Tony Awards 2023: How did Ariana DeBose open show?
We don’t think anyone can deny the West Wide Story star’s incredible talent. Yet, we know that there are also a lot of people out there who remember her BAFTA performance earlier this year that inspires a number of “Angela Bassett did the thing” memes. We honestly had very little idea what to look out for over the course of the start of the show, but were still curious to find out. (She’s also familiar with the Tonys in general, having served as a host before.)
The only real assumption that we had going in was that there would be some sort of big, energetic musical number with a ton of dancers, and also references to a number of the nominated people and plays.
So what did we actually see? Well, think in terms of something that was a little bit unexpected. There was an agreement struck before the show with Broadway and the WGA where they wouldn’t picket the broadcast; however, they would not be supplying any scripts for the ceremony, either. That was even alluded to with the empty script at the start of the performance. This was much more music-oriented than anything else; heck, there wasn’t even any singing!
Yet, kudos to DeBose and the rest of the performers for still finding a way to make this feel really high energy. There was still a lot of dancing, and we do think it was also a good bit to really focus on the crowd as much as possible.
With this, we give the Tonys a round of applause for finding a way to be creative during a rather difficult time.
What did you think about how Ariana DeBose opened the 2023 Tony Awards?
How do you think it compares to some other opening numbers we have seen over the years? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! After you do just that, remember to then also come back for even more updates as we move forward.
(Photo: CBS.)