Shmegadon!, A parody of Golden Age musicals, It received the Tony Award for Best Musical on Sunday, in a ceremony that honored a number of longtime Broadway first-time actors and established players like John Lithgow and Laurie Metcalfe.
““Sometimes singing, dancing, lots of jokes and a happy ending is all you really need,” he said. Saturday Night LiveLorne Michaels, taking the stage as lead producer of Shmegadon!
The musical adapted from the Apple TV show won four awards at the ceremony hosted by Pink, in a lively awards show that included a win for Alden Ehrenreich, for his sharp-tongued role in the black comedy Becky, what?Joshua Henry and Casey Levy Ragtime music And more.
Pulitzer Prize Winner release It won the Tony Award for Best Play, beating Giant and Little Bear Ridge RoadThis makes playwright Bess Wall the second American woman to win this category and the first in nearly 40 years.
while Cats: Jellicle Ball, Reimagining Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical as a ballroom competition, it had early momentum in broadcast television, with triumphs in direction, costumes and choreography. ragtime, Reviving the race and class tensions of the early 20th century, it won a Tony Award for Best Revival, in what was widely viewed as a closer Tony run. The musical, directed by Lear Debissonnette, took home four Tony Awards on Sunday, including nods for two of its lead actors.
Death of a salesman It won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play and was the ceremony’s biggest winner with six Tony Awards, although lead producer Scott Rudin was not on stage, after leaving the industry for several years due to allegations of bad behavior. Laurie Metcalf also won her third Tony Award for her role as Linda Loman in the play, and Joe Mantello won for Best Direction of a Play.
John Lithgow won a Tony Award for his performance as Roald Dahl in the play giantafter receiving the 2025 Olivier Award for this role. The controversial play delves into Dahl’s professed anti-Semitism, and sees Lithgow alternate between moments of cruelty and softness.
This is Lithgow’s third Tony win, having had one before He told The Hollywood Reporter That this would be his last role on Broadway, and on stage, he reflected on his career, recalling his first Tony Award in 53 years, saying, “I’m a very lucky actor.”
“I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on stage, but I have to tell you right now, this has to be one of the best,” Lithgow said.
The show also graced some old Broadway performers. Joshua Henry won his first Tony Award for his role in a film Ragtime music (which still received a standing ovation midway through the show), Casey Levy won her first Tony Award for her role as the mother in Ragtime and Shoshana Penn won her first Tony Award for her role as Lucy Emerson, the matriarch in the vampire musical Lost BoysAfter a long career in the theatre.
“It’s an honor to play this role,” said Henry, “of Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Black musician whose art led him to his love and his dream, and even in the face of tragedy he found a way to be heard. Every artist in this room, every artist in the house: fight. Fight to be heard.”
“This is for every woman who felt like it was too much or not enough. I beg you not to wait for permission to be yourself,” Bean said.
With Pink hosting, the show featured an opening number he wrote Dear Evan HansenBenj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Mark Sonnenblick, which included performers from nearly every show this season, brought out former host Neil Patrick Harris and Megan Thee Stallion, and was full of theatrical inside jokes. The show featured all-night performances from all of the nominated musicals and revivals, as well as reunion performances of chicago and Book of Mormon Celebrity presenters including Sting, Paul Rudd, Ben Platt, Bowen Young, Billy Crystal and Rachel Ziegler, who honored Chorus line.
While many of the show’s hosts have championed women’s rights, gay and transgender rights, and more, Ali Louis Borzge won his first Tony Award for his role as the lead vampire in Lost BoysHe was the only winner who defended Palestine.
“For Arab theater makers and artists, may we continue to tell our stories and show our faces, until our humanity becomes undeniable, and our families can no longer be written off as mere collateral damage,” Purzycki said. “I hope they know the beauty of our kisses on each cheek and the romance of a language rooted in the passion of love and life itself.”
Pink largely stayed away from politics, though her gesture at the loss of freedom of expression with famous audience members included several jokes but also seemed to be talking about the current moment and perhaps referencing the Tony Award broadcast on CBS, which is owned by Paramount.
“The powers that be are closing in on the First Amendment, as the bastions of free speech fall. “I think it’s important that Broadway stands strong and sticks to its values,” Pink said, leading the segment.
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical Cats: Jellicle Ball, It has thee Two first-time Tony Award winners reimagined Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical as a bizarre dance competition. The two paid homage to their dancehall roots, thanking black and brown trans women and dancehall patrons, as a sea of fans milled through the audience.
“To the 12-year-old who doesn’t fit in, who’s probably watching this on TV in their bedroom with the volume turned down,” Rauch said. “Come find your home at the Jellicle Ball,” Livingston added.
In winning the Tony Award for Best Costume Design for a Musical for her work CatsQueen Jane became the first openly trans winner in this category. After accepting the award, Jan was also nominated for designing the costumes for the play releaseHe pointed out the importance of this event.
“We’re here for the legacy of queer people. We have to take space for trans people. We have to change the paradigm… The world is now struggling so hard with so many diseases, and we know as a community that when we come together, we can make real and lasting change,” Jean said.
Omari Wells and Arturo Lyons, co-choreographers Cats: Jellicle Ball, who made their Broadway debut earned a Tony for their combination of ballroom and ballet and more for the musical revival.
In a sign of what is to come, Shmegadon! It won Best Book of a Musical and Best Score early in the night, during the Tonys pre-show hosted by Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess, with Cinco Ball taking home awards for both. Two more new musical contenders, Two strangers (carrying a cake across New York) and Titanictook home no awards on Sunday, in what was a mixed year for new musicals.
Lost Boys It also took home four awards, including set design (Dan Lavery) for its three-storey set which also sees cast members falling into pits, riding elevators and flying through the air, and lighting design, with designers Jane Shriver and Michael Arden, who also directed the show, taking home that trophy, as well as Borzge and Bean.
