The Tony Awards will pay tribute to the 30th anniversary of Broadway‘s Chicago with special performances by stars associated with the musical including Queen Latifah, Julianne Hough, Whitney Leavitt, Alex Newell and Dylan Mulvaney.
They’ll join Tony host Pink for the tribute, along with other performers including Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Adrienne Warren.
The 79th Annual Tony Awards airs on CBS this Sunday, June 7, live from Radio City Music Hall.
Queen Latifah played Matron “Mama” Morton in the Oscar-winning 2002 Chicago film adaptation, while Hough danced the “Hot Honey Rag” with 2023 Tonys host Ariana DeBose. Leavitt, star of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and Mulvaney recently completed stints in the Broadway revival, and Newell has played “Mama” Morton in the show.
With a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago is now the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Ann Reinking, this production was the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival. The musical is set in the 1920s and tells the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines.
The Tony Awards recently announced another special tribute performance scheduled for Sunday to feature the entire original cast of The Book of Mormon, including Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley and Nikki M. James. The performance will be introduced by the musical’s creators Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez.
In addition to the anniversary celebrations, the awards ceremony will feature performances from all nominated musicals. Additional performances will be announced this week.
The 79th Annual Tony Awards will broadcast live to both coasts on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ (8–11 p.m. ET/5-8 p.m. PT). Prior to the broadcast, Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess will host The Tony Awards: Act One live pre-show on Pluto TV beginning at 6:35 p.m. ET/3:35 p.m. PT.
