The 74th Annual Tony Awards will be presented on Sunday, September 26 more than 15 months after they were previously scheduled. But these pandemic Tonys are by no means business as usual.

Transcript

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

There's a sigh of relief on Broadway. Shows are reopening. Bars and restaurants in Times Square are filling up. And tonight, more than 15 months after they were originally scheduled, the 74th Annual Tony Awards are being presented. Tony winners Leslie Odom Jr. and Audra McDonald host, with appearances from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chita Rivera and Kristin Chenoweth, among others. But these pandemic Tonys are by no means business as usual, as Jeff Lunden reports.

JEFF LUNDEN, BYLINE: Veteran Broadway producer Manny Azenberg has nine Tony awards on his shelf, including one for lifetime achievement. He supports holding the awards this year, but...

MANNY AZENBERG: It's a strange time because of COVID. It is incorrect to put the old values on these Tonys or in this season or even in the next season.

LUNDEN: When Broadway shut down in March of 2020, 20 shows had opened, with 16 more to come. But after it became clear Broadway would remain dark, the Tony nominating committee decided to go ahead with what they had. That means some of the winners tonight will last have been seen two years ago, says Manny Azenberg.

AZENBERG: It's not so contemporary. And it's somewhat after the fact. On the other hand, the kids that are nominated - and there are a lot of kids nominated - it's the highlight of their time.

LUNDEN: It's a weird year. The biggest award at the Tonys is always for best musical. But this year, none of the three nominated shows has an original score. There's "Jagged Little Pill," which uses Alanis Morissette songs...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU OUGHTA KNOW")

ALANIS MORISSETTE: (Singing) You, you, you oughta know.

LUNDEN: ...And "Tina," a biographical musical about Tina Turner...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROUD MARY")

ADRIENNE WARREN: (Singing) We're rolling, rolling, rolling on the river.

LUNDEN: ...And "Moulin Rouge," based on the Baz Luhrmann film, with more than 70 songs.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LADY MARMALADE")

JACQUELINE B ARNOLD, ROBYN HURDER, HOLLY JAMES, JEIGH MADJUS: (Singing) Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?

HELEN SHAW: We've all known the songs from those three musicals for the last 20 years.

LUNDEN: New York magazine's theater critic Helen Shaw was looking forward to shows with new music.

SHAW: Yeah, I mean, it's weird.

LUNDEN: Normally, best score goes to musicals like "Hamilton" or "Hadestown." This year, the nominees all wrote or adapted background music for plays, like "A Christmas Carol."

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LUNDEN: But perhaps the strangest category this year is best actor in a musical.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOUR SONG")

AARON TVEIT: (Singing) I hope you don't mind. I hope you don't mind that I put down in words...

I didn't know if the whole category was going to be cancelled, right?

LUNDEN: Aaron Tveit, star of "Moulin Rouge," is the only nominee.

TVEIT: You know, there's never been a situation where there's only one nominee in an acting category before, I'm pretty sure. And (laughter) you just kind of laugh and shake your head at the thing. But I just really - I've only taken it as a recognition of my work and our show's work.

LUNDEN: "Moulin Rouge" restarted performances on Friday. And tonight, Tveit and the cast will be performing on the Tonys. Critic and Tony voter Helen Shaw says the recognition that comes from nominations and winning has real-world impact.

SHAW: These are not laurels that are being handed down from Olympus here. This is an industry award given by members of the industry to other members of the industry. And the point of awards is obviously to celebrate. But it has a material impact on, like, their contractual asks in the future.

LUNDEN: And more important, it's an advertisement for Broadway. Emmy Award winner Ricky Kirshner is producing the split ceremony - two hours on Paramount+, where most of the awards will be handed out, and a two-hour concert on CBS, where best musical play and revival will be announced.

RICKY KIRSHNER: So we've got a little bit of everything and the three nominated musicals, which - we'll do full-on production numbers so you can see what their shows look like for real.

LUNDEN: He also thinks the show will be even more emotional than usual.

KIRSHNER: I think there'll be moments over the four hours on Sunday where someone will walk out who hasn't been in front of an audience in 18 months and just be, like, overwhelmed emotionally - because you realize, these people, it is - that's their life - live entertainment - and they've been without it.

LUNDEN: And so have we - for NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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