Theater's Biggest Night
Pink Hosts Tony Awards as 'Liberation' Wins Best Play and John Lithgow Secures Third Acting Honor
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The 79th Annual Tony Awards delivered a historic night at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2026. Pop star Pink hosted the ceremony, and the top prize for Best New Play went to Bess Wohl's *Liberation* — making Wohl only the fourth woman ever to win that award Associated Press.
John Lithgow also made history, winning Best Leading Actor in a Play for *Giant*. The win gave him a rare "Tony Trifecta" — victories in three separate acting categories over 53 years Broadway World. The revival of *Death of a Salesman* led all productions with five wins on the night kolotv.com.
'Liberation' Ends a 40-Year Drought for Women Playwrights
Bess Wohl's *Liberation* is set in 1970s Ohio and follows a women's consciousness-raising group. It won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama in May before taking home the Tony The Pulitzer Prize Board. It is the 18th play in history to win both prizes in the same year Associated Press.
Wohl said in her acceptance speech, "It has been almost 40 years since an American woman won this award." Before her, only three women had won Best Play as solo authors: Frances Goodrich in 1956, Wendy Wasserstein in 1989, and Yasmina Reza in 1998 and 2009 Associated Press. Many critics framed the play as a direct response to today's political climate around women's rights LA Times.
Lithgow Wins His Third Tony Across Three Acting Categories
John Lithgow played Roald Dahl in *Giant*, a play that confronts the beloved author's antisemitism. His win adds Best Leading Actor in a Play to earlier wins for Featured Actor in a Play in 1973 and Leading Actor in a Musical in 2002 Broadway World.
Lithgow said his challenge was to "help people understand where that kind of cruelty comes from" Associated Press. His win was the most talked-about of the night. Some Jewish advocacy groups raised concern that the play's success could bring renewed attention to Dahl's more harmful writings kolotv.com.
'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' Trades Whiskers for Ballroom Voguing
The boldest reinvention of the season came from *Cats: The Jellicle Ball*. Directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch scrapped the feline costumes and replaced them with the vogue and ballroom culture of New York City. They won Best Direction of a Musical kgns.tv.
Costume designer Qween Jean also won a Tony for the show — becoming the first openly trans woman to win the award. She said, "We are taking up space in ways we have to" Broadway World. GLAAD called her win a blueprint for more inclusive hiring across Broadway's technical and design roles.
Pink's Hosting Debut Drew Younger Crowds to Broadway's Biggest Night
Pink opened the main CBS telecast with a 7-minute medley that included "Lady Marmalade" and featured 170 performers on stage Broadway World. Early ratings data showed a jump in younger viewers compared to the 2025 ceremony TVLine.
Pink joked about her unusual casting: "When the call came, I was like, 'Why me?' But they said, 'Because we want more viewership.' And I was like, 'Great! I have a purpose!'" Variety. Some Broadway fans pushed back online, saying the host role should go to theater veterans. But industry insiders say the ratings bump could open doors for a Pink Broadway debut TVLine.
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