Ariana DeBose Reveals an Unrehearsed Moment From Her Tonys Opening: 'I Did That For Broadway'

During the 2023 unscripted Tony Awards, Ariana DeBose says she decided to go even more off-script during her opening number.

Since the Tony Awards were scheduled to air right as the WGA strike was beginning, the Writers Guild granted the awards ceremony with a waiver to let the show go on. This, however, meant that DeBose had to do more of an untraditional opening number.

"[That opening number] was born of the moment we were in. So I play to my strengths when I'm in a tight spot and I was like, 'Cool, we're gonna do a dance overture and we're gonna celebrate music and we're gonna celebrate movement," DeBose shared.

During the number, DeBose was so pumped up that she decided to fully jump down the stairs for an unrehearsed bit, hoping that her West Side Story co-star Julius Anthony Rubio would be there to catch her.

"I had so much adrenaline in my body, I just said, 'Boom,'" she shared. "So to be perfectly frank, that moment is kind of like TV magic because I wasn't supposed to do that."

DeBose also discussed starring in Disney's new animated movie musical, Wish. In theaters next Friday, the film follows Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star.

Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe—the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico—to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.

Joining DeBose as Asha is Chris Pine as Magnifico, and Alan Tudyk as Asha’s favorite goat, Valentino.

Watch Ariana DeBose reflect on hosting the Tony Award and Saturday Night Live here:

Watch DeBose discuss starring in Wish here:

Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC