For first time, Tony Awards will be held in Washington Heights in 2023
NEW YORK -- Broadway's biggest night is moving Uptown.
The Tony Awards will be broadcast live on CBS2 from the historic United Palace in Washington Heights in June.
It's a first for the neighborhood.
"We are excited to bring the Tony Awards to the historic United Palace for the first time. As we celebrate the best of this Broadway season and 76 years of the Tony Awards, we look forward to ushering in a new golden age for the show from this majestic, golden age theatre," said Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, and Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League.
Of course, the Tonys celebrates the best of Broadway, but this year the show is doing things a little differently by moving farther north on the famed street.
"Normally, I'm ecstatic about the Tonys, but this time I am over the moon," United Palace historian Greg Ippolito said.
When he isn't seeing a show, Ippolito guides guests through the gilded halls of the theater. His dream since childhood was the venue hosting the Tony Awards.
"Washington Heights is a vibrant community, so it's sort of like the Tonys all the time around here," Ippolito said.
He calls the nearly century-old venue the most spectacular theater in town.
"We're certainly the largest on Broadway, which is pretty fun, a little more than 100 blocks north of the Theater District, but as far as details go, you don't get anything as detailed in the city," Ippolito said.
Opened in 1930, United Palace shifted from screening movies to sharing the space with the surrounding community, providing programming for kids.
Now, the 3,400-seat venue regularly welcomes local artists, along with major productions like the Tribeca Festival and the premiere of "In the Heights."
The Tony's will be the biggest show to date, but Ippolito said the theater is ready with the perfect blend of vintage style and new technology.
"If all goes well this year, we'll be happy to do it again," he said.
The 76th annual Tony Awards will broadcast live from the United Palace on June 11, right here on CBS2 and stream live on Paramount+.
