Tony Awards 2020 Could Be Postponed Because of Coronavirus

There’s a good chance that the 2020 Tony Awards will be delayed after Broadway was shut down for the next month amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

THR estimates that the Broadway industry is going to lose up to $100 million during this time and many of the shows that were going to open before the end of the season will be rescheduling their opening nights.

The Tonys are currently scheduled for June 7, but it seems unlikely that all of the shows planning to open this season will be able to do so before the April 23 eligibility cutoff.

Vanity Fair reports that Broadway insiders expect the American Theatre Wing to accommodate all of the delayed openings, even if this means pushing back the Tonys. Others say that the voting period might just be shortened.

“I do have complete faith in the leaders at the Broadway League and American Theatre Wing and they would absolutely be fair in extending the eligibility deadline so that all shows that were supposed to open before the original deadline would still be given the same consideration,” a source said. “There’s a long voting period between nominations and awards. In my opinion, worst case scenario is that the voting period is shortened slightly to accommodate later openings.”

Broadway shows are currently scheduled to return on April 12.