4 days ago
What Time Does The 2025 Tony Awards Start? Everything To Know
Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of "Hamilton" perform onstage during the 70th Annual Tony Awards at ... More the Beacon Theatre on June 12, 2016, in New York City.
The 2025 Tony Awards will air Sunday, June 8, on CBS and livestream on Paramount+. Whether you love the thrill of live theater, the spectacle of a great musical number, or you simply want to see the original cast of Hamilton reunited, this is the awards show to watch. This year, Wicked superstar Cynthia Erivo will host the ceremony, which airs live from New York. There is a lot on the line, including Audra McDonald going for a record number of Tony victories. Here is everything you need to know about the ceremony, including the 78th annual Tony Awards start time.
The Tony Awards will start at 8 p.m. ET Sunday. The broadcast will kick off at 5 p.m. PT.
The program is supposed to run until 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. However, just like every awards show, the Tonys usually run over—it's hard to keep on a schedule that allots just a couple minutes for an acceptance speech (these are former theater kids).
The Tony Awards will air live on CBS and Paramount+. This will not include all 26 of the evening's awards, though—the ceremony actually starts about 80 minutes before the televised version, when the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League will hand out some of the behind-the-scenes awards, such as for design. If you want to watch that, tune in for that portion only via the free service Pluto TV.
Cynthia Erivo, who won a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for The Color Purple in 2016, will host the show. Erivo stars in the two-part blockbuster Wicked, whose second half will be released in November. She has also won a Grammy and a Daytime Emmy and received three Oscar nominations.
A major draw of the Tonys is watching the incredibly talented casts of the musicals up for awards showcase their talent. This year also brings a special performance—a reunion of the original cast of Hamilton to perform a number from the show celebrating its 10-year- anniversary.
Erivo will undoubtedly perform as well. Writers often pen a special number for the host to sing at the start or end of the program.
CBS has not said what time the highly anticipated Hamilton reunion will occur. It will undoubtedly be after the first half hour to hour—the network wants to give people a reason to keep watching, and there's a chance this performance will draw in people beyond the usual theater crowd, since Hamilton became such a mainstream hit.
Actress Audra McDonald is nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for her powerful turn as Mama Rose in Gypsy. It is her 11th Tony nomination—she has already won a record six, and if she earns the trophy again, she would reset her own mark.
Broadway buffs and Lin-Manuel Miranda fans alike should tune in at 8 p.m. on the dot Sunday for the 2025 Tony Awards, which promise to deliver great performances and the usual snubs and surprises.