79th Tony Awards: ‘Death of a Salesman’ Sets New Record for a Revival with Six Wins
Liberation, Ragtime, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Schmigadoon!, and Death of a Salesman led the top wins at the 79th Tony Awards tonight.
Death of a Salesman won 6 Tonys overall, including Joe Mantello for direction, setting a new record for the most Tonys won by a play revival. The previous record was shared by An Inspector Calls (1994), The Heiress (1995), A Doll’s House (1997), and the 1999 iteration of the show.
Laurie Metcalf also picked up her third Tony win, besting 96-year old June Squibb for Featured Actress in a Play for her work in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. In her speech, Metcalf thanked the founders of Chicago’s Steppenwolf but omitted producer Scott Rudin — who faced explosive allegations in 2021 of abusive, violent and bullying behavior toward employees — and defended working with in a recent New York Times interview.
“He was in the process of rehabilitation,” she said at the time. “So I just think that, unless we think there is no possibility of real rehabilitation, then we shouldn’t ask people to try and do it,” she added. “I knew you would ask me at some point. It’s so touchy. It’s so hard.”
Taking place in 1970 Ohio, and present day, Best Play winner Liberation details the second wave of American feminism across multiple generations. It’s the first play since Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2013) to win Best Play and nothing else.
“I want to honor women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice, and to all the girls out there, may you speak your truth and make the world wise enough to listen,” said playwright Bess Wohl in her speech. Wohl is the first American woman playwright to win in nearly 40 years.
With Joshua Henry and Caissie Levy triumphing, Ragtime becomes the first revival in 28 years to win both leading acting categories for a musical. The last time it happened was in 1998 with Cabaret, whose leads both beat the original Ragtime leads.
Schmigadoon! won for Best Musical and three other awards, including original score and book of a musical. Producer Christine Schwarzman thanked Apple TV+ (the show is based on the streaming series of the same name) for canceling the show’s third season. “Without that,” she said, “we couldn’t have brought it to Broadway.”
John Lithgow won Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Giant, marking his third Tony win and category overall, with previous wins for Featured Actor in a Play (Changing Rooms, 1973) and Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 2002.). At 80, became the oldest man ever to win a competitive acting Tony. With this win, Jeff Daniels, Brían F. O’Byrne and Liev Schreiber are now the most-nominated living actors for the Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category that have yet to win there.
Shoshana Bean wins her first Tony for her performance in The Lost Boys. It was her third nomination for Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical after 2022’s Mr. Saturday Night and 2024’s Hell’s Kitchen. Her co-star Ali Louis Bourzgui won Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical, marking the first original musical to win both featured categories since Hamilton (2016).
Lesley Manville was the frontrunner for Leading Actress in a Play and became the first person to win (or even be nominated) after six Broadway production of Oedipus since the Tony Awards began.
Alden Ehrenreich won Best Featured Actor in a Play for Becky Shaw, the first time this century that a show has won this Tony category with fewer than three nominations. The last to do it was Frank Wood for Side Man in 1999.
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch won the Tony for Direction for a Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball, using their speech to speak about the acceptance of ballroom culture.
“Ballroom welcomes everyone. To the 12-year-old kid who doesn’t fit in who might be watching this on a television in their bedroom with the volume turned low, come find your home at the Jellicle Ball. Ballroom is about chosen family.”
Qween Jean won Costume Design fin a Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball, making her the first openly trans person ever to win a Tony Award.
Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show was the night’s biggest loser, going 0-9, with Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) just behind with 0-8.
Grammy Award-winning artist Pink hosted the show for the first time ever, live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and in traditional Pink fashion, used the opening number to be hoisted above the stage. Dressed as Peter Pan, she lifted past Tony host Neil Patrick Harris while singing the final riff from “Defying Gravity” and sang a tweaked version of “Lady Marmalade” with Megan Thee Stallion and Lea Michele to feature some of the nominated actresses that night, including Carrie Coon and June Squibb (who sang her own part) that was reminiscent of Ariana Debose’s infamous star-crossed song from the 2023 BAFTAs.
Here is the complete list of winners.
Best Musical
The Lost Boys
Schmigadoon! (WINNER)
Titaníque
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Best Play
The Balusters
Giant
Liberation (WINNER)
Little Bear Ridge Road
Revival of a Musical
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Ragtime (WINNER)
Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (WINNER)
Becky Shaw
Every Brilliant Thing
Fallen Angels
Oedipus
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Nicholas Christopher, Chess
Luke Evans, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Joshua Henry, Ragtime (WINNER)
Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Brandon Uranowitz, Ragtime
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Will Harrison, Punch
Nathan Lane, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
John Lithgow, Giant (WINNER)
Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing
Mark Strong, Oedipus
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sara Chase, Schmigadoon!
