79th Tony Awards: 'Schmigadoon!' and 'Death of a Salesman' Lead a Historic Night on Broadway

Broadway’s biggest night returned to Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, delivering a 79th Tony Awards ceremony that successfully balanced deep theatrical nostalgia with boundary-pushing innovation. Hosted by pop superstar P!NK—who opened the broadcast with a signature aerial entrance dressed as Peter Pan—the evening spread its top honors across a diverse slate of classic revivals and high-tech new adaptations. Rather than a single juggernaut sweeping the board, the 2026 season saw voters distribute the wealth among several critically acclaimed productions, reflecting a transitional era for the American theater.[3][4][6]

On the play side, Arthur Miller’s foundational tragedy "Death of a Salesman" emerged as the night’s most decorated production. The critically hailed revival captured six Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play and Best Direction for Joe Mantello. Laurie Metcalf also took home the prize for Best Featured Actress in a Play, cementing the production as the prestige dramatic hit of the season.[2][4][5]

The dramatic categories also delivered one of the evening's most emotional historical milestones. Eighty-year-old stage and screen veteran John Lithgow won Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of children’s author Roald Dahl in "Giant." The victory made Lithgow the oldest actor to win a competitive Tony, arriving exactly 53 years after he won his first award for his Broadway debut. In a charming acceptance speech, Lithgow reflected on his decades in the theater, noting that despite dozens of ecstatic moments on stage, his latest win ranked among the very best.[4][6][8]

In the musical categories, the top prize went to a loving, satirical homage to the genre itself. "Schmigadoon!", the stage adaptation of the popular Apple TV+ comedy series, won Best Musical. The production, which affectionately skewers the tropes of Golden Age musicals, also earned Best Book and Best Original Score for co-creator Cinco Paul, bringing its total haul to four awards.[2][3][5]

Matching that four-award tally was the sweeping revival of "Ragtime," which claimed Best Revival of a Musical. The epic production, set at the dawn of the 20th century, dominated the musical acting categories, with Caissie Levy and Joshua Henry winning the leading performance prizes. Henry’s rendition of the show's climactic anthem, "Make Them Hear You," earned a rousing, mid-ceremony standing ovation that critics highlighted as a defining moment of the broadcast.[1][4][6]

The season's most visually inventive new musical, "The Lost Boys," also secured four Tonys. Based on the 1987 cult vampire film, the punk-rock spectacle won for its elaborate scenic and lighting design, as well as featured acting awards for Shoshana Bean and Ali Louis Bourzgui.[3][5][6]

Bourzgui provided the night’s most viral political moment during his acceptance speech. The 26-year-old actor used the undead as a poignant metaphor for modern American folly, comparing vampires to billionaires, colonizers, and fascists who shunned their own humanity in order to achieve a nonexistent sense of superiority. The passionate address underscored the theater community's ongoing willingness to tackle sociopolitical challenges head-on.[2][6]

That commitment to urgent social themes was further recognized in the Best Play category, which went to Bess Wohl's "Liberation." The memory play, which centers on a 1970s women's consciousness-raising group, arrived at the Tonys fresh off a Pulitzer Prize win in May. Wohl's victory marked a significant milestone, as she became the first American-born woman to win Best Play since Wendy Wasserstein in 1989.[1][5][8]

Perhaps the most radical reimagining of the season was "Cats: The Jellicle Ball," which won three awards. Directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch took home Best Direction of a Musical for their audacious decision to strip away the literal feline costumes of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 mega-hit and reset the story within the fierce, competitive world of Harlem drag ballroom culture.[5][6][8]

The production also yielded a groundbreaking first for the Broadway community. Qween Jean won Best Costume Design for outfitting the "Cats" cast in glittering, avant-garde ballroom apparel, making her the first openly transgender person to win a Tony Award. The milestone was celebrated as a major step forward for representation behind the scenes.[5][7]

Beyond the awards, the telecast leaned heavily into spectacular live performances to boost the industry's profile. Alongside numbers from the nominated shows, the ceremony featured a star-studded 30th-anniversary tribute to "Chicago," Broadway’s longest-running American musical. Introduced by Queen Latifah, the segment featured appearances by Alex Newell, Julianne Hough, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, reminding viewers of the enduring legacy of Broadway's foundational hits.[4][6]

Ultimately, the 79th Tony Awards painted a picture of an art form in vibrant transition. By honoring the timeless emotional weight of "Death of a Salesman," the joyful pop-culture crossover of "Schmigadoon!," and the inclusive, radical reinvention of "Cats," Broadway voters signaled that the future of the American theater lies in embracing both its storied past and its limitless, boundary-breaking future.[1][6][8]