The 2026 Tony Awards put a spotlight on powerhouse performers.
Taking center stage on Broadway’s biggest night each actor who took home the coveted prize took time to acknowledge the supreme appreciation they each carry for their fellow artisans as well as for the audience that comes up to support them night after night on The Great White Way.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 07: (L-R) Laurie Metcalf and Mae Roth attend The 79th Annual Tony Awards Green Room Presented By Cunard at Radio City Music Hall on June 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Valerie Terranova/Getty Images for Cunard)
“I read it, and I said, ‘Clear the decks.’ This is what I want to do, because it’s not ready, but I want to be part of the process, getting it ready, and then doing it,” Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play winner John Lithgow told reporters after winning about what it took to get Giant to the stage for him.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 07: Caissie Levy, winner of the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical award for Ragtime, and Joshua Henry, winner of the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, react backstage during The 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
Going on about his profound experience playing legendary author Roald Dahl he stated: “There was so much simply calculation at every point I had to figure out, or we had to figure out together. Why is this man doing this? Because I assume you’ve all seen giant, it ends with a moment that is inexplicably horrible, and my challenge was always motivate that last moment….in my mind that’s exactly what the play is about, and it’s the gift we give to an audience. It’s just to ruminate on that very serious subject, antisemitism, cruelty of all kinds, hatred of the other. These are things that we’re dealing with these days up front and personal and I think that’s what makes Giant so important, and what’s making such a success.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 07: Lesley Manville accepts the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play award for Oedipus onstage during The 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play winner Laurie Metcalf, Death of a Salesman also expressed what it meant to be part of a prolific show that inspired her performance and led to the Tony Award.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 07: Shoshana Bean accepts the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical award for The Lost Boys onstage during The 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
“Working on a big iconic classic like this is different. I have been doing a lot of contemporary plays, and, and so it was new for me to have a text of this, a text that this, that is this weighty, and that, so many people know, and to try and figure out a way to make it be seen in a new light, that I felt was the challeng,” Metcalf told reporters post win.
The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing took place on June 7. At The Broadway League, Kristin Caskey is Chair and Jason Laks is President. At the American Theatre Wing, Ted Chapin is Interim Chair and Heather A. Hitchens is President & CEO.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 07: Ali Louis Bourzgui attends The 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
Sponsors for the American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards include: City National Bank – the official bank of The Tony Awards; Capital One and Mastercard – the official payments partner of The Tony Awards; Carnegie Mellon University – the first-ever, exclusive higher education partner; Baccarat – the official partner of the Tony Awards; Cunard – the official cruise partner of The Tony Awards; Delta Air Lines – the official airline of The Tony Awards; Dewar’s – the official scotch whisky of The Tony Awards; AKT – the official partner of the Tony Awards; Rockefeller Center – the official Destination of The Tony Awards; Sofitel New York – the official hotel of The Tony Awards; Playbill; Rainbow Room – the official partner of the Tony Nominee Luncheon.
