Ariana DeBose will be heading back to the Tony Awards…
The 32-year-old half-Puerto Rican Oscar-winning actress/singer will return as host of this year’s Tony Awards ceremony.
DeBose, who earned a Tony nomination for Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, hosted last year’s broadcast to general acclaim.
This year’s event, the 76th Annual Tony Awards, will air live from United Palace in New York City’s Washington Heights on Sunday, June 11, on CBS.
“I was honored to serve as host last year and even more so to be asked back,” DeBose said in a statement. “So looking forward to celebrating this incredible season and the people who make the work happen. Here’s to adding some uptown flavor to the magic of the Tony Awards.”
Heather Hitchens, President and CEO of the American Theatre Wing and Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League said in a joint statement that DeBose is a “force both on and off the stage,” and that the event presenters and producers are “thrilled to welcome back one of Broadway’s brightest lights to dazzle, inspire and illuminate this year’s Tony Awards.”
“Ariana will host and dance and sing, we’re so thrilled she’s back to do the thing,” said Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, Executive Producers, White Cherry Entertainment.
DeBose won an Oscar last year for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, and was Tony-nominated in 2018 for her role as “Disco Donna” in Broadway’s Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Other stage credits include Hamilton, A Bronx Tale, PippinandMotown the Musical, among others.
Notable television and film credits include the Apple TV+ series Schmigadoon!and the Netflix adaptation of the Broadway musical The Prom. She’ll next be seen in the feature films Kraven the Hunter, Wish, House of Spoils, ArgylleandI.S.S.
The 76th Tonys celebration will recognize Broadway productions of the 2022-2023 season. The Tony Awards eligibility cut-off date for the season is Thursday, April 27; nominations will be announced on Tuesday, May 2.
The 76th Annual Tony Awards will air live Sunday, June 11, at 8:00 pm ET/ 5:00 pm PT on CBS, and stream live and in-demand on Paramount+.
The 31-year-old half-Puerto Rican Oscar-winning actress will star in the Prime Video and Blumhouse Television psychological thriller House of Spoils, playing an ambitious chef who opens her first restaurant but has to contend with the powerful spirit of the estate’s previous owner who threatens to sabotage her at very turn.
Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy are directing off their script based on their original idea.
Cameras will roll in the fall.
The project reunites with Blumhouse with Amazon, which have made the collection of genre movies, Welcome to the Blumhouse, and the recently wrapped slasher horror-comedy film Totally Killer, directed by Nahnathcka Khan starring Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Julie Bowen, and Randall Park.
Prime will stream Blumhouse’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winnerNanny from first-time feature writer-director Nikyatu Jusu starting December 16.
DeBose took home an Oscar, BAFTA, Critics Choice and SAG Awards prize for her star-making role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. In winning her Oscar, she became the first openly queer Afro Latina to win an Academy Award.
She is also starring in Sony’s Kraven the Hunter, which will be released on January 13, and Matthew Vaughn’s action film Argyllefor Apple. She will also star in Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s space thriller I.S.S.
DeBose’s other credits include AppleTV+’s Schmigadoon! and Ryan Murphy’s Netflix adaptation of the hit-Broadway musical The Prom. She starred on Broadway as part of the original cast ofHamilton and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which earned her a 2018 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Said Chris McCumber, president of Blumhouse Television: “We’re excited to see Ariana’s fresh, bold and spirited energy that won her an Oscar in a role that is completely different. And with the gifted filmmaking team of Bridget and Danielle, the talent in front of and behind the camera is exceptional.”
The 31-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress, singer and Broadway star, who claimed her first Oscar in March for her performance in West Side Story, will host the 75th annual Tony Awards live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 12.
DeBose was nominated for a Tony four years ago for playing “Disco Donna” in the acclaimed musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. She received a nod for best featured actress in a musical.
“I’m coming home! I’m so honored to celebrate 75 years of excellence in theater, but more importantly every member of this community who poured themselves into making sure the lights of Broadway have the opportunity to shine brightly once again!” DeBose said in a statement. “This is a dream come true, and I’m excited to see you all on June 12.”
“We are thrilled to have Ariana DeBose, who has captivated audiences with her inspirational roles on stage and in film and television, host this year’s Tony Awards,” said Jack Sussman, executive vice president, specials, music, live event and alternative programming, CBS. “After the last challenging two years there is no one better to bring the theater community together on this important night honoring the best of Broadway, and share the joys of live performing once again than this extraordinarily talented artist.”
