The Tony Awards are making a pop pivot this year: On Thursday, the show announced that the singer Pink will be this year’s host.
The choice is a bit of a surprise because the Tonys host is often a Broadway veteran — last year’s host was Cynthia Erivo, a Tony winner (“The Color Purple”) and star of the “Wicked” films. But awards show viewership has been slowly sliding for years, and this year’s Broadway season lacks a breakout hit, so CBS, the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing have been looking for ways to zhuzh it up.
Pink, 46, is an outspoken pop singer-songwriter who has sold tens of millions of records, has won three Grammy Awards and is known for integrating acrobatics into her arena and stadium concerts. Two of her songs are part of shows now running on Broadway: “Raise Your Glass” is excerpted in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” and a song with an obscenity in the title is featured in “& Juliet.”
The Tony Awards, which honor Broadway plays and musicals, will take place this year on Sunday, June 7, at Radio City Music Hall. The broadcast portion of the event is to begin at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
After years in which the broadcast was overseen by Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, the telecast this year is being produced by Raj Kapoor, Sarah Levine Hall and Jack Sussman. Kapoor has worked on the Oscars as well as many televised music events, including the Grammys. Hall has worked on the Oscars and the Tonys, and Sussman is a former CBS executive with long Tony Awards experience.
Michael Paulson is the theater reporter for The Times.
The post A Tony Awards Surprise: This Year’s Host Will Be Pink appeared first on New York Times.
