Oprah squashes rumor — she won't host Tonys

updated 10:15 p.m. ET March 29, 2006

NEW YORK - Oprah Winfrey will not be the new Hugh Jackman at the 2006 Tony Awards.

But the talk show queen, one of the producers of the stage version of “The Color Purple,” says she will attend the annual celebration of the best of the Broadway season.

Winfrey, however, will not host the show, Carol Fineman, a spokeswoman for the musical, said Wednesday. Jackman, who wowed Broadway in “The Boy From Oz,” has had the job for the last three years.

The Tonys, produced by the American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers, will be held June 11 at Radio City Music Hall and telecast by CBS. Nominations will be announced May 16.

Speculation had swirled Wednesday on the Gold Derby Web site that Winfrey would take over for Jackman this year.

As for who would get the coveted job, no one was saying.

“We don’t discuss potential hosts until we make our announcement,” Allen Eichhorn, a spokesman for Tony Awards, said. That announcement is expected within the next several weeks.

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