Who is hosting the 2024 Tony Awards?

The biggest hits and longest-running shows on Broadway during the past year will be in the spotlight this weekend at the annual Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre - more commonly known as the Tonys.

The Tonys celebrates achievements in live Broadway theater performances during the 2023-24 season. The awards have been an important part of the Broadway community since their inception in 1947. Winning a Tony is considered one of the highest honors in the theater industry.

The nominees for the 2024 Tonys, the 77th edition of the theater awards ceremony, were announced live on CBS by former winners Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Renée Elise Goldsberry back in April. This year, the hit musical Hell’s Kitchen, featuring music and lyrics from 16-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys, picked up 13 Tony Award nominations. It will face strong competition from Stereophonic, written by David Adjmi and directed by Daniel Aukin, which also has 13 nominations.

Stereophonic tells the trials and tribulations of an up and coming rock band recording their debut album while on the verge of stardom in the mid-70s. The play, which features original music by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, premiered at the Golden Theater on 3 April.

Stereophonic has been such a huge success that it has been extended twice. The show has been extended for 20 weeks, running through January 5, 2025 at the Golden Theatre, 252 West 45th Street, Broadway.

Battling it out for the Best Musical award will be: Hell’s Kitchen, The Outsiders, Illinoise, Suffs and Water for Elephants. Among the actors who have been nominated are: Daniel Radcliffe (Merrily We Roll Along), Jeremy Strong (An Enemy of the People), Rachel McAdams (Mary Jane) and Sarah Paulson for Appropriate.

The ceremony will feature musical performances from eight of the shows nominated for best musical and best revival of a musical.

Who is the 2024 Tony Awards host?

Ariana DeBose will host the ceremony for the third year running. Born in North Carolina in January 1991, the 33-year-old actress has a wealth of experience of her own treading the boards on Broadway, with a diverse assembly of roles in hit musicales such as Motown: The Musical, Los Miserables, A Bronx Tale and Hamilton.

In 2018, her portrayal of disco diva Donna Summer earned her a Tonys nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. In fact a Tony is one of the few awards she hasn’t won. Ariana picked up an Oscar for her performance as Anita in West Side Story.

That electrifying performance in Steven Spielberg’s feature film remake also earned her a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award. Although for many, DeBose is best known for playing Maya in science fiction television series Westworld.

With Puerto Rican roots (through her father), Ariana DeBose is one of the hottest Latin stars in Hollywood. Apart from theater, she has worked extensively in television and film, starring in movies including Poolman, Wish and Argylle.

A 90-minute pre-show, The Tony Awards: Act One, hosted by Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar, will stream live on freeview Pluto TV starting at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Followed by the Tonys ceremony, which will air live on CBS from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. EDT. and a livestream will be available on demand on Paramount+.