André Bishop, Jules Fisher and James Lapine to Receive 2026 Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement

The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced three recipients of 2026 Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. André Bishop, Jules Fisher and James Lapine will all be honored for their contributions to dramatic arts.

In a joint statement, Jason Laks, President of the Broadway League and Heather Hitchens, President & CEO of the American Theatre Wing, said, “How lucky are we to have such a wealth of deserving talent, whose lifetimes of contributions left us unable to select just one recipient of this prestigious honor. The work that André, Jules, and James have done, and continue to do, will leave an indelible mark for generations to come. They are each a constant source of inspiration and we look forward to celebrating them at Broadway’s biggest night.”

Bishop served as the Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theater from January 1992 until June 2025, as well as its Producing Artistic Director from July 2013 until June 2025. Before arriving at Lincoln Center Theater, Bishop was the Artistic Director of Playwrights Horizons for 10 years and Literary Manager for six. At Playwrights Horizons, Bishop helped oversee a number of iconic productions, including The Heidi Chronicles, Driving Miss Daisy and Sunday in the Park with George, all three of which won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Under Bishop’s artistic direction, Lincoln Center Theater was home to a number of memorable New York, U.S. and world premieres, including Arcadia, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Light in the Piazza, The Sisters Rosensweig, Contact, Parade and War Horse. LCT’s noteworthy revivals under Bishops’ aegis include Falsettos, The King and I, South Pacific, A Delicate Balance, Henry IV and The Heiress. In his decades-long career in the arts, Bishop has won 16 Tony Awards and was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2012.

Lighting designer Fisher has lent his talent to theater, film, the music industry and digital animation for more than 60 years. He has designed more than 100 productions on Broadway and is the recipient of nine Tony Awards. Among his celebrated Broadway designs are the original stagings of Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin, Ragtime, Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk, Angels in America and Assassins. Fisher’s lighting design can be seen in the film adaptations of Dreamgirls and Chicago, as well as Richard Linklater’s comedy School of Rock. His musical lighting scenes have been conceived for CG environments in the live-action Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, as well as a number of development projects for DreamWorks Animation. In the music realm, Fisher has worked with the likes of David Bowie, Kiss, Whitney Houston, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young and Simon and Garfunkel. Fisher co-founded the architectural lighting design firm Fisher Marantz Stone. He also founded Fisher Dachs Associates, one of the world's foremost Theatre Planning and Design consulting firms.

Lapine is a prolific playwright and director whose work has been performed on Broadway 18 times. He has been nominated for 12 Tony Awards in four different categories and has won on three occasions: for his librettos for Falsettos, Into the Woods and Passion. He collaborated with Stephen Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Passion and the revue Sondheim on Sondheim and with William Finn on Falsettos, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, A New Brain and Little Miss Sunshine. His HBO documentary Six By Sondheim received a Peabody Award and an Emmy nomination for direction. He has also won five Drama Desk Awards, received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Sunday in the Park and has been inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.

Some of the luminaries previously honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award include Harvey Fierstein, Carol Channing, Graciela Daniele, Joel Gray, Sheldon Harnick, Julie Harris, Rosemary Harris, Jerry Herman, James Earl Jones, John Kander, Angela Lansbury, Terrence McNally, Harold Prince, Chita Rivera, Stephen Sondheim, Tommy Tune, Andrew Lloyd Webber and George C. Wolfe.

Presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, the 2026 Tony Awards will recognize outstanding achievement by theater professionals during the 2025-26 Broadway season. The ceremony will broadcast live to both coasts from 8:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m. ET/5:00p.m.–8:00 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+. Nominations will be announced on May 5. Pop superstar and three-time Grammy Award winner P!NK will host the 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall.