The List Of 2026 Tony Award Winners

Here are the winners from last evening's Tony Awards:

Best Musical: Schmigadoon! Best Play: Liberation Best Revival of a Musical: Ragtime Best Revival of a Play: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Joshua Henry, Ragtime Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Caissie Levy, Ragtime Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: John Lithgow, Giant Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Lesley Manville, Oedipus Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Lost Boys Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Shoshana Bean, The Lost Boys Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Alden Ehrenreich, Becky Shaw Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Laurie Metcalf, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Best Direction of a Musical: Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Cats: The Jellicle Ball Best Direction of a Play: Joe Mantello, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Technical categories continued here.

Tony Telecast: Salacious; Tony Awards: Sublime!

Last night's Tony Awards telecast will stand as probably the trashiest Tony show in the history -- and that's a very long time.

The raunchiest parts revolved around the segments dedicated to The Rocky Horror Picture show and The Jellicle Ball. When you throw in the barely-clothed performer known as "Pink" as the host, well -- salacious can only begin  describe it all. In fact, even some of the commercials were questionable and loaded with double entendres. 

But, having said that, the awards themselves were conveyed upon the most traditional, wide audience nominees. The grand and glorious American saga musical Ragtime defeated the smutty Jellicle Ball and The Rocky Horror Picture Show for best revival of a musical -- an upset that most experts weren't expecting. The classic Death of a Salesman won best revival of a play. Let's face it: you can't find a more certified,  blue-chip American drama than Salesman. Best musical honors were bestowed upon Schmigadoon,  a unabashed, tongue-in-cheek homage to the big old-fashioned American musical. And while the best drama winner Liberation delves into the socio-political aspects of the women's movement, it uses the traditional format of a memory play and even incorporates an Our Town style narrator. 

So, as much as Broadway attempted to shock last night, the evening's real winners played to Broadway's well-known strengths: serious, thought-provoking drama; sweeping, epic themes and sheer entertainment with talented casts, amazing vocalists and dazzling choreography. 

Ragtime provides us with the best example of Broadway's return to what Broadway does best. The show succeeds because it's blessed with a very strong storyline -- one that everyone in the audience can grasp, incorporating characters that people can identify with. What's more, the music and lyrics are soaring and melodic. It's clearly the most robust, full-throated show on Broadway right now. And, to top it all off, Ragtime is a genuine heart-tugger. It's right up there with Carousel and Show Boat for its emotional impact.

We saw the original production of Ragtime in 1996. It's sheer grandeur blew us away then and, if anything, age has only made the show more meaningful and seemingly more magnificent. 

Yes, the Tony Awards telecast left a lot to be desired. But the awards themselves gave us new hope for a Broadway that is journeying back to its roots and doing so with pride and penache!

Avanti!

My Tony Predictions For Tonight!

Here's who will win Broadway's Tony Awards tonight:

Best musical: SCHMIGADOON

Best musical revival: THE JELLICLE BALL

Best actress, musical:  Caissie Levy, Ragtime

Best actor, musical: Joshua Henry, Ragtime 

Best featured actress, musical: Shoshana Bean, The Lost Boys

Best director, musical: Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, The Jellicle Ball 

Best play: LIBERATION

Best play revival: DEATH OF A SALESMAN

Best actress, play: Lesley Manville, Oedipus 

Best actor, play: John Lithgow, Giant

Best featured actress, play: Laurie Metcalf, Death of a Salesman

Best featured actor, play:  Christopher Abbott, Death of a Salesman

Best director, play: Joe Mantello, Death of a Salesman

Looks Like A 'Not-To-Be-Missed' Event!

The Complete List Of 2025 Tony Winners

It was Broadway's Biggest Night last night and it did not disappoint.

Here's the wrap up on the 2025 Tony Awards and the comple list of winners:

Here are the Tony wins by show:

Many Happy Endings – 6
Buena Vista Social Club – 4
Stranger Things: The First Shadow – 3
Sunset Blvd. – 3
Oh, Mary! – 2
The Picture Of Dorian Gray – 2
Purpose – 2
Death Becomes Her – 1
Eureka Day – 1
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical – 1
Yellow Face – 1

And now, the list:

Best Musical
Maybe Happy Ending

Best Play
Purpose

Best Revival of a Play
Eureka Day

Best Revival of a Musical
Sunset Blvd.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending (shown above)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Francis Jue, Yellow Face

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Kara Young, Purpose

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending

Best Costume Design of a Play
Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd.

Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, Buena Vista Social Club

Best Direction of a Play
Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!

Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending

Best Choreography
Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club

Best Orchestrations
Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club

Best Book of a Musical
Maybe Happy Ending Will Aronson and Hue Park

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Maybe Happy Ending Music: Will Aronson  Lyrics:  Will  Aronson and Hue Park

The Tonys, The Memories And Mary And Ethel . . .

It's time for Broadway's Tony Awards and the event on Sunday evening reminds me of all the wonderful experiences I've had in Broadway theaters over the years, seeing more than 280 shows and spending thousands of hours in those darkened confines where disbelief is gloriously suspended.

When you've seen this much, chances are you've experienced most of greats when they were at the top of their form. And yes, I've seen Robert Preston and Carol Channing and Gwen Verdon and Liza Minelli and Jerry Orbach and Sammy Davis Jr. and Gloria Swanson and Julie Harris and Angela Lansbury and  so many others all live, on stage. But two of the greatest that still stand out were the two undisputed reigning Queens of Broadway -- Ethel Merman and Mary Martin. What a joy it was to be able to witness their incandescent talent!

Mary Martin and Ethel Merman were towering figures of Broadway’s golden age—two women whose names became synonymous with the very essence of American musical theatre from the 1930s into the 1960s. Though their careers unfolded on the same grand stages, their paths, styles, and legacies reflect two very different sides of the Broadway coin, or for that matter the Tony Award itself, as both were Tony winners.

Mary Martin exuded warmth. With a lilting soprano voice, radiant smile, and natural grace, she brought a sense of sweetness and emotional depth to her roles. Audiences fell in love with her as Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, as the boy who wouldn't grow up in Peter Pan, and as the optimistic Maria in The Sound of Music. She became the quintessential Rodgers and Hammerstein heroine—wholesome, sincere, and utterly captivating. Her performances were not about overpowering the audience but about drawing them in. There was an emotional intimacy to Martin’s work; she seemed to sing from the heart, and her characters always felt grounded in a kind of gentle truth. I had the unique experience of seeing Martin perform both in concert and in a Broadway show and all of these qualities were on full display.

Ethel Merman, by contrast, was Broadway’s brass and bravado. With a booming mezzo-soprano that could cut through a full orchestra without amplification, Merman didn’t just sing—she belted. Her voice and her stage presence were larger than life. She commanded attention in every scene, whether as the sharp-shooting Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun, the evangelist-turned-singer Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes, or the fearsome Mama Rose in Gypsy, a role many critics consider the greatest female role in musical theatre. Where Martin soothed, Merman soared. She reveled in big, brassy showstoppers and punchy comedic timing, representing the quintessential showbiz dynamo. I also saw Merman in concert and on the Broadway stage in Annie Get Your Gun. Even in front of a full symphony orchestra, she never needed a microphone. 

At the 1960 Tony Awards both Martin and Merman were nominated for Best Actress in a Musical, Merman for Gypsy and Martin for The Sound of Music. Merman's performance was a dazzling tour de force and she gave it her all, leaving everything on the stage. But Martin won the Tony for portraying Maria von Trapp whose story included her time as a novitiate. Merman's comment? "How are you gonna buck a nun?"

Their differences extended beyond performance styles. Martin was often described as gracious and maternal offstage—quietly influential and beloved by colleagues. Merman, meanwhile, had a famously bold personality. She was tough, outspoken, and unapologetically direct, much like the characters she played. While Martin worked closely with Rodgers and Hammerstein, Merman was the darling of composers like Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and the Gershwins—masters of the pre-“book musical” era who valued vocal fireworks and vaudevillian flair.

