'Liberation' and 'Schmigadoon!' top Tony Awards / Photo: kena betancur - AFP
'Liberation' and 'Schmigadoon!' top Tony Awards
Bess Wohl's play "Liberation," a look at second-wave feminism, and musical "Schmigadoon!" earned the top prizes on Sunday at the 79th Tony Awards, the highest honors in American theater.
The ceremony, held at Radio City Music Hall, reflected the political climate of President Donald Trump's America, with host Pink taking a stand in support of transgender people and freedom of expression.
The awards honored socially conscious works that explored feminism, antisemitism and US history, and celebrated LGBTQ culture.
"Liberation," which explores sexuality and the place of women in society in the 1970s, was named Best Play after winning a Pulitzer Prize in May.
Wohl is only the fourth woman to receive the honor.
The award for Best Musical went to "Schmigadoon!," a humorous tribute to Broadway's greatest hits and an adaptation of the series of the same name.
John Lithgow won Best Actor for his portrayal of Roald Dahl in "Giant", and praised the play as "extraordinarily important right now."
The play by British writer Mark Rosenblatt revisits a period in Dahl's career after he published an essay about the 1982 Israeli siege of Beirut that was deemed antisemitic.
"It's the gift we give to an audience, it's just to ruminate on that very serious subject, antisemitism, cruelty of all kinds, hatred of the other," Lithgow said.
"These are things that we're dealing with these days upfront and personal, and I think that's what makes 'Giant' so important, and what's made it such a success," he said.
The play comes in the wake of a broader debate surrounding Dahl's work, which was revised by his publisher in 2023 to remove terms deemed offensive.
- Reinterpretations -
"Ragtime," which explores the social and economic upheavals affecting non-white people in early 20th century America, received four awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.
"Cats: The Jellicle Ball," a reinterpretation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical set within the LGBTQ "ballroom" culture of New York, won three awards, including one for costume designer Qween Jean, the first openly transgender person to be honored at the Tony Awards.
"This award has such incredible significance," Jean said, before denouncing efforts by the Trump administration to "demonize" transgender people and restrict their access to health care.
Another adaptation, that of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," won six awards, more than any other work.
Among them were Best Revival of a Play and Best Supporting Actress for Laurie Metcalf, known for her role in the series "Roseanne."
Theater remains a hit with New York audiences, with 14.6 million tickets sold during the 2025–2026 season and bringing in $1.9 billion in gross revenue, according to the Broadway League, the industry’s leading trade association.
H.Kalantzis--AN-GR
