Julianne Hough, Skylar Astin To Host Tonys Preshow as More Details Emerge About Unscripted Main Ceremony
Julianne Hough and Skylar Astin have been tapped to host the preshow telecast of the Tony Awards airing on Pluto TV on Sunday.
Like the main telecast, this portion will be unscripted, according to sources familiar with the matter. The WGA did not grant the Tony Awards a waiver for the awards show but said that the union would not picket the show, so long as the producers did not use a script.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
In light of that decision, Ariana DeBose, who had been tapped as the host of the main telecast, is now only expected to perform the opening number, according to sources.
Presenters, who are typically Broadway actors and other celebrities, are expected to attend the telecast and give out the awards. However, the show will not be using a teleprompter to guide them or introduce the awards, sources say. Rather, presenters will only have cue cards with the list of nominees, which is all they’re expected to read at this time.
The WGA has also asked nominees who are part of the guild not to attend the awards show. Attendees and nominees are not expected to do interviews on the red carpet.
The preshow telecast, which will include the first round of Tony Awards, will air on Pluto TV from 6:30-8 p.m. ET and 3:30-5 p.m. PT, via the Pluto TV Celebrity Channel. The main telecast will air coast-to-coast on CBS and Paramount+ from 8-11 p.m. ET and 5-8 p.m. PT.
Hough, well-known for her Dancing With the Stars appearances, starred in the play POTUS on Broadway last season and Astin, a star of Pitch Perfect, originated the role of Georg in the musical Spring Awakening. Astin is also one of the stars of the CBS series So Help Me Todd. Hough hosted the preshow last year with Darren Criss.
The Tony Awards are scheduled to be held on June 11 at the United Palace theater in Washington Heights. The official afterparty, which has typically been held at the Plaza Hotel in midtown, is expected to be held near the United Palace theater.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
