Tony Awards postponed

NEW YORK • Broadway's biggest night will have to wait.

Amid a total shutdown of Broadway theatres in response to the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the 74th annual Tony Awards ceremony, scheduled for June 7, has been postponed until an undecided date.

Earlier this month, the theatre industry announced that Broadway venues would go dark through April 12 and, as the pandemic shows no sign of slowing down, that date is expected to be pushed back to May or June.

Tony Award Productions, the company that puts on the awards show, said on Wednesday the new date for the Tonys would be announced when Broadway reopens its doors.

The production company is a joint operation of the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing; the awards ceremony is regularly aired on CBS, and while not a ratings bonanza, it has proven a reliable draw in a fractured media landscape.

The suspension of plays and musicals came at a time when Broadway is usually packed with openings to meet the eligibility deadline for awards. Between March 12, the night that Broadway shut down, and April 23, Broadway had 16 openings scheduled, including Six, Mrs Doubtfire and Take Me Out.

It has already been a devastating few weeks for those working in the theatre industry. The coronavirus has cost thousands of people their jobs and has already led producers to close two plays, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and Hangmen, before they even opened.

Broadway producers have agreed to pay hundreds of actors, musicians, stagehands and other employees for the first few weeks of the industry shutdown.

It is unclear how eligibility rules for the Tony Awards will change in response to the postponement.

"We are looking forward to celebrating Broadway and our industry when it is safe to do so," the company said in a statement.

NYTIMES