'Schmigadoon!' wins Best Musical as P!nk hosts a starry 2026 Tony Awards

Broadway's biggest night delivered both a record and a surprise. At the 79th Tony Awards, held on 7 June at Radio City Music Hall in New York, the stage adaptation of cult television comedy 'Schmigadoon!' was named Best Musical, capping a four-award evening for the show.

The ceremony was hosted by P!nk, billed as the biggest pop star ever to take the role, who brought a performer's energy to a night that balanced spectacle with several genuinely historic moments. Among them was a record-setting haul for a revival of an American classic.

It was, by any measure, a strong year for revivals and for writer-performers, with the headline prizes spread across new work and reimagined classics in a way that reflected the breadth of the current Broadway season.

'Schmigadoon!' tops the night

Adapted from the affectionate musical-theatre parody that began life on streaming television, 'Schmigadoon!' converted its built-in goodwill into Broadway's most coveted prize. Cinco Paul, who wrote the music, lyrics and book, won three Tonys for his work, placing the show in rare company as one of the few Best Musical winners credited to a single creator across all three disciplines, a feat previously associated with the likes of 'Hamilton' and 'Hadestown'.

Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, a producer on the show, won his first competitive Tony in the process, a notable footnote to an already eventful evening.

The win is also a vote of confidence in screen-to-stage transfers, a category that has produced both triumphs and cautionary tales on Broadway. 'Schmigadoon!' arrived with the advantage of a property already steeped in musical-theatre affection, its source material a loving send-up of the form's golden-age conventions, and the show converted that knowing warmth into a production that played as both parody and genuine homage.

A record for 'Death of a Salesman'

The night's biggest single tally went to a revival of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman', which won six Tonys and, in claiming Best Revival of a Play, set a record as a fourth winner in that category for the production's lineage. The result reaffirmed the enduring pull of one of American theatre's defining works.

Elsewhere among the revivals, 'Ragtime' had a strong night of its own, taking Best Revival of a Musical along with leading-acting honours, while Bess Wohl's 'Liberation' won Best Play.

• Best Musical: 'Schmigadoon!'
• Best Play: 'Liberation' by Bess Wohl
• Best Revival of a Musical: 'Ragtime'
• Best Revival of a Play: 'Death of a Salesman' (a record six wins)
• Best Leading Actor in a Musical: Joshua Henry ('Ragtime')
• Best Leading Actress in a Musical: Caissie Levy ('Ragtime')
• Best Leading Actor in a Play: John Lithgow ('Giant')
• Best Leading Actress in a Play: Lesley Manville ('Oedipus')

“The biggest pop star ever to host the show brought a performer's instinct to a night that rewarded both bold new writing and faithful revivals.”

— An account of the ceremony

Acting honours and historic firsts

The acting categories spread the love across the season's strongest productions. John Lithgow took Best Leading Actor in a Play for 'Giant' and Lesley Manville won Best Leading Actress in a Play for 'Oedipus', while 'Ragtime' provided both leading musical acting winners in Joshua Henry and Caissie Levy.

The night also featured a barrier-breaking design win, with the production 'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' earning recognition in the costume categories and contributing a historic first for the field, a reminder that the Tonys increasingly celebrate the craft behind the curtain as well as the names above the title.

Background

The Tony Awards, formally the Antoinette Perry Awards, have honoured excellence in Broadway theatre since 1947 and remain the industry's most prestigious prizes. The 2026 ceremony, the 79th, returned to Radio City Music Hall and leaned on a high-wattage host in P!nk to draw a broad television audience to a night that mixed prestige drama, splashy musicals and several record-setting results.

What it means: a Best Musical win for 'Schmigadoon!' is a vote of confidence in screen-to-stage adaptations and in single-author musicals, while the record haul for 'Death of a Salesman' underlines the lasting appeal of the canon. For Broadway, emerging from a season of strong revivals, the night offered both reassurance and a few genuine firsts.