I’m sure you all tuned in right at 8:30 AM to watch the live nomination announcement. However, for those of us who have literally anything better to do, I’m here to fill you in on this year’s Tony Awards nominations (the fun categories, at least). Who was snubbed? Who was a surprise nominee? Let’s dig in…

By the Numbers:

• The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon! – 12 noms
• Ragtime – 11
• Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show – 9
• Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) – 8
• Oedipus – 7
• August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Balusters, Chess, Fallen Angels, Liberation – 5
• Bug, Giant, Titaníque – 4
• Dog Day Afternoon – 3
• Becky Shaw, Every Brilliant Thing, The Fear of 13, Marjorie Prime – 2
• Little Bear Ridge Road, Punch, Waiting for Godot – 1

Completely shut out: Proof, Art, The Queen of Versailles, Call Me Izzy, Beaches

Comments: Proof being totally shut out is the big shocker here. Beaches really needed some noms…they’ll probably close soon. Scott Rudin has risen from the dead (i.e. a 4-year exile) and is back with noms for Death of a Salesman and Little Bear Ridge Road.

Best Musical

• The Lost Boys
• Schmigadoon!
• Titaníque
• Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Notable snubs: Beaches, The Queen of Versailles

Comments: This is not a good year for new musicals, perhaps because they’ve become too damn expensive to develop and run. The New York Drama Critics’ Circle decided not to award Best Musical this year, so that should tell you all you need to know. That, and the fact that two plays got into the category for Best Original Score (Death of a Salesman and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone), which is very unusual. Some of the 2025 musicals would’ve had a clear path to victory this year.

Can someone explain to me, though, why Titaníque isn’t considered a revival? It ran off-Broadway for years, and there’s the “classics” rule that states that if a show has had a previous meaningful run in New York (Broadway or Off-Broadway), then the subsequent Broadway run is considered to be a revival. I guess there really were slim pickings for new musicals this year…

Best Play

• The Balusters (by David Lindsay-Abaire)
• Giant (by Mark Rosenblatt)
• Liberation (by Bess Wohl)
• Little Bear Ridge Road (by Samuel D. Hunter)

Notable snubs: Punch, Call me Izzy, Dog Day Afternoon, The Fear of 13

Comments: Giant, Liberation, and Little Bear Ridge Road were pretty much locked (the latter having just won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle award for Best Play). I don’t think it’s surprising that The Balusters took the fourth spot, though perhaps interesting to note that Punch won the 2026 Olivier for Best New Play, but didn’t even get nominated for the Tony.

Best Revival of a Musical

• Cats: The Jellicle Ball
• Ragtime
• Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show

Notable snubs: Chess

Comments: Poor Chess. This is a two-man race between Cats and Ragtime (prob Cats‘s to lose, though).

Best Revival of a Play

• Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo
• Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe
• Fallen Angels by Noël Coward
• Oedipus by Robert Icke

Notable snubs: Proof, Waiting for Godot, Art, Bug, Marjorie Prime, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Comments: 11 eligible productions. Great year for revivals. Poor Proof.

Best Leading Actor in a Musical

• Nicholas Christopher, Chess
• Luke Evans, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
• Joshua Henry, Ragtime
• Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
• Brandon Uranowitz, Ragtime

Notable snubs: Aaron Tveit, Chess; Andrew Durand, Rocky Horror, Alex Brightman (Schmigadoon!)

Comments: This is Joshua Henry’s to lose. He gave one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in anything. The snubs aren’t too surprising – Nicholas Christopher has received the most praise from Chess out of anyone, Andrew Durand’s role isn’t as big as some of the others in this category, and Alex Brightman is playing the straight man in a very silly show, which is a hard role for which to win an award.

Best Leading Actress in a Musical

• Sara Chase, Schmigadoon!
• Stephanie Hsu, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
• Caissie Levy, Ragtime
• Marla Mindelle, Titaníque
• Christiani Pitts, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Notable snubs: Lea Michele, Chess; Kristin Chenoweth, The Queen of Versailles; Jessica Vosk, Beaches

Comments: I feel like most people clocked Chase, Levy, and Mindelle getting in, and likely Pitts, too. Hsu’s role almost got relegated to the Best Supporting category, so it was a tossup who’d get that 5th spot. Sad for Lea Michele. The general consensus on her performance in Chess has been: amazing voice, acting fine. And Beaches needed this nom.

Best Leading Actor in a Play

• Will Harrison, Punch
• Nathan Lane, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• John Lithgow, Giant
• Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing
• Mark Strong, Oedipus

Notable snubs: Adrien Brody, The Fear of 13; Jon Bernthal, Dog Day Afternoon; the 3 celebs in Art; Keanu Reeves, Waiting for Godot

Comments: Happy Radcliffe got into this group after bafflingly being shut out from the Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Outstanding Solo Performance. This is a two-man race between Lithgow and Lane. I’d bet on Lithgow, but who’s to say.

Best Leading Actress in a Play

• Rose Byrne, Fallen Angels
• Carrie Coon, Bug
• Susannah Flood, Liberation
• Lesley Manville, Oedipus
• Kelli O’Hara, Fallen Angels

Notable snubs: Laurie Metcalf, Little Bear Ridge Road; Ayo Edebiri, Proof; Anika Noni Rose, The Balusters; Jean Smart, Call Me Izzy

Comments: Stacked category. Tough year.

Best Featured Actor in a Musical

• Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Lost Boys
• André De Shields, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
• Bryce Pinkham, Chess
• Ben Levi Ross, Ragtime
• Layton Williams, Titaníque

Notable snubs: Jim Parsons, Titaníque; Andrew Durand & Aaron Tveit (if they’d gone for Featured instead of Leading)

Comments: Yay for Cats finally getting in to an acting category – it’s the only one they got.

Best Featured Actress in a Musical

• Shoshana Bean, The Lost Boys
• Hannah Cruz, Chess
• Rachel Dratch, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
• Ana Gasteyer, Schmigadoon!
• Nichelle Lewis, Ragtime

Notable snubs: The women in Cats; McKenzie Kurtz & Isabelle McCalla, Schmigadoon!; Amber Gray, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show

Comments: Kurtz was the most surprising omission, since she got the Drama Desk nom. Personally, Nichelle Lewis’s performance in Ragtime didn’t land for me, but I’m not a nominator. I hope this doesn’t sting too hard for Michele.

Best Featured Actor in a Play

• Christopher Abbott, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Danny Burstein, Marjorie Prime
• Brandon J. Dirden, Waiting for Godot
• Aiden Ehrenreich, Becky Shaw
• Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
• Richard Thomas, The Balusters

Notable snubs: Elliott Levey, Giant; Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Dog Day Afternoon; Patrick Ball, Becky Shaw; Cedric the Entertainer, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Comments: 6 nominees instead of the usual 5 should tell you all you need to know.

Best Featured Actress in a Play

• Betsy Aidem, Liberation
• Marylouise Burke, The Balusters
• Aya Cash, Giant
• Laurie Metcalf, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• June Squibb, Marjorie Prime

Notable snubs: Kara Young, Proof; Cynthia Nixon, Marjorie Prime; Taraji P. Henson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Comments: If Young had been nominated this year, that would’ve been a record-breaking 5 years in a row of being nominated. Nixon being left out is also disappointing to some. On a positive note, June Squibb became the oldest Tony nominee in history, at age 96!

Final thoughts: Full list of nominees here. Let the games begin!