Tony Awards Live Stream: Here’s How to Watch the 2021 Tonys Online
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The lights have finally gone up on Broadway once more, with the 74th annual Tony Awards airing on September 26 after a lengthy postponement and a dark theater season. The four-hour event will herald the return to Broadway, as many shows have started to open their doors for the 2021 season (and in the case of Beetlejuice, come back from the dead after unceremoniously closing in March of 2020).
Initially scheduled for fall 2020, this year’s Tony award gala will honor the shows and performances of the 2019-2020 Broadway season that was abruptly put to an end by the Covid-19 pandemic. Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald is set to host the show at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, but the presentation will actually be split.
Following the award ceremony (with the bulk of the awards), CBS and Paramount+ will both broadcast Tony Awards Presents Broadway’s Back!, a live concert event hosted by Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr., including performances from the three Tony-nominated Best Musical contenders: Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.
The special will also feature the live presentation of the top three Tony Awards of the night: Best Play, Best Revival of a Play, and Best Musical. You can also catch performances by John Legend and the cast of Ain’t Too Proud, Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Freestyle Love Supreme, David Byrne and the cast of American Utopia, and a reunion of the original cast of Hairspray.
Want to watch the Tony Awards? Here’s how to find the Tonys on TV and how to stream the Tonys online for free if you don’t have cable.
When Are the Tony Awards 2021?
Theater fans can watch the 2021 Tony Awards on Sunday, September 26 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 PM p.m. PST on Paramount+. The Tony Awards Presents: Broadway’s Back! concert will air immediately after the two-hour ceremony at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m on CBS and Paramount+.
How Can I Watch the Tony Awards?
If you have basic cable, you actually won’t be able to watch the awards portion of the two-part event, since in a twist, the Tonys will be streaming exclusively on Paramount+. However, the Tony Awards Presents Broadway’s Back! will be broadcast afterwards on TV on CBS, so you can watch that portion of the Tonys for free. You can also order a digital TV antenna, like this one from Amazon, which will get you access to CBS (along with all the other major broadcast networks) for free.
How to Watch the Tony Awards Online on Paramount+
If you’ve cut the cord, or prefer to stream the 2021 Tony Awards online, you can watch the Broadway awards via Paramount+, one of our favorite live TV streaming services.
This year, the 74th Tony Awards will be streaming exclusively on Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access), with the regular awards ceremony available to stream live for all subscribers. If you want to watch the Tony Awards Presents Broadway’s Back! and catch the top award presentations, that will also be streaming on Paramount+ as well.
In addition to watching the Tonys on Paramount+, you can access their streaming library full of classic TV shows and movies from ViacomCBS, Paramount, and their many subsidiaries. This includes CBS, Sports HQ, Entertainment Tonight, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central, and the Smithsonian Channel.
Don’t already have a subscription? Right now you can sign up for a Paramount+ free 7-day trial to watch the Tonys on Paramount+ for free, with monthly plans running you $4.99 after that, or $9.99 for an ad-free subscription.
Paramount+ is the only place to stream the 2021 Tony Awards online in full. Sign up for their free trial to watch the Tony Awards live stream online for free.
