Broadway star Ariana DeBose will host this year's Tony Awards following her historic Oscars win, CNN reports.
DeBose said in a statement on Wednesday (May 4), "I'm coming home! I'm so honored to celebrate 75 years of excellence in theater, but more importantly every member of this community who poured themselves into making sure the lights of Broadway have the opportunity to shine brightly once again!"
The 2022 Tony Awards will honor this year's best musicals and plays. DeBose is a former Tony nominee herself, has several Broadway credits to her name, and recently won an Oscar for her role in the West Side Story remake.
This year's Tony nominees are scheduled to be announced next week — musicals like A Strange Loop and Six are reportedly expected to be on the nominee list.
Before her Oscars win, DeBose was a Broadway mainstay featured in Hamilton, A Bronx Tale, and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which earned her a Tony nomination. Debose also played in The Prom with the likes of Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman.
According to CNN, the Oscar winner was also the first LGBTQIA woman of color to snag an award from the Academy.
Debose will follow in the footsteps of last year's hosts and Tony winners Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. The 2021 Tony Awards happened two years after the previous ceremony due to COVID-19.
Broadway is now back in full swing after going dark between March 2020 and September 2021 because of the pandemic.
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