The Tonys are getting some uptown funk.
We hear the official celebration for Broadway’s biggest night will be a block party, rather than the show’s former after-party at the Plaza.
Said an insider, “When the Tony Awards ceremony concludes, the doors of the historic United Palace Theatre will open, and the theater community’s brightest stars will spill onto the streets for a celebration… Guests will dine on ceviche, paella, Shake Shack burgers,” and more.
The show’s official black-tie celebration was previously at the Plaza when the awards were based in Midtown, at Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre.
But the show is moving uptown this year.
The party is being presented by City National Bank and will pay homage to “old New York” and “uptown flavor,” we hear.
Ketel One and Zacapa are creating the bash’s cocktail menu, which will include a shaved ice concoction, plus an espresso martini.
Beyond the official party, p.r. guru Rick Miramontez’s legendary party is back for the first time since 2019 at the Carlye with a cohost, producer John Gore.
We hear Barry Manilow will get on the piano, and there will be a magician on hand to dazzle guests. Memphis Murphy will spin tunes for fun theater folks who want to dance.
A source tells us security will be beefed up for the bash to deter any crashers.
Another hot ticket will be Darren Criss and Julianne Hough’s party at Pebble Bar in Midtown.
Criss and Hough’s bash is a newer edition to the party scene, but it drew big names during its first iteration last year with guests including Andrew Garfield, Lea Michele and Billy Porter partying past 5a.m.
Shows will also hold their own bashes, many in Midtown.
Tom Stoppard’s play “Leopoldstadt,” nominated for six Tonys, will have a party at Haswell Green.
Musical “Kimberly Akimbo,” nominated for eight awards, and “Topdog/Underdog,” nominated for two, are hosting a party together at Tanner Smith’s.
Meanwhile, “Shucked,” which earned nine nominations, is hosting a party at the Edison, Page Six hears.
“The Piano Lesson” star Samuel L. Jackson — and his wife and director LaTanya Richardson Jackson — will hold a party at the Mark, a source tells Page Six.
Due to the WGA strike, the show, hosted by Ariana DeBose, is going without a script.
“It should be better this year,” one theater insider told us. “It will be more performances and not all the bullshit banter.”
The casts of “Camelot,” “Into The Woods,” “& Juliet,” “Some Like It Hot and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” are slated to perform, as is the cast of “Funny Girl,” including Lea Michele.
Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement will be presented to “Cabaret” star Joel Grey and composer John Kander.