eight performances fueled by certain seats going for as high as How can you get in the mood Even if you haven t been able to get to Broadway this season you can still see one of the shows The night before the Tonys Good Night and Good Luck starring and co-written by Clooney a Tony acting nominee will stream across CNN properties For more coverage of the Tony Awards visit https apnews com hub tony-awards