The 79th Annual Tony Awards brought plenty of surprises to Radio City Music Hall on Sunday night, with the evening’s biggest honors split among “Death of a Salesman,” “The Lost Boys,” “Schmigadoon!” and “Ragtime.”
No single production swept the 2026 ceremony. Instead, the wealth was shared across the board.
“Schmigadoon!” and “The Lost Boys” entered the night tied with a leading 12 nominations each, and both walked away with four awards.
Taking home the trophy for best musical was the Apple TV+ series-turned-stage production “Schmigadoon!” In a humorous acceptance speech, producer Christine Schwarzman gave an unexpected shoutout to the streaming platform for axing the original television show, according to The Associated Press.
“Without them dropping it, we couldn’t have picked it up and run with it. So thanks, Apple TV,” Schwarzman said.
The crowd-pleasing musical follows real-world couple Josh (Alex Brightman) and Melissa (Sara Chase) as they find themselves trapped in a magical world with characters, plots, songs and dance numbers straight from golden-age classic musicals like “Carousel,” “The Music Man,” “Oklahoma!” and more, according to Playbill.
‘Ragtime’ revival stars thank mentors
The acclaimed revival of “Ragtime” took home four Tony Awards, including best musical revival, best sound design, and best leading actor and actress in a musical. The production entered the evening with 11 nominations, according to The Associated Press.
Caissie Levy won her first Tony for leading actress in a musical for her performance as Mother. A mother of two in real life, Levy used her time at the microphone to give credit to an often-overlooked support system, according to AP.
“Thank you to ... every babysitter who’s made it possible for me to be both a Broadway actor and a mother,” Levy said.
Her co-star, Joshua Henry, won best leading actor in a musical and kept the grateful spirit going by thanking his family and then his very first voice teacher.
John Lithgow sets 53-year record
John Lithgow made history Sunday night as the oldest male competitive acting winner in Tony history. At 80 years old, Lithgow won best lead actor in a play for “Giant.”
Roy Dotrice was the previous record holder at 77 for featured actor in a play in 2000 for “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” according to Variety.
The win broke a 53-year run between competitive Tony victories for the actor, who won his first award in 1973 for “The Changing Room.” According to Variety, the gap passes Angela Lansbury’s previous record of 43 years by a full decade.
“Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them,” Lithgow said in his acceptance speech, according to Variety. “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.”
Lithgow, who was recently cast as Albus Dumbledore in HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” television series, beat out a competitive category that included Nathan Lane (“Death of a Salesman”), Mark Strong (“Oedipus”), Daniel Radcliffe (“Every Brilliant Thing”) and Will Harrison (“Punch”).
Shoshana Bean honors single mothers
Shoshana Bean, who won the Tony for best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical, also dedicated her milestone moment to moms.
Bean, who plays a single mother on stage, first recognized the young actors playing her children. She then turned her attention to her own life, praising her mother for raising her alone and shouting out single moms and women everywhere.
‘The Book of Mormon’ celebrates milestone anniversary
The ceremony celebrated major milestones for three productions: “The Book of Mormon,” “Chicago” and “A Chorus Line,” according to Playbill.
To mark the 15th anniversary of “The Book of Mormon,” the musical’s original Broadway cast reunited on the Radio City stage for a live performance.