The 79th annual Tony Awards took over Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 7, 2026. Pop superstar P!nk hosted Broadway’s biggest night, and she delivered an opening number that left the audience stunned. The ceremony celebrated the best of the theater season, with Death of a Salesman walking away with the most trophies.
Death of a Salesman Takes Six Awards
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman was the big winner of the evening. The revival collected six Tony Awards. Schmigadoon!, The Lost Boys, and Ragtime each followed closely behind with four wins.
Laurie Metcalf won Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role in Death of a Salesman. Joe Mantello took home the trophy for Best Direction of a Play. The production also won Best Revival of a Play.
Lesley Manville won Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for Oedipus. John Lithgow won Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Giant.
On the musical side, Joshua Henry won Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Ragtime. Caissie Levy won Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for the same show. Schmigadoon! took home the top prize of Best Musical.
P!nk Wins Over Broadway as Host
Many people thought P!nk was an unusual choice to host the Tonys. She has never performed in a Broadway show. But from the very first moment she stepped on stage, she won everyone over.
Her opening number was a clever, freshly written version of “Lady Marmalade” . She was joined by Megan Thee Stallion and dozens of other performers from the season’s biggest shows. At one point, she lifted former host Neil Patrick Harris off the stage using only her legs while dangling from a harness.
Fans on social media could not believe what they were seeing. One person wrote, “P!nk just f-g KILLED the opening number.” Another said, “Man, she can do anything.”
P!nk also performed “All That Jazz” during a special tribute to the musical Chicago, which celebrated 30 years on Broadway. She proved she has the vocal and dance skills to fit right in with the theater crowd.
Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess hosted the pre-show called Tony Awards: Act One. The pre-show ended 20 minutes early, which surprised everyone in a good way. Benanti joked, “Nobody gets into theater to become rich and famous. They become rich and famous to get into theater.”
Ali Louis Bourzgui Gives Powerful Speech
The most talked about moment of the night came from Ali Louis Bourzgui. He won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as David in The Lost Boys. But instead of just thanking his agents, he used his time on stage to send a message.
Bourzgui, who is a first-generation Moroccan-American, spoke directly to the audience about billionaires, colonizers, and fascists. He compared them to vampires who have “shunned their own humanity in order to achieve a nonexistent sense of superiority.”
He then dedicated his award to several groups. He spoke about “the beautiful tapestry of immigrant families who make this country really special.” He told them, “May you one day not have to audition for the empathy that should be freely given by this country.”
He also spoke directly to “the queer and trans communities who have and always will exist no matter what people in power try to take away from them.” And he mentioned “the people of Palestine who deserve a free life, a full life, without occupation.”
He ended by remembering his late mentor. He said, “If there’s one thing we can learn from vampires, it’s that life is short but that it’s a gift. Find beauty in the ephemeral and gratitude in what is not promised.”
The speech drew applause from the audience inside Radio City Music Hall. It quickly spread across social media after the broadcast ended.
Special Performances and Tributes
The night was full of musical performances. The casts of The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon!, Titanรญque, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Ragtime, and The Rocky Horror Show all performed numbers from their shows.
Rachel Zegler delivered a powerful solo version of “What I Did For Love” to honor the 50th anniversary of A Chorus Line. Critics called it one of the best moments of the night.
The original cast of The Book of Mormon also reunited for a special performance. Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells returned to the stage.
Qween Jean made history at the ceremony. She became the first trans person to win a Tony Award. She won Best Costume Design of a Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball. She walked on stage in a beautiful lavender gown and shouted, “Happy Pride!” to the audience.
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Snubs and Surprises of the Evening
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) went home empty-handed despite receiving strong reviews. The show’s musical number was delightful, but it did not win in any category. Titanรญque and The Rocky Horror Show were also shut out completely.
Alden Ehrenreich provided one of the biggest surprises of the night. He won Best Featured Actor in a Play for Becky Shaw. It was his Broadway debut. He was up against strong competitors like Christopher Abbott, Danny Burstein, and Richard Thomas. His win caught many people off guard.
Scott Rudin, the controversial producer, made a quiet return to Broadway. His production of Death of a Salesman won several awards. But when the show won its biggest prize, Rudin did not go on stage. Nathan Lane accepted the award instead and focused his speech on the director and the playwright.
Marla Mindelle brought laughs every time she appeared on stage. She played a version of Celine Dion in Titanรญque. At one point, she tried to upstage P!nk while the host was announcing a commercial break.
The 2026 Tony Awards aired live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+. The full ceremony ran for three hours.
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