Ken Watanabe who stars in the Broadway revival of the King & I is up for a Tony for Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical tonight.
The show is up for 9 Tony Awards in all including best revival of a musical.
This is Watanabe’s first Tony nomination, but he’s no stranger to audiences. He is best known for his films The Last Samurai, Letters From Iwo Jima, Inception, Batman Begins, and Memoirs of a Geisha, to just name a few.
Watanabe is expected to perform at tonight’s show along with co-star and fellow nominee Kelli O’Hara, reported Lia Chang of Backstage Pass.
Filipino American Vanessa Hudgens who stars in the Broadway revival of Gigi is also expected to perform.
Rehearsals for @TheTonyAwards! Watch @GigiOnBroadway perform tonight at 8/7c on CBS!✌️ pic.twitter.com/TJzZe2kxlv
— Vanessa Hudgens (@VanessaHudgens) June 7, 2015
Other nominees from the King & I include Ruthie Ann Miles for best featured actress in a musical. The show is the Korean American actress’ debut on Broadway. She gained wide attention for her off Broadway role as Imelda Marcos in Here Lies Love at the Public Theater.
Kristen Chenoweth and Alan Cumming will host tonight’s presentations. Glee Star and Filipino American Darren Criss and actress Laura Osnes will host the Red Carpet show which can be seen digitally on TonyAwards.com, CBS.com, Timeout.com and Playbill.com between 5:30 – 8 p.m. eastern, according to the International Business Times. George Takei will serve as official fan correspondent.
