Tony Awards 2026: "Schmigadoon!" wins best musical in a season saved by revivals

It was a unusual twelvemonth connected Broadway, but past it’s been unusual everywhere. Our satellite astatine times seems downright unrecognizable, with politicians acting similar mob bosses, AI transforming not conscionable the net but perchance the full economy, the outgo of surviving leaving lone the ace affluent capable to support up, and I won’t adjacent notation the clime crisis, but the forecast calls for much doom and gloom.

Good work, however, won’t beryllium denied, adjacent if Broadway producers person possibly overlearned the acquisition of past year’s sleeper, Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary!” Parody with a dense dose of campy has go each the rage successful a theatrical play successful which the champion philharmonic winner, “Schmigadoon!,” is an affectionate sendup of aureate property classics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe and their inspired descendants.

If Broadway is changing faster than the aged defender tin support pace, the aforesaid is existent for the civilization successful general. The economics of producing person scrambled the aged playbooks. Unusual hazard has occasionally brought unexpected rewards. “Schmigadoon!” fended disconnected the contention to instrumentality the night’s apical prize on with awards for some its publication and people by Cinco Paul.

Michael Arden’s spectacular accumulation of “The Lost Boys” — the staging won awards for Dane Laffrey’s scenic plan and Jen Schriever and Arden’s lighting — enriched the 1980s cult movie connected which the amusement is based with quality substance and high-flying showmanship. Shoshana Bean’s triumph for her featured show arsenic a persevering azygous mom, is simply a testament to the musical’s capacious heart. Ali Louis Bourzgui’s somewhat unexpected yet eminently worthy triumph for his featured show arsenic the vampire with front-man magnetism, catalyzed the production’s thrilling virtuosity. But fewer would picture this year’s ragtag enactment of caller musicals arsenic robust.

The lone overriding acquisition whitethorn beryllium that determination are nary overriding lessons. Two-time Oscar victor Adrien Brody made his Broadway debut successful “The Fear of 13,” reprising his acclaimed Olivier-nominated London performance. But helium didn’t adjacent person a information for his enactment — a snub that I recovered unaccountable.

Spoofs similar champion philharmonic nominee “Titanique,” a zany burlesque of James Cameron’s “Titanic” and each things Celine Dion, recovered caller respectability connected Broadway. And “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York”), the two-person British philharmonic by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, endeared itself to audiences (if not truthful overmuch to Tony voters) with its rom-com appeal. But what does it accidental astir a play successful which philharmonic revivals upstaged caller work?

“Ragtime,” the Lincoln Center Theatre accumulation directed by Lear deBessonet that originated astatine New York City Center, was not lone the astir operatic offering of the play but was each the astir emotionally stirring and dramatically ambitious. The show, which justly received the Tony for champion philharmonic revival contained possibly the season’s astir seismic circuit de force. Joshua Henry’s Tony-winning pb show arsenic Coalhouse Walker Jr., the path-breaking pianist tragically up of his time, was astonishing successful some its theatrical mightiness and its generosity, which allowed everyone astir him to shine, particularly Caissie Levy, who picked up a Tony for her pb show arsenic a achromatic matriarch whose governmental consciousness courageously awakens.

“Cats: The Jellicle Ball” pulled disconnected the seemingly intolerable by making Andrew Lloyd Webber’s megamusical look chill connected Broadway. The production’s extremist conception brings the queer audacity of Harlem Ballroom civilization to these feline proceedings. For their imaginative daring, co-directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch were justly honored arsenic were costume decorator Qween Jean and choreographers Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, among the production’s notable awards.

“Chess,” which was strangely overlooked successful the champion philharmonic revival class (“The Rocky Horror Show” strutted successful instead), whitethorn not person managed to flooded the situation of this over-elaborate geopolitical tale, adjacent with a puckish caller book. But the accumulation made Nicholas Christopher a apt aboriginal Tony victor star.

What was aged was caller again connected Broadway, but let’s anticipation that producers tin inactive judge that the champion is up of us.