Film and stage star Ariana DeBose to host the Tony Awards

By MARK KENNEDY
AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — New Academy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Ariana DeBose will host this year’s Tony Awards. The “West Side Story” star will lead the presentation June 12 at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall live on CBS starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. An hour-long pre-show will stream on Paramount+. DeBose is a theater veteran, with roles in “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” “Hamilton,” “A Bronx Tale,” “Pippin,” “Motown the Musical,” “Bring It On: The Musical” and “Company.” The ceremony will he held nine months after “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” took the best new musical crown at the last Tony Awards,