8 Things You Need To Know About the 2026 Tony Awards
A note to self before I'm in the room where it happens next week.
My friend Angela has a lucky streak. She wins theater ticket lotteries, housing lotteries, and most recently, the lottery for seats at the 79th annual Tony Awards.
And as I am lucky enough to be her friend, she and I will be going to the Tony Awards in one week—along with our friend Bryn and my entire family—because her luck rubbed off and we all won tickets.
I’m trying to be calm, but you should have seen us Friday night when we got the notifications (and the outrageous corresponding credit card charges).
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So I write this, as I do every year, to prepare my readers for the Tony Awards. Yet this time, it’s also to prepare my parents so they don’t embarrass themselves in Radio City Music Hall, and so I feel appropriately prepared when I know I’m in the room for a particularly big moment.
Wherever you’re watching the Tony Awards this year, here’s what you need to know.
There’s No Clear Front-Runner for Best New Musical
I think of last year’s new Broadway musicals with such fondness. “Maybe Happy Ending” was the clear leader for me, but there were so many wonderful new shows—”Operation Mincemeat,” “Real Women Have Curves,” “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Dead Outlaw” and “Death Becomes Her” were all nominated—that if any of them had opened this season instead, they might have easily come into contention.
This year, it feels like nearly anyone’s game. “The Lost Boys,” a musical based on the movie about vampires, and “Schmigadoon!”, a light-hearted play on Golden Age musicals, both have 12 nominations. But there’s a lot of fondness for the two-person “Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York,” and loyal fans of the recent Broadway transfer of “Titanique.”
Pulitzer and Best Play Could Go Hand in Hand
Bess Wohl recently won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for “Liberation,” a play about a woman trying to understand her mother by reimagining her 1970s woman’s group. If “Liberation” wins Best Play, it’ll be the second year in a row that the two awards went hand in hand—after Branden Jacobs Jenkins’ “Purpose” won both last year.
“Liberation” is favored, yet I could also see “Giant,” which tells the story of Roald Dahl and stars John Lithgow, taking home the prize.
The Best Revival of a Musical Race Is Tradition vs. Reimagination
The musical revivals pool was quite small this year, so only three musicals (instead of the usual four or five) got nominated. “Chess” was shut out, leaving “Ragtime,” “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and “The Rocky Horror Show.”
It’s really a race between the first two, and the revivals couldn’t be more different. “Ragtime” is a more traditional production of the show with little to no changes. “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” on the other hand, reimagines “Cats” in ballroom culture, complete with a catwalk, drag, vogueing, and no actual felines to be found.
Will voters go for a beautiful but traditional production? Or a joyful total reimagining?
Critics Favor ‘Death of a Salesman’
One of my biggest regrets of this season is giving up my discounted ticket to “Death of a Salesman.” This revival leads the plays for most nominations (nine) and has been lauded for its stellar cast and beautiful production design. While I loved “Becky Shaw,” a dark comedy with some incredibly toxic relationships, “Oedipus“ chilled me to the bone, and there are some big stars in “Every Brilliant Thing” and “Fallen Angels,” I’ll be shocked if this one doesn’t take home the Tony.
Joshua Henry Is Everyone’s Favorite
Joshua Henry, who leads “Ragtime” as Coalhouse Walker Jr., arguably already won this Tony when the show opened at New York City Center in 2024 (before it was even set to transfer to Broadway). It’s not that the other nominees aren’t incredible—Nicholas Christopher from “Chess” is also a fan favorite, for example—but watching him in this particularly heavy, difficult role is life-changing. And I’m not being dramatic.
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Best Original Score Could Go to a Play
I don’t think that it will, but it could. In another marking of a thinner year for new musicals, two out of the five nominees for Best Original Score are plays: “Death of a Salesman” and “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” There was even doubt that “Schmigadoon!”, nominated for Best Musical, could be eligible for Best Original Score, as a lot of the music was written for the Apple TV show before it came to Broadway.
The award could go also to rock band The Rescues for their work on “The Lost Boys,” or for the dynamic duo behind “Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York.”
‘Majorie Prime’ Brings Record-Breaking Nominations
“Marjorie Prime,” a play about living with AI-versions of deceased people you’ve loved, missed most of the bigger nominations, yet has two record-breaking cast members: Danny Burstein and June Squibb. Burstein’s nomination is his ninth, making him the most-nominated male actor of all time. Squibb’s nomination breaks the record for oldest acting nominee. She’s 96, a full seven years older than Lois Smith, who previously held the record when she was nominated for “The Inheritance” at 89.
There’ll Be Some Legendary Performances
Much to my mother’s delight, Pink is hosting this year’s Tony Awards. Pink’s never been on Broadway, but she definitely knows how to perform theatrically. Maybe we’ll see some flips or acrobatics.
And besides our usual performances—all of the nominees for Best Musical and Best Revival of a Musical—“The Book of Mormon” is doing a special performance for its 15th anniversary. Hello!
Shows I’ve Seen/What’s On My Radar
Because the Broadway theater season (aka the deadline for Tony eligibility) ends in April, the summer tends to be a quieter time. But that doesn’t mean there’s not a ton of Off-Broadway or Off-Off Broadway to get excited about.
Animal Wisdom: Playwright, composer, and ghost conjurer Heather Christian continues to flex the definition of what modern musical theater can be. If you’re looking to get immersed in theater—without having to get up on stage—this is a rare opportunity. Runs until 6/14.
Gate Shut Panic: I love being able to walk to the theater. This production that ran at JACK in Brooklyn (after a weekend-long run this week) pushed the limits of what toxic sister relationships could mean.
||:GIRLS:||:CHANCE:||:MUSIC:||: Eisa Davis is a playwright I’ll always want to watch. In her newest work at Vineyard Theater, we follow four teenagers at a girls’ music program in Berkley, CA. Runs 6/2-6/19.
THE HEADS: MTC’s Logan Collins and Malaika Fernandes are bringing a unique production to downtown theater, described as “I am eight actors, a saxophone, and a big black box. THE HEADS puts words to what I’ve got going on up there.” Runs 6/4-6/5.
The Maids: Kip Williams, who directed the tech-heavy “The Picture of Dorian Gray” brings back digital prowess with this production at St. Ann’s Warehouse, about two maids who role play dark fantasies about their mistress. Runs 6/14.
I think that’s it! Apologies in advance for only talking about going to The Tonys for the next few weeks, months, years (?), and shout-out to Angela’s luck and my AI corporate job for funding this.