Tony Awards back on TV
May 17, 2023
By Chris Forrester
The upcoming 2023 Tony Awards will now be televised on June 11th. Previous announcements said the telecast would be cancelled because of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike.
The WGA has confirmed it will not now picket the Awards. The news comes after the Broadway League and American Theatre Wing, which jointly present the Tonys, agreed to alter this year’s show “to conform with specific requests from the WGA,” according to a statement released by the WGA.
The Tony Awards Management Committee held an emergency meeting on May 15th to discuss its next steps for what is their best marketing and promotional showcase for Broadway’s theatrical output.
“As they have stood by us, we stand with our fellow workers on Broadway who are impacted by our strike,” the WGA added in its statement.
Reports suggest that the broadcast, on CBS and Paramount+, would now go ahead but without scripted material in its opening segment or during the show, and would focus on song and dance and theatrical excerpts.
Prominent theatre stars and chorus members are strongly allied with the writers union but also spoke up on behalf of the Tonys, arguing that forcing the show off the air would be devastating to their own jobs on Broadway and to the many workers involved in the productions.