The Tonys will air live coast-to-coast for the first time. The show is set to air on Sunday, June 12, from 8 to 11 p.m. ET, and from 5 to 8 p.m. PT on CBS. It will also stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
The celebration will commence from 7 to 8 p.m. ET/4 to 5 p.m. PT, with exclusive content streaming only on Paramount+. Hosts and further information on the Paramount+ presentation will be announced at a later date.
Tony winner Adrienne Warren and Tony nominee Joshua Henry will host the 75th Annual Tony Awards nominations on Monday, May 9, at 9:00 am ET on the Tony Awards official YouTube page. The Tony Awards eligibility cutoff date has been extended for the 2021-22 season to Wednesday, May 4, for all Broadway productions which meet all other eligibility requirements.
DeBose has worked extensively in the theater. In 2015, she appeared alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda in the Tony-winning musical Hamilton as a member of the original cast in both the Broadway and off-Broadway productions, as well as the Emmy Award winning film version that was later released on Disney+.
After her departure from Hamilton in 2016, DeBose completed a run as Jane in the original Broadway cast of A Bronx Tale. Other theater credits include: Leading Player in the Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin, Mary Wilson in Motown the Musical, Nautica in Bring It On: The Musical and ensemble in Stephen Sondheim’s Company.
She recently had a breakout role in Schmigadoon!, and received critical acclaim for her performance in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix adaptation of the hit Broadway musical The Prom.
Next, DeBose will star in Sony Pictures’ Kraven the Hunter, Argylle from Apple, and the space thriller ISS.
A limited number of tickets to the 75th Annual Tony Awards will be made available. Tickets will be available at www.TonyAwards.com/tickets starting on Monday, May 9, at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT.
The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.
The 51-year-old Guatemalan American actor will be executive producing Scott Aharoni and Dennis Latos’ short film Leylak.
The short, shot during the pandemic, follows an immigrant gravedigger, a frontline worker, who buries his pain in order to shelter his daughter from an unspeakable loss but learns that the only way forward is together.
Leylak made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize, going on to garner top awards at international film festivals like Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, Port Townsend Film Festival, Leiden International Film Festival, Tacoma Film Festival, New York Shorts International Film Festival, and many more.
“Leylak’s setting couldn’t be more timely, but it’s the film’s piercing and honest look at loss, guilt, anguish, love and hope that make it timeless,” says Domingo. “With quiet intensity, Leylak is executed with such nuance in its portrayal of how unbearable circumstances can splinter people apart, but at the same time, bring them even stronger together.”
Domingo’s critically acclaimed film work includes If Beale Street Could Talk, Selma, Lincoln, Candyman, Without Remorse, Zola, and he was a Film Independent Spirit, NAACP, SAG and Critics Choice Award nominee for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He also won the Best Supporting Actor Imagen Award for HBO’s Euphoria.
As a writer, Domingo’s plays and musicals include the Tony Award nominated Broadway musicalSummer: The Donna Summer Musicaland Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole. The multi-hyphenate is currently shooting season 4 of his series, Bottomless Brunch at Colman‘s for AMC, and is developing various TV, film, theater and animation projects with his production company, Edith Productions. He is currently shooting a new film called, Rustin, where he has landed his title role and set to play gay rights activist Bayard Rustin, which is the first film production from Michelle and Barack Obama’s Higher Ground.
New York-based filmmakers Aharoni and Latos directed and co-produced Leylak. The short’s story was written and co-produced by Mustafa Kaymak, the award-winning writer and producer of Green, the winner of the 2019 short film U.S. Jury Award at Sundance Film Festival.
The 30-year-old half-Afro-Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer will be a guest on the season finale of Brian Stokes Mitchell’s on demand streaming talk show Crossovers Live!.
DeBose will appear along side fellow Broadway star Audra McDonald.
Portions of ticket sales for the live show will benefit The Actors Fund.
The season holiday finale episode is set for Monday, December 20 at 8:00 pm ET.
A Stellar Original presentation in association with Atomic FocusEntertainment, Crossovers Live! was created and will be directed by Tom Wiggin, and is designed to showcase performers who have made the jump from stage to film, television or music.
Since the monthly series debuted last June, Crossovers Live!, hosted by Mitchell, has featured such guests as Vanessa Williams, Daniel J. Watts, Marc Shaiman, Megan Hilty, Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth and David Hyde Pierce.
Blending candid interviews, rare footage and various surprises, the series is livestreamed in New York City and also available on demand. Ticket info is available here, with a minimum of 10% of net proceeds benefiting The Actors Fund.
