Lost Boys and Schmigadoon! Lead Tony Noms; Liberation Wins Pulitzer

Schmigadoon! received 10 Tony noms.
Credit: Matthew Murphy and 
Evan Zimmerman.

The Lost Boys and Schmigadoon! tied for the most Tony nominations with 12 each including Best Musical. The nominations were announced on May 5 by Uzo Aduba and Darren Criss on CBS Good Morning and then on the Tony Awards's YouTube channel from the Sofitel Hotel. The awards presented by the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing will be presented on June 7 at Radio City Music Hall and broadcast by CBS. CBS and Pluto TV will present The Tony Awards: Act One, a pre-show of live, exclusive content leading into the 79th Annual Tony Awards. Additional details will be available at a future date.

The Tonys are strikingly different this year from the Drama Desks which include Off-Broadway in all their categories. The DDs gave two Off-Broadway musicals Mexodus and Beau: The Musicals the most noms with ten each. The Lost Boys received only five DD noms in design categories and Schmigadoon! got 4. The Outer Critics Circle, on the other hand, were more generous with Lost Boys, nominating the vampire musical for 11 awards, their highest amount.

Bess Wohl's Liberation won the Pulitzer
and is nominated for the Best Play Tony.
Credit: Joan Marcus

The other Tony nominees for Best Musical are Titanique and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York). The nominees for Best Play are The Balusters, Giant, Liberation and Little Bear Ridge Road. Liberation won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama the day before and Little Bear Ridge Road was named Best Play of the season by the New York Drama Critics Circle last week. (Runners-up for the Pulitzer were Bowl EP and Meet the Cartozians.) Musical pickings were so slim this year two dramatic plays (Death of a Salesman and Joe Turner's Come and Gone) received nominations for Best Original Score.

There were a number of surprises and omissions. Art, Beaches, Proof, and The Queen of Versailles were totally ignored and The Fear of 13 only garnered two nods in the design categories. Prominent names who received no Tony love include Adrien Brody, Lea Michele, Ayo Edebrini, Jean Smart, Don Cheadle, and Keanu Reeves. Chess was left out of the Best Musical Revival category, though there are only three shows in that slot.

If Schmigadoon! wins Best Musical
we will get Schmicago on Broadway?

The big battle will probably be for the top Tony prize of Best Musical with The Lost Boys and Schmigadoon! as the frontrunners. I liked both shows, but Schmigadoon! has a slight edge for me. I'm really hope this parody musical wins so that we can get Schmicago, the second season of the TV series on stage, and then Into the Schmoods, the unfilmed third season either on the air or on stage--or both.

In the acting categories, Joshua Henry of Ragtime is the only sure winner in my view with most of the other slots up for grabs. Best Actor in a Play will go to either Nathan Lane or John Lithgow, both previous winners (Lane three times and Lithgow twice). Lesley Manville should get Best Actress in a Play, even though her show Oedipus has closed and she's back in London. Best Actress in a Musical is a real toss-up with no clear front runner. My favorite is Sara Chase in Schmigadoon!

Legitimate theatrical productions opening in any of the 41 eligible Broadway theatres during the current season may be considered for Tony nominations. The 2025/2026 eligibility season began April 28, 2025 and ended April 26, 2026. The Tony Awards will be voted in 26 competitive categories by 857 designated Tony voters within the theatre community.

Special Tony Awards will be presented to The League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the largest professional theatre association of its kind in the United States, with 82 member theatres located in every major market in the U.S., including 30 states and the District of Columbia. 

As previously announced, the 2026 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre will be presented to 1/52 Project, Jake Bell, Kenn Lubin, and Loren Plotkin. The Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award will be presented to Mary-Mitchell Campbell. André Bishop, Jules Fisher, and James Lapine will each receive the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

The 2025-2026 Tony Award Nominating Committee consists of: Bob Balaban, Dani Barlow, Mark Bennett, Rob Berman, Jocelyn Bioh, Jeremy Blocker, Rick Boynton, Brian Harlan Brooks, Dr. Jamie Cacciola-Price, Jade King Carroll, Adam Chanler-Berat, Jordan E. Cooper, Will Davis, Andy Einhorn, Dan Foster, Donald P. Gagnon, Ph.D., Deeksha Gaur, Tiffani Gavin, Daniel Goldstein, Linda Goodrich, Joshua Harmon, Timothy Huang, James Ijames, Anna K. Jacobs, Jessica Jahn, Christine Toy Johnson, Rosalie Joseph, Rod Kaats, Peter Kaczorowski, Glen Kelly, Michael Korie, L Morgan Lee, Peter Marks, Lisa McNulty, Danny Mefford, Ira Mont, Jacqueline Diane Moscou, Jessica Paz, Georgina Pazcoguin, Karen Perry, T. Oliver Reid, Carole Rothman, Rafael Sánchez, Florie Seery, Walt Spangler, Mark Stanley, Susan Soon He Stanton, Jeffrey Sweet, Jason Tam, Cori Thomas, Alexandria Wailes, Charlotte Wilcox, Patricia Wilcox, BD Wong, and David C. Woolard.

