
Despite countless acceptance monologues, the 76th Annual Tony Awards left its presenters speechless.
The 2023 Tony Awards aired live on CBS and Paramount+ Sunday night from New York’s United Palace Theater, with Oscar-winning actress and host Ariana DeBose kicking off the show without words. Hosting the “unhinged” Tony Awards show for the second time, DeBose performed a wordless opener with music and dancing.
Flipping through a blank binder labeled “script,” DeBose danced from her dressing room through the United Palace Theater and ended the opening number by saying, “Happy Puerto Rican Day.” While attendees could surmise what DeBose was hinting at with the blank pages and pantomimed moves in the opening performance, the West Side Story actress quickly revealed the purpose behind the unorthodox opening.
The Writers Struck a Deal
In a post on Twitter by The Hollywood Reporter (@THR), DeBose let the Tony crowd in on the unscripted secret. Starting by addressing the blank script pages, DesBose said:
Our siblings in the WGA are currently on strike in pursuit of a fair deal. How many of us know what that is?
Ariana DeBose addresses the #WritersStrike during her "live and unscripted" opening monologue at the #TonyAwards pic.twitter.com/PQkS029ya2
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 12, 2023
While crediting members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for writing awards show scripts in the past, DeBose continued:
A whole host of people had to come together to find a compromise, and we are all here offering a full-throated THANK YOU to those who came together for the compromise.
Delivering the punch line of the evening, DeBose uttered:
We don’t have a script, you guys. To anyone who thought last year was a bit unhinged—to them, I say, ‘Darlings, buckle up!
The entertaining charade continued through the night with bits where DeBose searched for handwritten notes on her arm without a script to pull from. Behind the scenes, the WGA struck a deal for this year’s Tony Awards.
The WGA writers wouldn’t picket the ceremony if the show opted to run without a script for the telecasted event. Since May 2, two labor unions representing over 11,000 film, television, news, radio, and online writers comprising the WGA went on strike. The writers have been demanding higher pay and a stable pay structure with contract amendments in what has been the largest labor disruption since COVID-19.
With this Tony Awards arrangement, picketing was out, but some Dramatists Guild members were in—urging playwrights, composers, and lyricists to speak up for the striking writers. While nominees supported WGA in speeches throughout the night, DeBose drove the message home with a host of aptly-timed quips.
While an unscripted DeBose entertained the audience as she danced with the likes of Julianne Hough during the Tony Awards show, she’ll be making more appearances on the Disney side of the entertainment world when she stars as Asha in Disney’s brand-new film Wish, set to hit theaters November 22, 2023.