John Lithgow turned the 2026 Tony Awards into a career milestone, while Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman became the revival Broadway could not ignore.
Lithgow, 80, won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Giant, Mark Rosenblatt’s drama about Roald Dahl. The win made him the oldest man to win a competitive acting Tony, according to The Guardian.
The award was Lithgow’s third Tony. He previously won for The Changing Room in 1973 and Sweet Smell of Success in 2002, according to People.
During his speech, Lithgow dedicated the award to his wife, Mary Yeager, who had supported him through the long road of bringing Giant to Broadway.
Death of a Salesman Became the Play Revival of the Night
Lithgow had the cleanest individual headline, but Death of a Salesman had the bigger sweep.
The Arthur Miller revival won Best Revival of a Play and finished with six Tony Awards overall. The official Tony Awards winners page lists wins for Best Revival of a Play, Best Direction of a Play for Joe Mantello, Best Featured Actress in a Play for Laurie Metcalf, Best Scenic Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design of a Play, and Best Sound Design of a Play.
The Guardian reported that the six wins made Death of a Salesman the most awarded play revival in Tony history.
Nathan Lane, who starred as Willy Loman, accepted the revival award on behalf of the cast. Mantello won for directing a stripped-back production of Miller’s play, which first won the Tony for Best Play in 1949 and has returned to Broadway repeatedly across generations.
Laurie Metcalf and Lesley Manville Added to the Play Wins
Metcalf won Best Featured Actress in a Play for Death of a Salesman, giving the revival one of its major acting prizes.
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Lesley Manville won Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for Oedipus. The win came after Manville had already won an Olivier Award for the role in London.
The official winners list confirms Manville won over a field that included Rose Byrne for Fallen Angels, Carrie Coon for Bug, Susannah Flood for Liberation, and Kelli O’Hara for Fallen Angels.
Liberation, Bess Wohl’s play, won Best Play, giving the night another major play-side headline beyond the Death of a Salesman sweep.
Schmigadoon! Took Best Musical as Ragtime Won Revival
The musical categories spread the night across several productions.
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Schmigadoon!, adapted from the Apple TV+ series, won Best Musical. The show also won Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Orchestrations, according to the official Tonys list.
Ragtime won Best Revival of a Musical, while Joshua Henry and Caissie Levy won the leading musical acting prizes for the production.
The Lost Boys also left with major acting wins. Reuters listed Ali Louis Bourzgui and Shoshana Bean as the featured musical acting winners for the vampire musical.
Cats: The Jellicle Ball won Best Direction of a Musical for Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Best Choreography for Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, and Best Costume Design of a Musical for Qween Jean.
Pink Hosted a Tony Night With Several Clear Winners
Pink hosted the 79th Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The Guardian reported that she opened the ceremony by flying into the theater as Peter Pan before leading a version of “Lady Marmalade.”
The ceremony followed a record Broadway season. The Guardian cited nearly $1.91 billion in ticket sales for the most recent season.
The night left Broadway with several clean headlines: Death of a Salesman set a revival record, Schmigadoon! won the top musical prize, Ragtime won musical revival, and Lithgow turned one of the most competitive acting races into a late-career Tony milestone.