Schmigadoon! Wins Best Musical; Liberation Wins Best Play at 2026 Tony Awards
On June 7, 2026, the 79th Annual Tony Awards took place at Radio City Music Hall, celebrating a range of theatrical productions. 'Schmigadoon!' was awarded Best New Musical, while Bess Wohl's 'Liberation' earned the title of Best New Play, marking the first win for an American woman in 37 years. The revival of 'Death of a Salesman' garnered six awards, including Best Play Revival, featuring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf. Producer Scott Rudin made a comeback after a break. 'Ragtime' was recognized as Best Musical Revival, with Joshua Henry and Caissie Levy winning Best Actor and Actress, respectively. Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch received Best Direction of a Musical for 'Cats: The Jellicle Ball'. Lesley Manville won Best Actress in a Play for 'Oedipus'. Hosted by Pink, the ceremony also marked anniversaries for 'Chicago', 'A Chorus Line', 'Rent', and 'The Book of Mormon'. The Broadway season of 2025-26 grossed nearly $2 billion.
Key facts
- Schmigadoon! won Best New Musical at the 79th Tony Awards.
- Liberation by Bess Wohl won Best New Play, first American woman to win in 37 years.
- Death of a Salesman revival won six Tonys, including Best Play Revival.
- Scott Rudin returned as lead producer after four-year hiatus over bullying accusations.
- Ragtime won Best Musical Revival; Joshua Henry and Caissie Levy won acting awards.
- Qween Jean became first openly transgender Tony winner, for costume design of Cats: The Jellicle Ball.
- The Lost Boys won four awards; Ali Louis Bourzgui gave a political speech.
- Pink hosted, performing a 9-minute opening number with 170 performers.
- Nearly $2 billion in tickets sold during 2025-26 season, a Broadway record.
- Lesley Manville won Best Actress in a Play for her Broadway debut in Oedipus.
Entities
Artists
- Nathan Lane
- Laurie Metcalf
- Joe Mantello
- Scott Rudin
- Bess Wohl
- Joshua Henry
- Caissie Levy
- Qween Jean
- Zhailon Levingston
- Bill Rauch
- Shoshana Bean
- Ali Louis Bourzgui
- Lesley Manville
- John Lithgow
- Pink
- Benj Pasek
- Justin Paul
- Mark Sonnenblick
- Cinco Paul
- Christopher Gattelli
- Lorne Michaels
- Lear deBessonet
- Arthur Miller
- Roald Dahl
- Mark Strong
- Robert Icke
- Bobby Cannavale
- Queen Latifah
- Leslie Odom Jr.
- Rachel Zegler
- Billy Crystal
- Josh Gad
- Bernadette Peters
- Elisabeth Vincentelli
- Laura Collins-Hughes
- Helen Shaw
- Alexis Soloski
- Lynn Ahrens
- Stephen Flaherty
- Terrence McNally
- E.L. Doctorow
- Stephen Sondheim
- Elaine Stritch
- Stephen Colbert
- Malia Mendez
- Derrick Bryson Taylor
- Laura Benanti
- Tituss Burgess
- Logan Culwell-Block
- Andrew Gans
- Nicholas Christopher
- Luke Evans
- Sam Tutty
- Brandon Uranowitz
- Sara Chase
- Stephanie Hsu
- Marla Mindelle
- Christiani Pitts
- Christopher Abbott
- Danny Burstein
- Brandon J. Dirden
- Alden Ehrenreich
- Ruben Santiago-Hudson
- Richard Thomas
- Rose Byrne
- Carrie Coon
- Susannah Flood
- Kelli O'Hara
- André De Shields
- Bryce Pinkham
- Ben Levi Ross
- Layton Williams
- Hannah Cruz
- Rachel Dratch
- Ana Gasteyer
- Nichelle Lewis
- Nicholas Hytner
- Kenny Leon
- Whitney White
- Michael Arden
- Tim Jackson
- Betsy Aidem
- Marylouise Burke
- Aya Cash
- June Squibb
- Will Harrison
- Daniel Radcliffe
- Ellenore Scott
- Ani Taj
- Omari Wiles
- Arturo Lyons
- Lauren Yalango-Grant
- Christopher Cree Grant
- Soutra Gilmour
- Rachel Hauck
- Dane Laffrey
- Scott Pask
- Hildegard Bechtler
- Takeshi Kata
- Chloe Lamford
- David Korins
- David Rockwell
- Kevin Adams
- Jane Cox
- Donald Holder
- Adam Honoré
- Jen Schriever
- Isabella Byrd
- Natasha Chivers
- Stacey Derosier
- Heather Gilbert
- Jack Knowles
- Caroline Shaw
- Steve Bargonetti
- The Rescues
- Jim Barne
- Kit Buchan
- Justin Ellington
- Tom Gibbons
- Lee Kinney
- Josh Schmidt
- Mikaal Sulaiman
- Kai Harada
- Adam Fisher
- Brian Ronan
- Walter Trarbach
- Doug Besterman
- Mike Morris
- Ethan Popp
- Kyler England
- Adrianne 'AG' Gonzalez
- Gabriel Mann
- Lux Pyramid
- Brian Usifer
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
- David Wilson
- Trevor Holder
- Doug Schadt
- Linda Cho
- Ryan Park
- David I. Reynoso
- Brenda Abbandandolo
- Jeff Mahshie
- Emilio Sosa
- Paul Tazewell
- David Hornsby
- Chris Hoch
- Constantine Rousouli
- Tye Blue
- Samuel D. Hunter
- David Lindsay-Abaire
- Mark Rosenblatt
- Duncan Macmillan
- Jonny Donahoe
- Gina Gionfriddo
- August Wilson
- Richard O'Brien
- Ted Chapin
- Heather Hitchens
- Kristin Caskey
- Jason Laks
- Raj Kapoor
- Sarah Levine Hall
- Jack Sussman
- dots
- Kelli O’Hara
Institutions
- Tony Awards
- Radio City Music Hall
- Broadway
- Nederlander Theater
- Winter Garden Theater
- Vivian Beaumont Theater
- Lincoln Center Theater
- New York City Center
- Donmar Warehouse
- National Theater
- Kennedy Center
- Apple TV+
- Broadway Video
- No Guarantees Productions
- PBS
- The New York Times
- Saturday Night Live
- Eugene O'Neill Theater
- CBS
- Paramount+
- Playbill
- American Theatre Wing
- The Broadway League
Locations
- New York City
- New York
- United States
- Washington
- Baltimore
- London
- West End
- Manhattan
- Palisades
Sources
- ArtsJournal —
- ArtsJournal —
- Vogue Arts —