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The 72nd Annual Tony Awards are upon us! The June 10 ceremony, presented live at Radio City Music Hall and broadcast at 8pm EDT on CBS, is Broadway’s big night out. Here’s why the 2018 Tonys are a must-see.
The two pop stars recently made their Broadway debuts: Groban displaying his vocal prowess in one of the Knick’s favorites, The Great Comet of 1812; and Bareilles who wrote the songs for and starred in Waitress. The two have both been nominated previously and are elated to host, per their Twitter accounts. Thankfully we likely won’t see last year’s host, Kevin Spacey, who has all but disappeared from public view.
Many shows in this years line-up are being buzzed about but it is a tough competition this year with two shows racking up 12 nominations and several others very close behind. Mean Girls, the show adapted from a book and movie written by Tina Fey, is up for 12 awards, and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical is a surprise contender for it’s enrapturing music and theatricality, also up for a mind-blowing 12 awards. Not far behind are the Broadway revivals, Angels in America and Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, as well as an invigorating come-up from off-Broadway The Band’s Visit, starring Tony Shalhoub—each up for 11 awards. Rounding out the pack, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Part I and II, written by J.K. Rowling and originated in London, also gets a resolute nod with 10 noms, as does the revival of My Fair Lady. See our breakdown of the nominations here.
The Tonys mark the one time where you can watch numbers from the year’s best musicals without being at the theater. And while scouring Youtube for illicit clips of a favorite song can work, seeing the real thing, performed in costume, from multiple shows under one roof is far better. We’re most excited to see performances from The Band’s Visit and hear excerpts of SpongeBob’s fantastic score.
It’s not to say that there won’t be stars. Denzel Washington, Amy Schumer, Michael Cera, Nathan Lane, Andrew Garfield, Tony Shalhoub, are just a few of the film actors starring in Broadway shows this year. Not to mention last year’s winner, Laurie Metcalf, is prime contender again for a Best Actress award. Will she reign supreme? Only time will tell. But even more than stars, this year’s lineup is stacked with household names: SpongeBob SquarePants, Frozen, Harry Potter and Mean Girls are all childhood favorites.
Other stars to look out for? Perhaps the contributors to SpongeBob’s epic original score, including Steven Tyler and Aerosmith artists, T.I., Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, and our own Sara Bareilles.
This year, the team at The Knick attended nominees Angels in America, The Band’s Visit, Frozen, Meteor Shower and Once On This Island. We’re thrilled they’ve gotten the recognition they deserve. Of course, we’re also excited to see other nominated shows. Break a leg to everyone!
Photos courtesy of @thetonyawards.