Maybe the differences in style can in part be attributed to the fact that Mary Martin was married to a man who diligently handled all of her professional affairs through the bulk of her career while Merman never had much success at marriage and pretty much faced the music alone. Martin's husband/manager cushioned her from the rough 'n tumble of show business while Merman had no such built-in protection. And let's not forget that Merman hailed from New York City (Astoria, Queens) while Martin was born in the small town of Weatherford, Texas. 

And yet, for all their differences, both Mary Martin and Ethel Merman defined what it meant to be a Broadway star. They both worked incredibly hard, toured with their shows ands never missed performances. Both theatrical troupers, they originated some of the most iconic roles in theatre history, won countless awards, and helped shape the very idea of the Broadway musical. If Martin represented the heart and soul of the evolving American musical—its turn toward emotional storytelling and sincerity—Merman embodied its exuberance and theatrical punch. 

Yes, they were competitors but, in the end, they weren’t so much rivals as they were complementary, each keenly aware of her unique appeal and her audience.  Merman and Martin each illuminated a different side of the stage, and together, they set a standard that Broadway performers still aspire to today.

As Tony Night approaches, let's remember them fondly and give thanks for Broadway's illustrious legacy!

Curtain Up: Complete List Of 2024 Tony Winners!

Here are all the winners from last night's Tony Awards:

Best Musical: “The Outsiders”

Best Play: "Stereophonic"

Best Revival of a Musical: "Merrily We Roll Along"

Best Revival of a Play: “Appropriate”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Maleah Joi Moon, “Hell’s Kitchen”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Jonathan Groff, “Merrily We Roll Along”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Sarah Paulson, “Appropriate”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Jeremy Strong, “An Enemy of the People”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Daniel Radcliffe (shown above), “Merrily We Roll Along”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Kecia Lewis, "Hell's Kitchen"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Will Brill, “Stereophonic”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Kara Young, “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”

Best Direction of a Play: Daniel Aukin, “Stereophonic”

Best Direction of a Musical: Danya Taymor, “The Outsiders”

Best Original Score: “Suffs,” music & lyrics: Shaina Taub

Best Book of a Musical: "Suffs," Shaina Taub

Best Choreography: Justin Peck, “Illinoise”

Best Costume Design of a Play:  Dede Ayite, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”

Best Costume Design of a Musical: Linda Cho, “The Great Gatsby”

Best Orchestrations: Jonathan Tunick, "Merrily We Roll Along"

Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Tom Scutt, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”

Best Scenic Design of a Play: David Zinn, "Stereophonic"

Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Hana S. Kim and Brian MacDevitt, “The Outsiders”

Best Lighting Design of a Play: Jane Cox, “Appropriate”

Best Sound Design of a Play: Ryan Rumery, “Stereophonic”

Best Sound Design of a Musical: Cody Spencer, “The Outsiders”

You NEED To Know About This Story!

"He's in the room with the man we feel is responsible for our son's death," says the Gold Star mom to fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui.

"By yelling out like that, he has brought attention back to our son...and what happened at Abbey Gate." pic.twitter.com/2eWuzKIe1h

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 9, 2024

A F'book Friend Posted, And We Heartily Agree!

 

Complete List of 2022 Tony Award Nominees

2022 Tony Award Nominees honoring Broadway's Best!

Best Play

Clyde's, by Lynn Nottage
Hangmen, by Martin McDonagh
The Lehman Trilogy, by Stefano Massini and Ben Power
The Minutes, by Tracy Letts
Skeleton Crew, by Dominique Morisseau

Best Musical
Girl From The North Country
MJ
Mr. Saturday Night
Paradise Square
SIX: The Musical
A Strange Loop

Best Revival of a Play
American Buffalo
for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
How I Learned to Drive, by Paula Vogel
Take Me Out
Trouble in Mind, by Alice Childress

Best Revival of a Musical
Caroline, or Change
Company
The Music Man

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Billy Crystal, Mr. Saturday Night
Myles Frost, MJ
Hugh Jackman, The Music Man
Rob McClure, Mrs. Doubtfire
Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sharon D Clarke, Caroline, or Change
Carmen Cusack, Flying Over Sunset
Sutton Foster, The Music Man
Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square
Mare Winningham, Girl From The North Country