DeBose made her television debut competing on So You Think You Can Dance and her Broadway debut in the musical Bring It On. Other Broadway credits have includedMotown: The Musical, the revival of Pippin, A Bronx Taleand as Donna Summer in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which earned her a Tony Award nomination.
On film and television, she appeared in the filmed version of Hamilton, Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of Broadway musical The Prom, and most recently in Apple TV’s Schmigadoon!.
She’ll soon be seen on the big screen as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film adaptation of West Side Story.
The 30-year-old half-Afro-Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer has joined the cast of Argylle, an action film from Apple Original Films and Matthew Vaughn’s Marv Studios.
The film is currently in production in Europe.
DeBose, a Tony Award nominee, joins a cast that includes Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, and Grammy winner Dua Lipa, who is making her big screen debut.
The film—setting up a new franchise for Vaughn—follows the world’s greatest spy, Argylle, as he is caught up in a globetrotting adventure, which takes him from America to London and beyond.
It’s based on Elly Conway’s upcoming spy novel of the same name, which is set for publication via Transworld Publishers Ltd, a division of Penguin Random House, next year.
Vaughn is directing Argylle from a script by Jason Fuchs. Dua Lipa will also pen the film’s original title track and score.
“We have assembled an absolutely stellar cast to inhabit each of the wonderfully original and captivating characters in this thrill ride of a story,” said Vaughn. “We’re so excited that production is now off and running, bringing us closer to sharing this epic action spectacle with audiences around the world.”
DeBose earned her Tony nomination in 2018 for her turn as Donna Summer in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. She also featured in the original cast of Hamilton, along with other Broadway titles including Bring It On: The Musicaland Pippin.
She will next be seen portraying Anita in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, and can currently be seen in Apple’s musical comedy series Schmigadoon!.
Ariana DeBose has landed an out of this world role…
The 30-year-old half-Afro-Puerto Rican actress/singer has been cast in ISS, the space thriller from LD Entertainment and director Gabriela Cowperthwaite.
DeBose joins previously announced stars Chris Messina and Pilou Asbaek, as well as John Gallagher Jr., Costa Ronin, and Masha Mashkova.
Nick Shafir wrote the screenplay, which was featured in the recent 2020 Black List. The plot follows six astronauts living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and the actions they take after receiving distressing information from Earth that threatens their missions and their lives.
DeBose will play Kira Foster, a promising biological engineer and the newest arrival of six astronauts aboard the ISS.
Production is set to begin this month in Wilmington, NC.,
DeBose was most recently seen in Ryan Murphy’s all-star Netflix musical, The Prom,
She also earned a Tony Award nomination in 2018 for her portrayal of Donna Summer in Summer: The Donna Summer Musicaland was part of the Off Broadway cast of Hamilton.
Up next, she can be seen in the role of Anita for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Storyremake.
The 50-year-old Guatemalan American actor, playwright and television/stage director has signed a first-look deal with AMC Studios, the studio behind Domingo’s zombie drama series Fear the Walking Dead.
Domingo made his debut as Victor Strand in a two-episode guest arc during the first season of Fear the Walking Dead, a spinoff from The Walking Dead.
He was made a series regular at the start of Season 2. He made his directorial debut on the show and has directed two episodes to date.
“From the moment AMC viewers first saw Colman Domingo as the mysterious and dynamic Victor Strand in season one of Fear The Walking Dead,they haven’t been able to look away, and neither have we,” said Sarah Barnett, President of AMC Networks Entertainment Group & AMC Studios. “He has become a core character of the series and, as anyone who knows him knows, his talents go far beyond that one character in that one show. He is a writer, producer and performer who can move effortlessly between film, television and the stage and we are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with this extraordinary talent and individual through this first-look deal with AMC Studios.”
Domingo is currently in production on the upcoming sixth season of Fear the Walking Dead and stars in A24’s Zola, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He’s also had a recurring role on HBO’s Euphoria and will be seen in Jordan Peele’s spiritual sequel to the 1992 gothic horror film CandyMan, as well as opposite Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman in the Netflix film adaption of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,produced by Denzel Washington.
Domingo, 20-year veteran theater director, co-wrote the book for the Broadway musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and for the Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole musical.
At AMC, he developed a series based on his play Dottwo years ago.
Domingo’s film acting credits also include Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, Selma, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, First Match, and Spike Lee’s Miracle At St. Ana, Red Hook Summerand Passing Strange.
The 17-year-old Colombian American actress/singer,New Jersey High School studentand Hollywood newcomer has landed the lead role of Maria in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.
