All eyes are on the Tony Awards this year, thanks in part to a certain little musical about Alexander Hamilton that transferred from off-Broadway last summer. For the uninitiated, here's a short list of other celebrated things and people you can expect to see during the ceremony, which will air live Sunday on CBS (8 p.m. ET/delayed PT).
Yes, the stars of Hamilton will be there, performing live.
As is standard for a nominated musical, the smash hit will be represented by a live performance featuring its cast — including nominees Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Daveed Diggs and Christopher Jackson. So if you haven't scored a ticket yet, or missed their number at the Grammys earlier this year, here's your chance to catch at least a glimpse of the magic.
So will stars of other shows, joined by at least a couple of pop names.
The casts of best-musical contenders Shuffle Along, School of Rock, Bright Star and Waitress and nominated revivals of Spring Awakening, She Loves Me, Fiddler on the Roof and The Color Purple will also perform — with singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles, who composed the score of Waitress, joining that musical's nominated leading actress, Jessie Mueller, and her castmates. Gloria Estefan is set to join the company of On Your Feet, the jukebox musical tracing her rise with husband/collaborator Emilio Estefan.
Barbra!
La Streisand — a Broadway baby herself, having wowed audiences back in the '60s in I Can Get It For You Wholesale and Funny Girl — will grace the Tonys stage for the first time since 1970, as a presenter. (Fans can hear the diva sing later this year, as she's due to release a third album of assorted show tunes, and launch a tour in August.)
There'll be grandes dames galore...
Streisand won't be the only iconic woman in the house, by a long shot. Living legends from Carole King to Angela Lansbury are scheduled to appear, along with other stars we know on a first-name basis: Oprah, Audra, Saiorse, Uzo, Claire, Cate. (Blanchett, a stage veteran who's earned kudos off-Broadway, is finally making her Broadway debut next year, in The Present.)
...and James Corden — and Neil Patrick Harris, and...
Harris, the perfect Tonys host on a number of occasions, will be among the presenters, who include such similarly reliable and versatile talents as Steve Martin (nominated as librettist and co-composer of Bright Star) and Nathan Lane. As for Corden, this year's master of ceremonies, anyone who caught his last Broadway gig, in 2012's hilarious British import One Man, Two Guvnors, knows he'll be completely in his element. (The show earned Corden his own Tony, in fact.)
