This year’s Tony Awards telecast will not air on the originally scheduled air date after the Writers Guild of America reportedly refused a “strike waiver” by a Tonys committee to air the show on the day because the writers’ strike is still ongoing. multiple outlets confirmed.
The 2023 ceremony, which aired June 11 at New York’s United Place, was set to return last year’s host Ariana DeBose to host the ceremony.
Both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety noted that the committee will meet Monday to make a decision on how to proceed after the union’s rejected application.
HuffPost reached out to the Tonys for comment.
The rejected motion comes as some 11,500 WGA members and supporters have been on strike in Hollywood since earlier this month for higher wages. (HuffPost’s unionized employees are also members of the WGAE.)
The Tony Awards ceremony has steered away from its typical June airdate in recent years. Most recently, the 2020 awards ceremony was canceled before the 2021 show aired in September, and over three decades ago in 1992 it aired once on May 31.
The Tonys announced this year’s nominees on the day the Writers’ Guild went on strike on May 2nd.
“Some Like It Hot” received 13 nominations – the most nominations this year – including a nomination for Best Original Musical.
Other Tony-nominated productions include & Juliet, Shucked, Kimberly Akimbo and A Doll’s House, starring Jessica Chastain.
The strike also impacted other awards shows this year, causing MTV Movie & TV Awards host Drew Barrymore to abandon her appearance as presenter before the live show was finally canceled at the station last weekend.
Barrymore said in a statement she listened to and respected the writers on strike.
“Everything we celebrate and appreciate about films and television came out of their creation,” she said.
“And until a solution is found I choose to wait but I will be watching from home and I hope you will join me.”