Tony winner Audra McDonald to serve as grand marshal of 2024 Rose Parade

By BETH HARRIS
Associated Press

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Audra McDonald will serve as grand marshal of the 135th Rose Parade next year. The actor and singer was introduced Friday in Pasadena, California. The six-time Tony Award winner will ride the 5 1/2-mile parade route down Colorado Boulevard on New Year’s Day. McDonald will be part of the coin toss for the 110th Rose Bowl game later that day. McDonald grew up in Fresno, California, and says that as a child she would wake up early to watch the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game with her family. The parade’s theme is “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language.”