The Best Moments From the 2026 Tony Awards: Performances, Speeches and Surprises That Stole the Show

The 79th Annual Tony Awards high-kicked its way into Radio City Music Hall on June 7, with Schmigadoon! winning Best Musical and Liberation securing a Best Play win. In case you missed the festivities (or if you just want our take!), here are some of the most memorable moments from Broadway’s biggest night.

Raise Your Glass to the Opening Number
There was no shortage of spectacle, sizzle and fan service for the ceremony’s opening number. Hostess-with-the-mostest P!NK descended from the rafters in Peter Pan mode before launching into an all-star riff on “Lady Marmalade.” This number had everything: a Neil Patrick Harris cameo, June Squibb being a BOSS, 170 performers and Megan Thee Stallion chartered on stage by “Two Strangers carrying some caaaaake.” And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Speaking of icebergs, did we mention Titanique Tony nominee Layton Williams did the splits in his Iceberg costume while P!NK spit a verse? This was an opening number for the ages, and “Gitchie, gitchie Laurie Metcalf” has permanently entered our vernacular.

Paint the Town P!NK
In celebration of Chicago approaching 30 years on Broadway, a special performance was presented featuring some of the jazz hot musical’s most memorable numbers. Tony winner Alex Newell brought down the house with a riff-tastic rendition of “When You're Good to Mama,” followed by Chicago’s Cook County inmates dancing the “Cell Block Tango” (with cameos from Julianne Hough, Dylan Mulvaney, Whitney Leavitt, Cedric the Entertainer, Adrienne Warren and Jesse Tyler Ferguson). For the grand finale, P!NK emerged with a fleet of dancers to perform “All That Jazz.” The pop superstar was completely in her element, displaying physical agility and vocal finesse. If the opening number hadn’t already convinced you, P!NK’s Chicago tribute proved she’s a perfect fit for the Great White Way.

Mormon Mania
The original cast of The Book of Mormon came together for a performance of the show’s Act 1 closer, “Man Up.” This reunion is right on schedule, seeing as the blockbuster musical will celebrate 15 years on Broadway with “Magical Mormon Mystery Week” from June 9–14 at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre. Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells and Nikki M. James slipped back into their star-making roles of Elder Cunnigham, Elder Price and Nabulungi with ease. Plus, we got to hear “I have maggots in my scrotum” sung on national television!

Mother’s Day
As Megan Thee Stallion announced in the opening number, “Broadway is Mother’s domain!” Caissie Levy won Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Mother in Ragtime and Shoshana Bean took home a Best Featured Actress in a Musical prize for her turn as single mom Lucy Emerson in The Lost Boys. Both actresses were first-time Tony winners. In her acceptance speech, Levy proclaimed, "Playing Mother has been one of the greatest gifts of my artistic life and being mother to my kids has been the greatest joy of my life.” Bean dedicated her award to the moms of the world, saying, "This is for the mamas. This is for the single mamas. This is for my single mama. You are the wild heroes. This is for the incredible army of women that surround and uplift me.”

Rent Rings True
Did somebody cut some onions? Hamilton Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. performed an acoustic version of “Without You” from Rent for the ceremony’s In Memoriam tribute. Odom made his Broadway debut in Jonathan Larson’s rock musical, which premiered 30 years ago. It was an emotionally impactful and vocally robust spotlight on those we’ve lost in the theater community. The performance closed with a quote from Larson’s defining body of work: “Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. No other road, no other way, no day but today.”

Honorable Mentions:

Deborah Cox, Ann Harada and Shaina Taub’s three-part harmony in the opening number. Hey, queens!

P!NK rapping “Marylouise in the H.O.A.”

André De Shields, Junior LaBeija and “Tempress” Chasity Moore serving royal realness at the tail-end of Cats: The Jellicle Ball’s Tony performance.

Sara Chase and Alex Brightman’s run-in with Bernadette Peters before the cast of Schmigadoon! took the stage to perform the title number.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch’s tag team triumph in the Best Direction of a Musical category.

Ali Louis Bourzgui's impassioned call to action after winning Best Featured Actor in a Musical for The Lost Boys.

Luke Evans' chaps and Josh Rivera’s singlet on full display for The Rocky Horror Show medley of "Sweet Transvestite” and “Time Warp".

Rachel Zegler belting out "What I Did for Love" for the 50th anniversary of A Chorus Line. We need to see to the Divine Miss Z in a revival of A Chorus Line, stat!

Ragtime Tony winner Joshua Henry shouting-out Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell’s "'Black-don't-crack' legacy of artistic brilliance” in his acceptance speech.

Same time next year?