Another opening, another show! The Tony Awards, which brings the best of the Broadway stage to television screens across America, are this Sunday night. What channel broadcasts the Tony Awards? You don't need a fancy cable subscription to catch this night of stars and song. The 2015 Tonys will air on CBS, as they have since 1978. The live broadcast from Radio City Music Hall in New York City begins at 8pm. Other awards ceremonies and live sporting events may float around from network to network, but CBS has the Tonys on lock.
The Tony Awards have always been my favorite awards show, and not just because I'm a giant Broadway enthusiast. Okay, geeking out over Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Audra McDonald doesn't hurt my love for the Antoinette Perry Awards. However, this is an awards show that manages to strike the balance between performance accolades that other awards shows have been trying to do for ages. It's just the nature of honoring live performance. You get to see all the nominees for Best Musical and Best Revival, and many of the individual acting and tech nominees by proxy, perform. In fact, the American Theater Wing promises more Tony performances this year than ever before. It makes the nominees accessible, which is an incredible feat considering how easy it is for the average person to see a movie or listen to a pop album versus how difficult it is to see a Broadway show.
You don't need a television to watch the awards, either. They Tony Awards are providing multiple ways to download and stream the ceremony. The red carpet will be livestreamed from the official Tony Awards website starting at 5:30 EST, and will be hosted by Darren Criss, Sierra Boggess, and Laura Osnes. The livestream's fan correspondent? None other than George Takei himself.
But don't waste all your energy on the Red Carpet. The actual Tony Awards will have awesome presenters, killer performances, and tons of moments to remember. I've long thought that Broadway nerds are underrated — we're a lot nuttier (in the best way) than most people give us credit for in the public eye. The theater community is an excellent example of that. The Tony Awards are not so much about paparazzi, thanking your agent, and who's wearing who. They are a group of passionate people honoring one another's excellence, truly.
Another exciting thing, for me anyway, is a slight change in the type of content getting recognition. You thought there were too many sequels in Hollywood? Let me talk to you about how many movie adaptations there are between Broadway and the West End. With show likeFun Home, The Visit, and Something Rotten, musicals are finding more creative and even original sources.
Other than tradition (tradition), I can't think of a lot of reasons why CBS hosts the Tony Awards every year. They aren't that fancy or high brow. I enjoy CBS as much as the rest of America, but this is by far the classiest thing they do all year. The many multi-cam sitcoms, like Big Bang Theory and Two Broke Girls, do use a studio audience and a set-up that resembles live theater, but that's probably a coincidence by now. Neil Patrick Harris and Jim Parsons may make an appearance, but that's more to do with their stage credits than an affiliation with the network. The Tony Awards just call CBS home. That's the way it's been for decades, and that's the way it'll be on Sunday night.
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