By Harley Ann Kulp
The Tony’s are coming! The Tony’s are coming! The theater community’s biggest night of the year is in two days. Yes, on Sunday, June 7th, 2015, the 69th Annual Tony Awards will air on CBS at 8/7c. And just like the Oscars, the Tony’s are getting their first ever red carpet coverage hosted by some of Broadway’s sweethearts! Actual Disney Princess Laura Osnes (Cinderella, Bonnie & Clyde) will host along side everyone’s favorite redhead Sierra Boggess (Phantom of the Opera, It Shoulda Been You) and Glee’s (or Team Starkid’s) Darren Criss (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Hedwig and the Angry Inch).
This troublesome trio will also be joined by George Takei (The Year of the Dragon, Allegiance), Randi Zuckerberg (Rock of Ages, Blake Ross (Editor for Playbill Magazine), and Emilio Sosa (Broadway Costume Designer). This team of professionals will be broadcasting from 5:30 PM right up until the start of the award show at 8 PM. The coverage of the red carpet can be found on TonyAwards.com, CBS.com, playbill.com, and TimeOut.com.
When the actual awards ceremony begins, we’ll see the show hosted by one of the best combinations in the history of combos- Alan Cumming (Cabaret, The Threepenny Opera) and Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown). These two have teamed up before in the 1999 movie version of the hit Broadway musical Annie. Cumming played the smooth talking brother of Miss Agatha Hannigan (Kathy Bates)- Daniel “Rooster” Hannigan while Chenoweth played his ditzy girlfriend Lilly St. Regis- you know, named after the hotel.
There are several awards highly anticipated by Broadway fans around the world. The nominees for best play include The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time, Disgraced, Hand to God, and Wolf Hall Parts One and Two. Best musical nominees include An American in Paris, Fun Home, Something Rotten, and The Visit. The phenomenal nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role of a Musical include Kristin Chenoweth (On the Twentieth Century), Leanne Cope (An American in Paris), Beth Malone (Fun Home), Kelli O’Hara (The King and I), and Chita Rivera (The Visit). Surprisingly, the most buzzed about award of the season is Best Actress in a Featured Role of a Musical due to the amount of actresses from crowd favorite Fun Home. The nominees include Victoria Clark (Gigi), Judy Kuhn (Fun Home), Sydney Lucas (Fun Home), Ruthie Ann Miles (The King and I), and Emily Skeggs (Fun Home).
As the night approaches faster and faster, theater kids across the world get more restless by the minute. This highly anticipated evening will hopefully satisfy the thirst of Broadway for those who get a small taste once a year until the next season comes to a close.