Pink set the stage ablaze in a saucy burlesque outfit as she fronted a star-studded opening number for this year’s Tony Awards.
The 46-year-old pop act is hosting the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall for the first time this year, despite never having acted on Broadway before.
Pop songs of hers have been included in the past jukebox musicals & Juliet and Moulin Rouge! – and she reprised one of them as she kicked off Sunday night’s show.
She delivered a sizzling rendition of Lady Marmalade, the song she first performed with Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim and Mya in the film of Moulin Rouge! 25 years ago.
Belting out retooled lyrics that paid tribute to some of the evening’s nominees, Pink stalked the stage in a racy set of fishnets and a clinging pink corset.
A glittering array of celebrities joined in the act, from Neil Patrick Harris and Lea Michele to Megan Thee Stallion and 96-year-old nominee June Squibb.
Harris, 52, was the comic foil to Pink during her entrance, an aerial routine in which she paid homage to Wicked by singing a bit of its power ballad Defying Gravity.
Wearing a green bodysuit in a nod to the show, a harnessed Pink twirled about in mid-air and brought a squirming Harris up there with her, riding him like a horse.
When they reached the ground, Harris assured Pink of her talent and ability and then rushed offstage, grumbling behind her back about how much ‘help’ she would need.
Pink then barreled into her revamp of Lady Marmalade, shouting out celebrity nominees like Daniel Radcliffe, Laurie Metcalf, Carrie Coon and Lesley Manville.
Her outfit included the corset and the fishnets, teamed with a towering set of high-heeled boots, a top hat and the showgirl flourish of a pink feather train.
Megan Thee Stallion was introduced by cast members from the new Ragtime revival, performing a rap song specially written for the evening to honor Broadway talent.
Lea Michele and Hannah Cruz, both of whom are starring in a revival of the 1980s Cold War musical Chess, also lent their voices briefly to the song.
Cruz, Michele and Pink approached Squibb as she sat in the audience next to Queen Latifah, where she rapped her lyric: ‘All the parts I played, I slayed ’em.’
Pink demonstrated her powerhouse vocal abilities in the number, winning over Broadway fans who may have been wary of an outsider hosting the Tony Awards.
Pink demonstrated her powerhouse vocal abilities in the number, winning over Broadway fans who may have been wary of an outsider hosting the Tony Awards
‘ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC OPENING!!’ one raved on X, as others gushed: ‘Pink don’t ever stop hosting the Tonys,’ and: ‘Pink just killed the opening at the #Tonys.’
‘Seriously let @Pink host every goddamn thing,’ another insisted, and still another marveled: ‘Oh so Pink is just giving us the best Tonys opening of all time?’
Pink acknowledged the idiosyncratic choice the Tonys made in selecting her as compere, joking: ‘For some reason, I’m your host.’
She made note of the political significance of the nominated shows, such as Liberation, set in the second-wave feminist movement, and the revival of Cats, which has been retooled into a tribute to queer Harlem ball culture.
When her new role as mistress of ceremonies was announced, she called the job ‘the honor of an entire lifetime’ in a statement to People.
Hailing the Great White Way for having ‘the literal hardest working people in showbiz,’ she raved: ‘Broadway has shaped my life and how I put my own shows together. It is a community that is supportive, and inclusive, and full of talent and love.’
