The 2014 Tony Awards telecast is shaping up to be an extravaganza of Broadway star power. With Hugh Jackman hosting for the fourth time, the June 8 telecast from New York's Radio City Music Hall will include performances by Tony nominee Neil Patrick Harris and the cast of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Alan Cumming as the Emcee in Cabaret, Idina Menzel with a song from the new musical If/Then, and Sting previewing a song from his upcoming musical The Last Ship.
The lineup, loaded with music, also features performances from Aladdin, Rocky, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, not to mention the revival of Les Misérables. Sutton Foster and the cast of Violet will perform and Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Fantasia Barrino will join forces on a song from After Midnight. The cast of Wicked will celebrate that show's 10th anniversary on Broadway with a special performance, too. Will Idina Menzel get misty-eyed with nostalgia? Maybe, maybe not; either way, it's highly unlikely anyone will mispronounce her name.
The presenters will include big names from Hollywood like Clint Eastwood, Kevin Bacon, Vera Farmiga, Liev Schreiber, Will Ferrell, Anna Gunn, Lucy Liu, Leighton Meester, Zachary Quinto and Emmy Rossum. Nominee Audra McDonald will be on hand. So will Carole King and Gloria Estefan, both of whose careers have inspired current and upcoming shows.
As of this writing, there's been no word on whether Tupac Shakur will appear in hologram form to preview Holler If Ya Hear Me, the upcoming musical inspired by his lyrics.
