79th Tony Awards 2026: Schmigadoon! Wins Best Musical as Death of a Salesman Sweeps Six Awards
The 79th Annual Tony Awards were held at Radio City Music Hall in New York on June 7, 2026. P!nk hosted the ceremony — her first time on that stage in any capacity — and Broadway delivered a night with real surprises and a few history-making moments. Schmigadoon!, the stage musical based on the Apple TV+ comedy series, won Best Musical. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman swept six awards, setting a new record as the most decorated play revival in Tony history. Best Play went to Bess Wohl's Pulitzer Prize-winning Liberation.
The night's biggest winners
Death of a Salesman took six trophies: Best Revival of a Play, Best Direction of a Play, Best Scenic Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design, and Best Featured Actress in a Play for Laurie Metcalf, who was collecting her third career Tony. John Lithgow won Best Actor in a Play for Giant — also his third Tony — and Lesley Manville took Best Actress in a Play for Oedipus.
Schmigadoon! won four Tonys: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics by Cinco Paul), and Best Orchestrations. The show entered the night tied with The Lost Boys for the most nominations, 12 each. The Lost Boys also took home four awards. Ragtime claimed four as well, including Best Revival of a Musical, with Joshua Henry winning Best Actor in a Musical and Caissie Levy taking Best Actress in a Musical.
The surprises and the history
Qween Jean won Best Costume Design for Cats: The Jellicle Ball, becoming the first openly transgender person in the 79-year history of the Tony Awards to win. Alden Ehrenreich, in his Broadway debut, won Best Featured Actor in a Play for Becky Shaw, beating out veterans Danny Burstein and Richard Thomas. Best Play went to Liberation over the heavier-favored Giant, leaving audiences briefly puzzled before the Pulitzer connection settled the room.
P!nk opened the show descending from the ceiling as Peter Pan, then launched a medley before most of the season's Broadway cast joined for a rewritten version of "Lady Marmalade," with new lyrics by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Mark Sonnenblick. Former hosts Neil Patrick Harris and Ariana DeBose both made cameo appearances. Later, P!nk performed "All That Jazz" alongside the current Broadway cast of Chicago, marking the musical's 30th anniversary on Broadway.
What the awards mean for Broadway this season
Broadway posted record grosses in the 2025-2026 season, with both total attendance and weekly grosses above pre-pandemic highs. CNBC reported the record season as evidence of consumers continuing to spend on live experiences over goods, even with inflation running above 4%. Several winners have already announced national tours. Schmigadoon! and Ragtime are both preparing road productions, with Ragtime heading out in 2027 following a final Broadway extension at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.
The Tony effect extends beyond the US. Fallen Angels, Oedipus, and Titanique all have existing West End connections, and Tony wins historically accelerate transatlantic transfers in both directions. The 79th ceremony also featured tributes to The Book of Mormon celebrating its 15th anniversary and Chicago at 30 — two shows that, together, have generated over a billion dollars in combined worldwide grosses and still sell out most nights.