Tony Awards Have Canadian Connection; Watch Nominations Live Tomorrow on BWW

Fans of theatre will want to wake up early tomorrow morning to catch the nominations announcement for the 2013 Tony Awards. Jesse Tyler Fergeson (Modern Family, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) and two time Tony Winner Sutton Foster (Bunheads, Shrek the Musical, Young Frankenstein, Thoroughly Modern Millie) will announce the nominees at 8:30 AM EST.

Foster and Fergeson will reveal the nominations in each of the 26 competitive categories. Productions that are eligible for a nomination opened in a Broadway theatre in the 2012-2013 season before the April 25 cut off date.

A livestream of the event will be shown on BroadwayWorld. This year Toronto has a connection to the Tonys, as two of the musicals eligible for nominations had out of town tryouts here.

Jekyll and Hyde, a musical based on the classic tale of a man with two faces is the first show with a Toronto connection. The production played here in November, to very mixed reviews with praise for the performances of Constantine Maroulis and Canadian born singer Deborah Cox.

The production is eligible for nominations in multiple categories, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Maroulis, Leading Actress in a Musical for Cox, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Teal Wicks.

Bring it On, a musical based on the succesful film franchise of the same name, also played in Toronto this year, before moving on to Broadway for a limited run. The show is also eligibe for nominations in multiple categories, including Best Musical.

Both productions are also eligible for numerous technical awards.

The Tony Awards recognize achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented each year by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at a live event in New York City. The event has been held every year since 1947, and has been televised since 1967.

This years Tony telecast will air live from Radio City Music Hall on Sunday June 9th, at 8 PM EST. No host for the event has been announced.

For more information on the Tonys, visit the official website.