Category is Tag Team Triumph! Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch Win Best Direction Tony for Cats: The Jellicle Ball
The duo were honored for their Ballroom-inspired revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical at the 2026 Tony Awards
(Photo by Emilio Madrid for Broadway.com)
What to Know
- Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball
- The category also included Michael Arden for The Lost Boys, Lear deBessonet for Ragtime, Christopher Gattelli for Schmigadoon! and Tim Jackson for Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
- In their acceptance speech, Levingston and Rauch honored Ballroom pioneers and emphasized The Jellicle Ball’s message of community, belonging and finding home
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for their work on Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the Ballroom-inspired revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, Cats. Their win was announced at the 79th Annual Tony Awards on June 7 at Radio City Music Hall. This marks the first Tony Award for both Levingston and Rauch.
In their joint speech, Levingston said, “Ballroom is about audacity and disruption. In the words of Junior Labeija, ‘It do take nerve.'” Levingston also made a point to celebrate Ballroom’s legacy, saying, “We are the Black and brown trans women and gay men who were Ballroom’s pioneers, as well as today.” Rauch stressed the production’s themes of community: “To the 12-year-old kid who doesn't fit in, who may be watching this on the television, in their bedroom, with the volume turned down low, come find your home at The Jellicle Ball.” Levingston capped off the speech by saying, “And that my friends is what we call tag team performance!”
Following their win, the directorial duo spoke to the press. "Everybody wants to divide us. The Jellicle Ball is living proof that we can come together through radical inclusion," Rauch said. Reflecting on the significance of this win arriving during Pride month, Levingston said, “There are literally cities and states trying to erase Pride month. More than anything I’m hoping that Cats is a refuge. If you can’t find this kind of queer, Black joy—which is accessible to all of us, no matter what background you come from, where you come from—then this is your invitation to come to Broadway and get a dose of it for two-and-a-half hours and then bring it back to where you came from.”
Cats: The Jellicle Ball received nine Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, and won three. Costume designer Qween Jean made history as the first transgender Tony winner. Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons won Best Choreography.
Cats: The Jellicle Ball opened on April 7 at the Broadhurst Theatre and is set to run through January 17, 2027.
Get tickets to Cats: The Jellicle Ball!
