Photo Credit — John Nacion / Variety, Getty Images
On Sunday evening, June 7, musical artist Pink hosted the 79th annual Tony Awards, honoring the best in Broadway’s 2025-26 season.
Pink maintained an energetic presence throughout the show, frequently rotating outfits, cracking jokes and celebrating the 30th anniversary of “Chicago” with Bob Fosse-inspired choreography set to “All That Jazz.”
“I’m not here just to steal people’s wigs, although I will be doing that,” she said. “I’m here to celebrate the hardest-working people in show business.”
“Schmigadoon!” took home the Tony Award for best new musical. The adaptation of the Apple TV+ original show parodies Broadway classics like “The Music Man” and “Oklahoma!,” with a modern-day couple finding themselves in a fantasyland where the townspeople regularly break out into song. Creator Cinco Paul, whose TV series was canceled after two seasons, won Tonys for the score and the book.
“Sometimes singing, dancing, jokes and a happy ending are all you need,” said producer Lorne Michaels, the creator of “Saturday Night Live,” after the win.
The Tony Award for best new play went to Wohl’s “Liberation,” which collects stories from second-wave feminists about tackling misogyny, racism and traditional gender roles in their lives. Wohl joins Wendy Wasserstein, Yasmina Reza and Frances Goodrich as the fourth woman to win best new play.
“I want to honor women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice,” said Wohl, who thanked her mom, daughters and female producers. “And to all the girls out there: May you speak your truth, and may the world be wise enough to listen.”
The Tony Award for best play revival went to “Death of a Salesman,” Arthur Miller’s 1949 exploration of the American dream that won best new play at the time. It was similarly honored for its revival in 1984, 1999 and 2012.
“Ragtime” won best musical revival, with Caissie Levy winning for her leading performance. During her acceptance, she thanked all the babysitters who helped her to be both a mother and a Broadway performer.
Joshua Henry, a four-time nominee, won his first Tony Award for his role as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in “Ragtime.”
“Even in the face of pain and tragedy, he found a way to be heard,” Henry said of his character. “Every artist in this room, every artist at home, fight — fight to be heard.”
John Lithgow won his third Tony Award for best leading actor in a play for “Giant,” playing children’s writer Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s production set in 1983. At 80, he is the oldest male winner of a competitive acting Tony.
“Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them,” he said. “In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theater artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.”
Shoshana Bean won best featured actress in a musical for her role as a single mom in “The Lost Boys,” and echoed the themes of “Liberation” in her speech.
“This is for the mamas. This is for the single mamas. This is for my single mama. You are the wild heroes. This is for the incredible army of women that surround and uplift me,” she said.
“Cats: The Jellicle Ball” won best direction for a musical by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch.
“We honor the Black and brown trans women and gay men who were ballroom’s pioneers, as well as today’s icons, and our cast of astonishing triple-threats, including people from their 20s to their 80s, and every decade in between,” Levingston said.
Lesley Manville won best leading actress in a play for her Broadway debut in a modern retelling of Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus.”
The Tonys pre-show, hosted by Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess, aired on Pluto TV and featured the presentation of technical awards. Qween Jean became the first openly transgender Tony Award winner, honored for costume design for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”
The In Memoriam segment featured Leslie Odom Jr. singing “Without You” from “Rent,” honoring figures including actors Robert Duvall, Robert Redford and Diane Keaton, as well as playwright Tom Stoppard. Rachel Zegler then performed“What I Did For Love” from “A Chorus Line,” which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.
The complete list of Tony Award Winners is availible below.
79th Tony Awards Winners
- Best Play — Liberation / Author: Bess Wohl
- Best Musical — Schmigadoon!
- Best Book of a Musical — Schmigadoon / Book: Cinco Paul
- Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre — Schmigadoon! / Music & Lyrics: Cinco Paul
- Best Revival of a Play — Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
- Best Revival of a Musical — Ragtime
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play — John Lithgow for “Giant”
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play — Lesley Manville for “Oedipus”
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical — Joshua Henry for “Ragtime”
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical — Caissie Levy for “Ragtime”
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play — Alden Ehrenreich for “Becky Shaw”
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play — Laurie Metcalf for “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical — Ali Louis Bourzgui for “The Lost Boys”
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical — Shoshana Bean for “The Lost Boys”
- Best Scenic Design of a Play — Chloe Lamford for “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”
- Best Scenic Design of a Musical — Dane Laffrey for “The Lost Boys”
- Best Costume Design of a Play — Jeff Mahshie for “Fallen Angels”
- Best Costume Design of a Musical — Qween Jean for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
- Best Lighting Design of a Play — Jack Knowles for “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”
- Best Lighting Design of a Musical — Jen Schriever and Michael Arden for “The Lost Boys”
- Best Sound Design of a Play — Mikaal Sulaiman for “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”
- Best Sound Design of a Musical — Kai Harada for “Ragtime”
- Best Direction of a Play — Joe Mantello for “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”
- Best Direction of a Musical — Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
- Best Choreography — Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
- Best Orchestrations — Doug Besterman and Mike Morris for “Schmigadoon!”
- Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre — André Bishop; James Lapine; Jules Fisher
- Special Tony Award — League of Resident Theatres (LORT)
- Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award — Mary-Mitchell Campbell
- Regional Theatre Tony Award — American Players Theatre
- Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre — 1/52 Project; Jake Bell; Kenn Lubin; Loren Plotkin
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