Zegler, who beat out more than 30,000 people from around the world, will make her film debut opposite Ansel Elgortas Tony.
Rounding out the principal Shark roles are Broadway veterans Ariana DeBose as Anita and David Alvarezas Bernardo. Theater performer Josh Andrés Rivera has been cast as Chino.
Spielberg and his team were committed to finding the best actors within the Puerto Rican as well as the broader Latinxcommunity. The team has been conducting research and having conversations with Hispanic heritage and advocacy groups. In December 2018, Spielberg and Tony Kushner, who is adapting West Side Story, sat with professors and students at the University of Puerto Rico(Universidad de Puerto Rico – Río Piedras) to learn more about performing arts on the island. The production team maintains a dialogue with the University and Puerto Rican filmmakers there.
The new castmembers join Rita Moreno, who won an Oscarfor her portrayal of Anita in the 1961 movie, who will play Valentina, a reconceived and expanded version of the character of Doc, the owner of the corner store in which Tony works. Moreno also serves as executive producer.
“When we began this process a year ago, we announced that we would cast the roles of Maria, Anita, Bernardo, Chino and the Sharks with Latina and Latino actors. I’m so happy that we’ve assembled a cast that reflects the astonishing depth of talent in America’s multifaceted Hispanic community,” said Spielberg. “I am in awe of the sheer force of the talent of these young performers, and I believe they’ll bring a new and electrifying energy to a magnificent musical that’s more relevant than ever.”
“I simply cannot wait to get on set to work with this group of young actors,” said Moreno. “What an ensemble, and I look forward to passing the baton to this next generation of Sharks!”
Zegler saw the notice on Twitterback in January 2018 for Latinx actors and submitted a video of herself singing “Tonight” and “Me Siento Hermosa” (“I Feel Pretty”).
“I am so thrilled to be playing the iconic role of Maria alongside this amazing cast,” said Zegler. “West Side Story was the first musical I encountered with a Latina lead character. As a Colombian-American, I am humbled by the opportunity to play a role that means so much to the Hispanic community.”
DeBose, who was nominated for a Tony Award in 2018 for her portrayal of Donna Summerin Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, will play Anita, the role made famous on film by Moreno. DeBose’s other Broadway credits include the original cast of Hamilton, A Bronx Tale: The Musical, Pippin, Motown: The Musical and Bring It On: The Musical. Her screen debut came in 2009 as a competitor on So You Think You Can Dance.
“I’m honored to follow in the footsteps of the remarkable women who have played Anita – including Chita Rivera and, of course, the incomparable Rita Moreno,” said DeBose. “I relate so strongly to Anita – a strong Puerto Rican woman who came to New York in search of opportunity – and I feel so fortunate for the chance to work with this amazing cast and creative team.”
Alvarez, who won a Tony in 2009 for originating the title role in Billy Elliot: The Musical, will play Bernardo, Maria’s brother and the leader of the Sharks. Following his appearance in Billy Elliot, Alvarez served in the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division, before returning to Broadway in 2014 to join the company of On the Town.
“My parents emigrated from Cuba with no connections, knowing no English, driven only by the hope of a better life. I know how challenging the decision was for them, and I see a lot of that internal conflict in Bernardo,” said Alvarez. “I have dreamt of playing this part since I first saw the original film, and I am so grateful for the chance to bring my own perspective and journey to this role – as an artist, a Veteran and a Latino – and to work with this incredible cast to breathe new life into these characters’ experiences.”
Rivera – an actor, singer and dancer who most recently appeared in the first national tour of Hamilton – will play the role of Chino.
“West Side Story is the dream for any performer, and to tackle it with this creative team is truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” said Rivera. “I feel very fortunate to be able to portray the Nuyorican experience alongside these amazingly talented actors. I’m confident Puerto Ricans on and off the island will see ourselves reflected in this project.”
West Side Story will be produced and directed by Spielberg from a script by Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner. The film will be adapted for the screen from the original 1957 Broadway musical, which was written by Arthur Laurentswith music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and concept, direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins. Also leading the production are Tony Award-winning producer Kevin McCollumand Academy Award-nominated producer Kristie Macosko Krieger.
West Side Story will be released by Twentieth Century Fox. Filming is slated to start in the summer of 2019.
Additional casting announcements will be made in the coming weeks, specifically in regards to The Sharksand The Jets.
DeBose, who earned a Tony nomination for Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, hosted last year’s broadcast to general acclaim.
