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When it comes to the 2023 Tony Awards, the Writers Guild of America has decided that the show must not go on. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the 76th annual Tony Awards will no longer be televised on June 11 due to the ongoing writers’ strike. That hasn’t stopped the Tonys from asking, however. First, the Tony Awards Management Committee (which is made up of representatives from the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing) reportedly asked for a waiver so that the awards ceremony could air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on its scheduled date. The committee’s request emphasized that exposure from the broadcast is important for struggling Broadway shows, but was denied on Friday. Then, according to THR, the Tony Awards reportedly … asked again? Following an emergency meeting on Monday, May 15, the awards body made the choice to simply re-request, likely given the importance of the Tonys to a still-recovering-from-COVID Broadway economy. Whether or not the WGA will be swayed by sheer persistence is still TBD.
Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean that there won’t be some sort of ceremony for this year’s Tony nominees. The Tonys could switch to become a non-televised event, or the broadcast could be postponed until the strike is over. For now, there’s been no official word on what will happen, so we’ll just have to wait and see if Ariana DeBose will get to do the thing as the ceremony’s host again.
This post has been updated.
