It’s that time of year again; time to celebrate the best of theater with the highlight of the spring being the Tony Awards. Ahead of this year’s ceremony set to air on CBS on June 10, 2018, the big news is who will be hosting the awards show. This year, a duo of pop music performers who have touched Broadway with their talents will be in the spotlight: Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban will co-host the 72nd Annual Tony Awards.
Bareilles is best-known for her work on the Broadway hit musical Waitress, for which she composed the Tony-nominated score and appeared in the piece as Jenna. Groban made his Broadway debut last-season in Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor. Both are well-known for their successful careers in the pop music industry.
“The Theatre has completely transformed my life in every way possible. I have never felt more embraced and encouraged by a professional community, and I am so grateful for that,” said Bareilles. “I feel incredibly lucky to get to spend an evening celebrating and applauding this outstanding collective of artists, friends, collaborators, and creatives. It is my great honor to join my friend Josh Groban in hosting the Tonys this year, and use the opportunity to simply say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to this wonderful community, … in high heels, with jokes”
“I am humbled and ecstatic to be co-hosting the Tony Awards this year with such a brilliant artist and wonderful friend, Sara Bareilles. The dedication and inspiration surrounding live theatre gave me my life path as a young kid and the warmth and support of the Broadway community has been the highlight of my career,” said Josh Groban. “So to be at the helm of a night celebrating the best of that theatre with a person I just laugh way too much with, is beyond words. But I will have words on Tony night! The best words! I look forward to flailing about in front of my peers. It will be with all the love and respect in the world for the room we’re lucky enough to be in.”
The 72nd Annual Tony Awards will air live from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on June 10th. This will be both Bareilles and Groban’s first time hosting the Tony Awards. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and The American Theatre Wing.
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals and maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.