The American Theatre Wing's 65th Annual Tony Awards will air on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, June 12, 2011 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT), live from the Beacon Theatre in New York City. The awards show, which honors theater professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway, has been broadcast on CBS since 1978. This will be the first year that the show will be broadcast live from The Beacon Theatre, which is part of the Madison Square Garden portfolio of venues. The theatre holds 2,894 seats, which is 3,000 seats less than its previous home of Radio City Music Hall.
The official eligibility cut-off date will be Thursday, April 28, 2011, for all Broadway productions opening in the 2010-2011 season. Productions which meet all other eligibility requirements and open on or before the eligibility date are considered eligible for 2011 Tony Award nominations. The Tony Awards are presented by the
American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League.
"We're excited to bring the Tony Awards to the Beacon Theatre. We very much look forward to taking this amazing evening honoring the very best in theatre, and presenting it to America and the world, from a new venue - completely invigorated with a fresh feel, new set and a clean palette to create from," said Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner of White Cherry Entertainment, executive producers for the telecast. "In a year that is already shaping up to have some great nominations and television moments to remember, we anticipate this year's Tonys to be a very exciting evening, which we are thrilled to stage at the Beacon Theatre."
"What do the Rolling Stones, the Dalai Lama and Madame Butterfly all have in common? They all played The Beacon," said Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President, Specials, Music and Live Events, CBS Entertainment. "We're proud to now be adding the Tony Awards on CBS to that iconic list and bring one of the great annual events of theater and TV to one of the truly great historical landmarks of NYC."
The June 2009 broadcast of the 63rd Annual Tony Awards was recently honored with 2 Primetime Emmy Awards, in the categories of Outstanding Special Class Programs and Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special.
For more information on the Tony Awards, please log onto www.TonyAwards.com or on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/TheTonyAwards) and on Twitter @TheTonyAwards.