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Matt Doyle, Company
Sidney DuPont, Paradise Square
Jared Grimes, Funny Girl
John-Andrew Morrison, A Strange Loop
A.J. Shively, Paradise Square

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy
Adam Godley, The Lehman Trilogy
Adrian Lester, The Lehman Trilogy
David Morse, How I Learned to Drive
Sam Rockwell, American Buffalo
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues
David Threlfall, Hangmen 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Gabby Beans, The Skin of Our Teeth
LaChanze, Trouble in Mind
Ruth Negga, Macbeth
Deirdre O'Connell, Dana H.
Mary-Louise Parker, How I Learned to Drive

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Jeannette Bayardelle, Girl From The North Country
Shoshana Bean, Mr. Saturday Night
Jayne Houdyshell, The Music Man
L Morgan Lee, A Strange Loop
Patti LuPone, Company
Jennifer Simard, Company

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Alfie Allen, Hangmen
Chuck Cooper, Trouble in Mind
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out
Ron Cephas Jones, Clyde's
Michael Oberholtzer, Take Me Out
Jesse Williams, Take Me Out

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Uzo Aduba, Clyde's
Rachel Dratch, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Kenita R. Miller, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew
Julie White, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Kara Young, Clyde's

Best Book of a Musical
Girl From The North Country, Conor McPherson
MJ, Lynn Nottage
Mr. Saturday Night, Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel
Paradise Square, Christina Anderson, Craig Lucas & Larry Kirwan
A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Flying Over Sunset; Music by Tom Kitt, Lyrics by Michael Korie
Mr. Saturday Night; Music by Jason Robert Brown, Lyrics by Amanda Green
Paradise Square; Music by Jason Howland, Lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Masi Asare
SIX: The Musical, Music and Lyrics by Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
A Strange Loop, Music and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson 

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Michael Carnahan and Nicholas Hussong, Skeleton Crew
Es Devlin, The Lehman Trilogy
Anna Fleischle, Hangmen
Scott Pask, American Buffalo
Adam Rigg, The Skin of Our Teeth

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Beowulf Boritt and 59 Productions, Flying Over Sunset
Bunny Christie, Company
Arnulfo Maldonado, A Strange Loop
Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini, MJ
Allen Moyer, Paradise Square

Best Costume Design of a Play
Montana Levi Blanco, The Skin of Our Teeth
Sarafina Bush, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Emilio Sosa, Trouble in Mind
Jane Greenwood, Neil Simon's Plaza Suite
Jennifer Moeller, Clyde's 

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Fly Davis, Caroline, or Change
Toni-Leslie James, Paradise Square
William Ivey Long, Diana, The Musical
Santo Loquasto, The Music Man
Gabriella Slade, SIX: The Musical
Paul Tazewell, MJ

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Joshua Carr, Hangmen
Jiyoun Chang, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Jon Clark, The Lehman Trilogy
Jane Cox, Macbeth
Yi Zhao, The Skin of Our Teeth 

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Neil Austin, Company
Tim Deiling, SIX: The Musical
Donald Holder, Paradise Square
Natasha Katz, MJ
Bradley King, Flying Over Sunset
Jen Schriever, A Strange Loop

Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Mikhail Fiksel, Dana H.
Palmer Hefferan, The Skin of Our Teeth
Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, The Lehman Trilogy
Mikaal Sulaiman, Macbeth

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Simon Baker, Girl From The North Country
Paul Gatehouse, SIX: The Musical
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Company
Drew Levy, A Strange Loop
Gareth Owen, MJ

Best Direction of a Play
Lileana Blain-Cruz, The Skin of Our Teeth
Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy
Neil Pepe, American Buffalo
Les Waters, Dana H. 

Best Direction of a Musical
Stephen Brackett, A Strange Loop
Marianne Elliott, Company
Conor McPherson, Girl From The North Country
Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage, SIX: The Musical
Christopher Wheeldon, MJ

Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Warren Carlyle, The Music Man
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, SIX: The Musical
Bill T. Jones, Paradise Square
Christopher Wheeldon, MJ

Best Orchestrations
David Cullen, Company
Tom Curran, SIX: The Musical
Simon Hale, Girl From The North Country
Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg, MJ
Charlie Rosen, A Strange Loop