Stephanie Hsu, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Caissie Levy, Ragtime (WINNER)
Marla Mindelle, Titaníque
Christiani Pitts, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Rose Byrne, Fallen Angels
Carrie Coon, Bug
Susannah Flood, Liberation
Lesley Manville, Oedipus (WINNER)
Kelli O’Hara, Fallen Angels
Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Lost Boys (WINNER)
André De Shields, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Bryce Pinkham, Chess
Ben Levi Ross, Ragtime
Layton Williams, Titaníque
Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Christopher Abbott, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Danny Burstein, Marjorie Prime
Brandon J. Dirden, Waiting for Godot
Alden Ehrenreich, Becky Shaw (WINNER)
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Richard Thomas, The Balusters
Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Shoshana Bean, The Lost Boys (WINNER)
Hannah Cruz, Chess
Rachel Dratch, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Ana Gasteyer, Schmigadoon!
Nichelle Lewis, Ragtime
Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Betsy Aidem, Liberation
Marylouise Burke, The Balusters
Aya Cash, Giant
Laurie Metcalf, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (WINNER)
June Squibb, Marjorie Prime
Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, The Lost Boys
Lear deBessonet, Ragtime
Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!
Tim Jackson, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Cats: The Jellicle Ball (WINNER)
Direction of a Play
Nicholas Hytner, Giant
Robert Icke, Oedipus
Kenny Leon, The Balusters
Joe Mantello, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (WINNER)
Whitney White, Liberation
Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman — Music by Caroline Shaw
August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone — Music by Steve Bargonetti
The Lost Boys — Music & Lyrics by The Rescues
Schmigadoon! — Music & Lyrics by Cinco Paul (WINNER)
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) — Music & Lyrics by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan
Book of a Musical
The Lost Boys — David Hornsby and Chris Hoch
Schmigadoon! — Cinco Paul (WINNER)
Titaníque — Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) — Jim Barne and Kit Buchan
Choreography
Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!
Ellenore Scott, Ragtime
Ani Taj, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, Cats: The Jellicle Ball (WINNER)
Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant, The Lost Boys
Orchestrations
Doug Besterman and Mike Morris, Schmigadoon! (WINNER)
Ethan Popp, Kyler England, Adrianne “AG” Gonzalez and Gabriel Mann, The Lost Boys
Lux Pyramid, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Brian Usifer, Chess
Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Wilson, Trevor Holder and Doug Schadt, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Scenic Design in a Musical
dots, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Soutra Gilmour, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Rachel Hauck, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Dane Laffrey, The Lost Boys (WINNER)
Scott Pask, Schmigadoon!
Scenic Design in a Play
Hildegard Bechtler, Oedipus
Takeshi Kata, Bug
Chloe Lamford, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (WINNER)
David Korins, Dog Day Afternoon
David Rockwell, Fallen Angels
Costume Design in a Musical
Linda Cho, Ragtime
Linda Cho, Schmigadoon!
Qween Jean, Cats: The Jellicle Ball (WINNER)
Ryan Park, The Lost Boys
David I. Reynoso, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Costume Design in a Play
Brenda Abbandandolo, Dog Day Afternoon
Qween Jean, Liberation
Jeff Mahshie, Fallen Angels (WINNER)
Emilio Sosa, The Balusters
Paul Tazewell, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Lighting Design in a Musical
Kevin Adams, Chess
Jane Cox, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Donald Holder, Schmigadoon!
Adam Honoré, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Adam Honoré and Donald Holder, Ragtime
Jen Schriever and Michael Arden, The Lost Boys (WINNER)
Lighting Design in a Play
Isabella Byrd, Dog Day Afternoon
Natasha Chivers, Oedipus
Stacey Derosier, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Heather Gilbert, Bug
Heather Gilbert, The Fear of 13
Jack Knowles, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (WINNER)
Sound Design of a Musical
Kai Harada, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Kai Harada, Ragtime (WINNER)
Adam Fisher, The Lost Boys
Brian Ronan, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Walter Trarbach, Schmigadoon!
Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Tom Gibbons, Oedipus
Lee Kinney, The Fear of 13
Josh Schmidt, Bug
Mikaal Sulaiman, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (WINNER)
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