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Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today joined actress and comedienne Rosie O'Donnell in announcing that the 51st Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on June 1, 1997 with O'Donnell hosting. The awards will be broadcast on CBS and PBS through a new partnership to allow television audiences to see performances and live presentations of all the awards.
"Broadway Theatre is synonymous with New York City. In fact Broadway is our City's biggest tourist attraction, with annual attendance at Broadway shows higher than attendance at the home games of all New York City's professional sports teams combined," said Mayor Giuliani. "This year the awards will be bigger and better than ever, held here in the world-famous Radio City Music Hall and hosted by a truly great New York talent, Rosie O'Donnell."
Also in attendance at the Radio City Music Hall press conference were American Theatre Wing President Isabelle Stevenson; Jed Bernstein, Executive Director of the League of American Theatres and Producers; CBS President Peter Lund; Tony Awards Executive Producer Gary Smith; Radio City Productions President Arlen Kantarian and WNET President Bill Baker.