SubscribeSneak peek: What you'll see on the Tony Awards telecast this Sunday
Fourteen years ago, Whoopi Goldberg gave voice to a cackling hyena in Disney's film version of "The Lion King." This coming Sunday, as host of the 62nd annual Tony Awards, Whoopi will welcome the cast of the Broadway show to the stage of Radio City Music Hall. The tuner take on the hit movie swept the Tony Awards back in 1998 and the players will open the awardscast with their stirring rendition of "Circle of Life."
Unlike previous Tonycasts, which featured only nominated musicals, this one is slated to include performances from snubbed shows like "The Little Mermaid." The star of that, Sierra Boggess, will perform "Part of Your World." Allotting a few minutes of precious CBS airtime to a show that got only two Tony noms is sure to raise eyebrows along the rialto.
The four best musical nominees will all be showcased. As per Playbill.com, the cast of "In the Heights," which leads with 13 nods, will perform "96,000," a song about, of all things,
winning -– in this case the lottery. "Passing Strange" will spotlight four-time nominee Stew with "Keys." The choice of song for longshot nominee "Cry-Baby" is appropriate — "A Little Upset" — while the cast of "Xandau" will perform "Don’t Walk Away."
All four nominated musical revivals will also take to the stage. Expect show-stopping numbers from "Grease," "Gypsy," "South Pacific," and "Sunday in the Park With George." The last two of those tuners won the Pulitzer prize for drama for their original runs, in 1950 and 1985, respectively. On Sunday, the most recent musical to win the Pulitzer, "Rent," will also be showcased with the original 1996 cast joining the current one in song.
Here's a partial list of presenters: Alec Baldwin, Christine Baranski, Sierra Boggess, Gabriel Byrne, Julie Chen, Kristin Chenoweth, Glenn Close, Harry Connick Jr., Taye Diggs, Adam Duritz, Gina Gershon, Richard Griffiths, Laura Linney, John Lithgow, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Liza Minnelli, Adam Pascal, Mary-Louise Parker, Mandy Patinkin, David Hyde Pierce, Daniel Radcliffe, Anthony Rapp, Brooke Shields, Marisa Tomei, Lily Tomlin, Daphne Rubin-Vega, John Waters, Bradley Whitford.
(Photos: New Amsterdam / Lunt-Fontanne)
