‘Liberation,’‘Ragtime,’ Lithgow lead Tonys with social themes

John Lithgow wins best leading actor at the Tony Awards for his role in Giant

“Liberation” won best play at Sunday’s 2026 Tony Awards, “Ragtime” took best musical revival and John Lithgow won best leading actor for “Giant,” highlighting Broadway works tackling themes of gender equality, race, class and antisemitism.

“Liberation,” a drama examining the legacy of the 1970s women’s liberation movement, added to its 2026 Pulitzer Prize for drama, as author Bess Wohl became the fourth woman to win the Tony Award for best play and the first since 2009.

“Ragtime” prevailed over “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” reviving a sweeping story that intertwines Black, immigrant and upper-class white lives, exploring race, class and the promise of the American Dream at the dawn of the 20th century.

In “Giant,” the 80-year-old Lithgow portrayed author Roald Dahl in the 1980s as he faces fallout for remarks deemed antisemitic and weighs apologizing against risking his reputation. It was his third Tony, having won his first 53 years ago for his Broadway debut in “The Changing Room.”

“At every point we had to figure out, ‘Why is this man doing this?’” he told reporters later. “Antisemitism, cruelty of all kinds ... these are things that we're dealing with these days up front and personal ... that's what makes "Giant" so important and such a success.”

Lesley Manville won best lead actress in a play for her role as Jocasta in Robert Icke's reimagining of the Sophocles classic “Oedipus” as a political thriller.

This year’s awards cap a record Broadway season, having generated $1.91 billion in grosses as audiences turned out for both established hits and new productions.

Pink Hosts This Year’s Awards

Pop singer Pink, hosting the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall, led a huge opening number with a Broadway-updated rendition of “Lady Marmalade” and starring the cast of every single nominated musical.

There were plenty of Easter eggs in the number, including veteran actress Lea Michele singing, “We don’t do it for the awards” and trans actor Dylan Mulvaney singing, “Protect the dolls.” Michele herself, the leading lady in the revival “Chess,” was passed over for a nomination this year.

Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch won best direction of a musical for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” a bold reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical that places the story within New York's ballroom culture. Joe Mantello won best direction of a play for the revival of “Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman” starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf.

Metcalf won best featured actress in a play for her role as Linda Loman in “Death of a Salesman.” Metcalf said she had never seen a production of “Salesman” in anticipation of one day starring in it. It was her third Tony. Alden Ehrenreich won best featured actor in a play for “Becky Shaw.”

Shoshana Bean won best featured actress in a musical for “The Lost Boys,” a stage adaptation of the 1987 vampire cult classic film that follows two brothers who move to a California beach town and discover it is inhabited by vampires. This was Bean’s third nomination and first win. Ali Louis Bourzgui won best featured actor in a musical for his role as lead vampire in the show.