2025-26 Tony nominees list:

Best Play

The Balusters, David Lindsay-Abaire
Giant, Mark Rosenblatt
Liberation, Bess Wohl
Little Bear Ridge Road, Samuel D. Hunter

Best Musical
The Lost Boys
Schmigadoon!
Titaníque
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Becky Shaw
Every Brilliant Thing
Fallen Angels
Oedipus

Best Revival of a Musical
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Ragtime
Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Nicholas Christopher, Chess
Luke Evans, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show
Joshua Henry, Ragtime
Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Brandon Uranowitz, Ragtime

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sara Chase, Schmigadoon!
Stephanie Hsu, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show
Caissie Levy, Ragtime
Marla Mindelle, Titaníque
Christiani Pitts, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Will Harrison, Punch
Nathan Lane, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
John Lithgow, Giant
Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing
Mark Strong, Oedipus

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Rose Byrne, Fallen Angels
Carrie Coon, Bug
Susannah Flood, Liberation
Lesley Manville, Oedipus
Kelli O'Hara, Fallen Angels

Best Book of a Musical
The Lost Boys, David Hornsby and Chris Hoch
Schmigadoon!, Cinco Paul
Titaníque; Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, and Tye Blue
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Jim Barne and Kit Buchan

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Caroline Shaw
August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Steve Bargonetti
The Lost Boys, The Rescues
Schmigadoon!, Cinco Paul
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Jim Barne and Kit Buchan

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Hildegard Bechtler, Oedipus
Takeshi Kata, Bug
Chloe Lamford, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
David Korins, Dog Day Afternoon
David Rockwell, Fallen Angels

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
dots, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show
Soutra Gilmour, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Rachel Hauck, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Dane Laffrey, The Lost Boys
Scott Pask, Schmigadoon!

Best Costume Design of a Play
Brenda Abbandandolo, Dog Day Afternoon
Qween Jean, Liberation
Jeff Mahshie, Fallen Angels
Emilio Sosa, The Balusters
Paul Tazewell, August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Linda Cho, Ragtime
Linda Cho, Schmigadoon!
Qween Jean, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Ryan Park, The Lost Boys
David I. Reynoso, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Isabella Byrd, Dog Day Afternoon
Natasha Chivers, Oedipus
Stacey Derosier, August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Heather Gilbert, Bug
Heather Gilbert, The Fear of 13
Jack Knowles, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, Chess
Jane Cox, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show
Donald Holder, Schmigadoon!
Adam Honoré, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Adam Honoré and Donald Holder (Lighting Design) and 59 Studio (Projection Design), Ragtime
Jen Schriever and Michael Arden, The Lost Boys

Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington, August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Tom Gibbons, Oedipus
Lee Kinney, The Fear of 13
Josh Schmidt, Bug
Mikaal Sulaiman, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Kai Harada, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Kai Harada, Ragtime
Adam Fisher, The Lost Boys
Brian Ronan, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show
Walter Trarbach, Schmigadoon!

Best Direction of a Play
Nicholas Hytner, Giant
Robert Icke, Oedipus
Kenny Leon, The Balusters
Joe Mantello, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Whitney White, Liberation

Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, The Lost Boys
Lear deBessonet, Ragtime
Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!
Tim Jackson, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Best Choreography
Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!
Ellenore Scott, Ragtime
Ani Taj, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show
Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant, The Lost Boys

Best Orchestrations
Doug Besterman and Mike Morris, Schmigadoon!
Ethan Popp, Kyler England, Adrianne "AG" Gonzalez, and Gabriel Mann; The Lost Boys
Lux Pyramid, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Brian Usifer, Chess
Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Wilson, Trevor Holder, and Doug Schadt; Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Betsy Aidem, Liberation
Marylouise Burke, The Balusters
Aya Cash, Giant
Laurie Metcalf, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
June Squibb, Marjorie Prime

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Christopher Abbott, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Danny Burstein, Marjorie Prime
Brandon J. Dirden, Waiting for Godot
Alden Ehrenreich, Becky Shaw
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Richard Thomas, The Balusters

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Shoshana Bean, The Lost Boys
Hannah Cruz, Chess
Rachel Dratch, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Ana Gasteyer, Schmigadoon!
Nichelle Lewis, Ragtime

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Lost Boys
André De Shields, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Bryce Pinkham, Chess
Ben Levi Ross, Ragtime
Layton Williams, Titaníque

Total nominations by show:
The Lost Boys - 12
Schmigadoon! - 12
Ragtime – 11
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - 9
Cats: The Jellicle Ball - 9
Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show – 9
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) - 8
Oedipus – 7
August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone – 5
The Balusters – 5
Chess - 5
Fallen Angels – 5
Liberation - 5
Bug – 4
Giant - 4
Titaníque - 4
Dog Day Afternoon - 3
Becky Shaw - 2
Every Brilliant Thing – 2
The Fear of 13 - 2
Marjorie Prime - 2

Little Bear Ridge Road - 1

Punch – 1
Waiting for Godot - 1