Tony nominee and Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose appeared on the June 8 broadcast of CBS Mornings to talk about hosting the The 75th Annual Tony Awards. She addressed her plans for the ceremony, representation on stage and screen, and her career journey.
"Trust me, I promise you this. I have many things up my sleeve," said the Hamilton actor when asked about celebrating understudies and swings at the ceremony. "It is from a real, genuine place because the reality is those are the folks who have kept Broadway alive and it is not just swings and understudies. It is also dance captains, associates, stage managers. Everyone in the pit."
DeBose continued, "There have been several accounts of musicians who have had to call out last minute and someone who is literally down the street shows up with their instrument and plays a score they've never seen before, helping us save the show and keep the show going. So, those are the folks that we are focused on shining a very genuine, bright light on because the show must go on, but we can not do it without every single person." Watch her full interview above.
The ceremony will broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in a four-hour television and streaming event June 12 beginning at 7 PM ET. Nominations for the honors were announced May 9 by Tony winner Adrienne Warren and Tony nominee Joshua Henry. See the full list of nominees here.
DeBose received Academy, BAFTA, Critics Choice, and SAG Awards for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of West Side Story. The performer's stage credits include Bring It On: The Musical, Motown The Musical, Pippin, Hamilton, A Bronx Tale The Musical, and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. DeBose was Tony-nominated for her performance in Summer and won a Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway show.
DeBose also starred in the Netflix film version of Broadway's The Prom and Apple TV+'s golden age musical theatre satire Schmigadoon! She has upcoming appearances in Westward season four, Sony Pictures' Kraven the Hunter, Apple's Argylle, and the space thriller ISS.
Following last year's two-part broadcast shared by CBS and Paramount+, the 2022 Tony Awards will include an hour of exclusive programming streaming on Paramount+ June 12 from 7 PM ET, followed by the three-hour awards ceremony airing live on CBS and streaming simultaneously on Paramount+ (for premium-level subscribers only) from 8 PM ET, making this year's ceremony the first in Tony Awards history to be available live nationwide. The broadcast will also be available to stream on demand on Paramount+ for all membership tiers following the live stream. Oscar winner Ariana DeBose will host the awards ceremony, with the initial hour set to be hosted by POTUS' Julianne Hough and American Buffalo's Darren Criss.
