The 79th Tony Awards celebrated Broadway’s biggest achievements on Sunday night, with “Schmigadoon!” walking away with the Best Musical award and Bess Wohl’s “Liberation”, taking home the coveted Best Play honour at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
The revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” turned out to be the most awarded show of the evening, collecting six Tony Awards. The production won Best Revival of a Play and earned additional honours for direction, lighting design, scenic design and sound design. Laurie Metcalf also secured the Featured Actress in a Play trophy, marking her third career Tony Award.
Based on the former Apple TV+ series, “Schmigadoon!” entered the ceremony tied with “The Lost Boys” for the most nominations, with 12 each.
The musical ultimately claimed four awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical for creator Cinco Paul, Best Original Score, and Best Orchestrations.
The “Lost Boys”, adapted from the 1987 cult vampire film, also finished the night with four wins. The production swept the featured musical acting categories, with Ali Louis Bourzgui winning Featured Actor in a Musical and Shoshana Bean taking Featured Actress in a Musical. It also won awards for Scenic Design and Lighting Design of a Musical.
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Among the acting honours, John Lithgow won Lead Actor in a Play for “Giant”, earning his third Tony Award. Lesley Manville secured Lead Actress in a Play for her performance in “Oedipus”.
The revival of “Ragtime” dominated the musical acting categories. Joshua Henry won Lead Actor in a Musical, while Caissie Levy claimed Lead Actress in a Musical. The production also won Best Revival of a Musical, finishing the night with four awards.
Alden Ehrenreich earned his first Tony Award, winning Featured Actor in a Play for “Becky Shaw”.
Another notable winner was “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”, which collected three awards, including Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography. Costume designer Qween Jean won Best Costume Design of a Musical, becoming the first openly trans winner in the category.
The ceremony was hosted by P!nk. The singer opened the event with a performance of “Lady Marmalade” featuring guest performers including Megan Thee Stallion and later paid tribute to Chicago with a rendition of “All That Jazz.” The evening also featured celebrations of long-running Broadway productions including “The Book of Mormon” and “A Chorus Line”.
WINNERS
BEST MUSICAL: Schmigadoon!
BEST PLAY: Liberation by Bess Wohl
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL: Ragtime
LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY: John Lithgow (Giant)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Lesley Manville (Oedipus)
LEAD ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: Joshua Henry (Ragtime)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Caissie Levy (Ragtime)
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY: Alden Ehrenreich (Becky Shaw)
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Laurie Metcalf (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman)
FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: Ali Louis Bourzgui (The Lost Boys)
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Shoshana Bean (The Lost Boys)