Singer-songwriter P!nk is stepping into new role this year as host of the 79th Annual Tony Awards, which honors the best of Broadway.
Announcing the news with humor on Instagram, P!nk wrote alongside a clip of herself dressed in 1920s attire attempting to sneak a toe onto the stage during a performance of The Great Gatsby: “When I was asked to host @thetonyawards, my first question was — don’t you need to have been on Broadway for this? So I went ahead and fixed that. Kind of. And now I’m hosting the Tony Awards!! The Broadway community is the hardest working in showbiz. They show up every single night, sometimes twice, and make absolute magic. I cannot wait to celebrate them all with you on Sunday June 7th on CBS.”
Following recent hosts Cynthia Erivo and Ariana DeBose, P!nk brings a different background to the role, as she has never performed on Broadway. Still, she has long admired the theater world and says it has influenced her own live performances. “It is the honor of an entire lifetime to host a night celebrating the literal hardest working people in showbiz,” she said. “Broadway has shaped my life and how I put my own shows together – it is a community that is supportive, and inclusive, and full of talent and love. These people give magic every single day, and I cannot wait to celebrate them with the entire world.”
P!nk has even relocated her family to New York, partly to support her daughter Willow’s growing interest in theater and a possible Broadway future. She shares: “When I was asked to host the Tonys, I immediately thought, ‘I have to get permission from my daughter.’ I’ve never been on Broadway, and shouldn’t you have to have been on Broadway in order to host? That seems fair and right. But when I asked my daughter, she was really excited about being able to have a ticket to go to the Tonys, so I’m hosting the Tonys and I’m really, really excited.”
Tony organizers Heather Hitchens and Jason Laks said in a statement: “Each year, the Tony Awards creates new theater fans around the world, expanding Broadway’s reach and shaping its future. Over the course of her extraordinary career, Pink has built one of the most passionate and enduring fan communities in the history of popular music, given her a unique ability to bring even more people into this growing family. Simply put: we could not be more excited to get this party started.”
The Tony Awards ceremony will take place June 7 at Radio City Music Hall, airing live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and streaming on Paramount+. Nominations are set to be announced on May 5.
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