'Schmigadoon!' wins best musical as 'Death of a Salesman' leads at 2026 Tony Awards

'Schmigadoon!' won Best Musical while 'Death of a Salesman' led with six awards at 2026 Tony Awards

The 79th Tony Awards celebrated Broadway’s biggest achievements in New York on June 7, with Schmigadoon! taking home the award for Best New Musical and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman emerging as the most awarded production of the night.

Hosted by singer-songwriter P!nk at Radio City Music Hall, the ceremony featured performances, celebrity appearances and major milestones across theatre.

Schmigadoon!, adapted from the Apple TV+ series created by Cinco Paul, won four awards, including Best New Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. Accepting the top prize, producer Lorne Michaels said, “Sometimes singing, dancing, jokes and a happy ending are all you need.”

The award for Best New Play went to Liberation by Bess Wohl, which also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama earlier this year. During her acceptance speech, Wohl said, “I want to honor women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice.”

Death of a Salesman secured six Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play and Best Direction of a Play for Joe Mantello. Laurie Metcalf won Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the production.

John Lithgow made Tony Awards history by becoming the oldest man to win a competitive acting Tony at age 80. He received Best Leading Actor in a Play for Giant, portraying author Roald Dahl. Lithgow reflected on his career, saying, “Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them.”

Ragtime won Best Revival of a Musical, while its stars Caissie Levy and Joshua Henry earned leading acting honours. Cats: The Jellicle Ball received recognition for Best Direction of a Musical and Best Costume Design of a Musical.

Costume designer Qween Jean made history as the first openly transgender person to win a Tony Award. Accepting her award for Cats: The Jellicle Ball, she described the achievement as “monumental” and spoke about the importance of representation.

P!nk opened the ceremony with a large-scale performance of “Lady Marmalade” alongside Megan Thee Stallion and a cast of performers, before later joining the cast of Chicago for a rendition of “All That Jazz”.