Broadway’s awards season is off to a roaring start — and this year, two very different musicals are tied for the top prize.
Tony nominee Uzo Aduba and Tony winner Darren Criss presented the nominations for the 79th Annual Tony Awards on May 5. “The Lost Boys” and “Schmigadoon!” matched for the most-nominated shows of the season, with 12 nods apiece, a tribute to both ’80s nostalgia and Golden Age musical homage.
The Story of the Co-Leaders: 2 Musicals
The Lost Boys is based on the much-loved, campy vampire thriller from 1987, and Schmigadoon! is based on the Apple TV+ series, a parody of Golden Age musicals. Despite their vastly diverse source material, both plays cleaned up in the main categories and are well in the running for best of Broadway.
Both Schmigadoon! and The Lost Boys are up for Best Musical, along with Titaníque and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
The Lost Boys director Michael Arden, a two-time Tony winner previously for directing Parade (2023) and Maybe Happy Ending (2025), pulled off a rare double cross-craft as he is nominated for Best Direction of a Musical and Best Lighting Design of a Musical, the latter shared with Jen Schriever.
For the Schmigadoon! side of things, the play is one of the first big streaming-originated musicals to successfully make the leap to Broadway, with Lorne Michaels and Apple TV+ among the producers.
Close Behind: Ragtime and the Play Field
The two co-leaders were followed by Ragtime with 11 nominations and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, each with nine.
Leading the pack in the play categories are original works: The Balusters, by David Lindsay-Abaire; Giant, by Mark Rosenblatt; Liberation, by Bess Wohl, and Little Bear Ridge Road, by Samuel D. Hunter. Notably, Liberation just won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, marking Wohl’s first Pulitzer triumph.
Outstanding Performers
Shoshana Bean (The Lost Boys), Hannah Cruz (Chess), and Nichelle Lewis (Ragtime) were also nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, along with Saturday Night Live alums Rachel Dratch (Rocky Horror) and Ana Gasteyer (Schmigadoon!).
Rose Byrne, who is competing for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for Fallen Angels, has accomplished the uncommon feat of receiving both an Oscar nod and a Tony nomination in the same year.
The Big Snubs
Not everyone had a reason to rejoice. The biggest snub came for Lea Michele, who was much favored to get her first Tony nod for her starring turn in the revival of Chess but did not receive one. Adrien Brody was also overlooked for The Fear of 13, which was only nominated twice for lighting and sound design.
Perhaps the most stunning snub was the spectacular revival of Proof, starring Don Cheadle and Ayo Edebiri and directed by Hamilton’s Thomas Kail, who was cut out of the 2026 nominees altogether.
Details of the Ceremony
Hosted by P!NK, The 79th Tony Awards will telecast live June 7, 2026, from Radio City Music Hall on CBS and Paramount+. NK André Bishop, Jules Fisher, and James Lapine will receive Lifetime Achievement Special Tony Awards.
There is no apparent frontrunner this Tony season – the 12-12-11 split among the top candidates is a very rare phenomenon in contemporary Tony history, which has seen previous seasons usually deliver an obvious favorite. That makes the race to June 7 all the more intriguing.
Sources:
- Variety — Tony Nominations 2026: Complete List
- Broadway — Tony Nominations Coverage
- Deadline — All Nominees by Show
- The Hollywood Reporter — Full List
