The Tony Awards are giving Chicago more than a standard anniversary salute.
The 2026 ceremony will feature a special performance celebrating the 30th anniversary of the musical’s Broadway revival, with Pink, Queen Latifah, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Alex Newell, Adrienne Warren, Julianne Hough, Whitney Leavitt, Dylan Mulvaney, and more set to take part. UPI reported that the tribute will air during the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7.
The lineup gives the number a wider reach than a traditional Broadway tribute. It brings together the telecast’s pop-star host, an Oscar-nominated Chicago film alum, Tony winners, current Broadway names, and performers whose audiences stretch beyond theater circles.
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Queen Latifah Brings the Film Connection
Queen Latifah has one of the clearest ties to the tribute.
She played Matron “Mama” Morton in the 2002 film adaptation of Chicago, earning an Academy Award nomination for the role. The movie went on to win six Oscars, including Best Picture, which helped introduce the musical’s world of murder, fame, and courtroom showmanship to a much larger film audience.
Billboard reported that Queen Latifah will be part of the anniversary performance alongside Pink and Whitney Leavitt. Broadway News also reported that the number will include Julianne Hough, Alex Newell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Adrienne Warren, and Dylan Mulvaney.
That mix gives the tribute several entry points. Queen Latifah connects it to the Oscar-winning movie. Newell, Warren, Ferguson, and Hough bring Broadway and stage credibility. Leavitt and Mulvaney bring newer audiences who followed their recent Broadway debuts.
Pink’s Tony Night Is Getting Bigger
Pink was already the night’s biggest crossover name before the Chicago tribute was announced.
The Grammy winner is hosting the 79th annual Tony Awards, which will air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York on CBS and stream on Paramount+. The ceremony marks her first time hosting the Tonys.
Pink has not appeared on Broadway, but her music is already part of the Broadway landscape. Reuters reported that her songs are featured in Moulin Rouge! The Musical and & Juliet, and that she has described Broadway as an influence on how she builds her own live shows.
Adding her to the Chicago tribute gives the ceremony a second use for its host beyond opening jokes, presenter handoffs, and award-night traffic control. It puts her directly inside one of the broadcast’s major musical moments.
The Tribute Honors a Broadway Revival That Never Left
The Chicago celebration is tied to the revival that opened on Broadway in 1996, not the original 1975 production.
The revival became the longest-running American musical in Broadway history and won six Tony Awards in 1997, including Best Revival of a Musical. Its stripped-down staging, Fosse-rooted movement, black costumes, and celebrity-friendly casting have kept it running while many flashier musicals have come and gone.
The musical features a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Ebb. Its score includes “All That Jazz,” “Cell Block Tango,” “When You’re Good to Mama,” “Roxie,” and “Razzle Dazzle.”
That is why the Tony Awards tribute can support a lineup this broad. Chicago is still an active Broadway business, still bringing in new names, and still flexible enough to pull reality stars, pop performers, film actors, and Broadway veterans into the same world.
The Tonys Are Loading the Broadcast With Musical Numbers
The Chicago number joins a crowded performance slate for Broadway’s biggest night.
People reported that the telecast will also include performances from The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon!, Titaníque, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), CATS: The Jellicle Ball, Ragtime, and Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show.
The ceremony will also feature a 15th-anniversary reunion performance from the original Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon, with Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley, and Nikki M. James among those set to appear.
The main Tony Awards broadcast begins June 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess will host The Tony Awards: Act One, the pre-show streaming on Pluto TV before the ceremony.
For Chicago, the tribute is a reminder of how unusual its Broadway life has become. Thirty years after the revival opened, the show is still sturdy enough to command a Tony Awards spotlight and familiar enough to fill that spotlight with names from Broadway, pop, film, reality TV, and social media at once.