{"id":260332,"date":"2026-06-09T09:56:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T09:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/260332\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T09:56:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T09:56:43","slug":"brooklyns-bess-wohl-makes-history-at-the-tony-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/260332\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn’s Bess Wohl makes history at the Tony Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 \u201cSchmigadoon!,\u201d an adaptation of an Apple TV series<\/a>\u00a0that gently mocks big, brassy Broadway shows, won the best new musical Tony Award on a night when actor\u00a0John Lithgow<\/a>\u00a0and playwright Bess Wohl<\/a> made history.<\/p>\n

The musical parodies golden-age Broadway classics like \u201cThe Music Man\u201d and \u201cOklahoma!\u201d centered on a modern-day couple finding themselves in a \u201cBrigadoon\u201d-like fantasyland where the wholesome townspeople keep breaking into song. The win is a redemption for creator Cinco Paul, whose TV series was canceled after two seasons. He won Tonys for the score and the book Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"BessBess Wohl, writer of the Broadway play \u201cLiberation\u201d and lifelong Brooklyn resident. Photo: Evan Agostini\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes singing, dancing, jokes and a happy ending are all you need,\u201d said producer Lorne Michaels, the creator of \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d after the win.<\/p>\n

The win for \u201cSchmigadoon!\u201d also completes what some unofficially call a \u201cstudio EGOT,\u201d giving the producing company credits for winning awards at all four major ceremonies. Apple already has Emmys for comedies \u201cTed Lasso\u201d and\u00a0\u201cThe Studio,\u201d<\/a> the Oscar for best picture for \u201cCODA\u201d and a Grammy via Chris Stapleton\u2019s contribution to the \u201cF1\u201d soundtrack.<\/p>\n

\"KristolynKristolyn Lloyd, Irene Sofia Lucio, Betsy Aidem and Audrey Corsa in the Broadway production of \u201cLiberation\u201d by Bess Wohl, directed by Whitney White. Photo: Little Fang
\nWho took home the Tony Awards<\/p>\n

The prize for the best new play went to Wohl\u2019s\u00a0\u201cLiberation,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0about a consciousness-raising women\u2019s group in 1970s Ohio, which earlier this year also won the\u00a0Pulitzer Prize for drama.<\/a><\/p>\n

Wohl\u2019s play collects stories from second-wave feminists from all walks of life as they tackle misogyny, racism and traditional gender roles. Wohl is only the fourth woman to win a best play Tony, joining Wendy Wasserstein, Yasmina Reza and Frances Goodrich.<\/p>\n

\"AudreyAudrey Corsa, Kristolyn Lloyd, Irene Sofia Lucio and Adina Verson in the Broadway production of \u201cLiberation\u201d by Bess Wohl, directed by Whitney White. Photo: Little Fang<\/p>\n

Wohl, who grew up in Cobble Hill and now lives in Brooklyn Heights, is the first American woman to win the category since Wasserstein won for \u201cThe Heidi Chronicles\u201d in 1989.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to honor women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice,\u201d said Wohl, who thanked her mom, daughters and female producers. \u201cAnd to all the girls out there: May you speak your truth, and may the world be wise enough to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLiberation\u201d joins a list of 18 plays that have won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the\u00a0Tony Award<\/a>\u00a0in the same year.<\/p>\n

\"SusannahSusannah Flood and Betsy Aidem in the Broadway production of \u201cLiberation\u201d by Bess Wohl, directed by Whitney White. Photo: Little Fang<\/p>\n

The Tony for best play revival went to\u00a0\u201cDeath of a Salesman,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Arthur Miller\u2019s masterpiece that looks at the unraveling of the American Dream. It won the 1949 Tony for best new play and best revival crowns in 1984, 1999 and 2012.<\/p>\n

It earned a leading six Tonys: \u201cRoseanne\u201d star Laurie Metcalf won her third Tony for playing Willy Loman\u2019s wife opposite Nathan Lane in the revival, which also won for lighting, scenic design and sound design. Joe Mantello won best director for a play.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe cast appears during a performance of \u201cRagtime\u201d in New York on Oct. 8, 2025. Photo: Matthew Murphy via AP
\n\u2018Ragtime,\u2019 \u2018Giant,\u2019 and other stand-out plays<\/p>\n

\u201cRagtime\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a big, soaring musical that depicts an America being remade by immigration, racial violence, industrial wealth and political unrest \u2014 won the best musical revival.<\/p>\n

Caissie Levy, who was Broadway\u2019s first Elsa in \u201cFrozen,\u201d won her first Tony for playing the matriarch of a wealthy suburban family in \u201cRagtime.\u201d She thanks all the babysitters who let her become both a mother and a Broadway performer.<\/p>\n

Moments later, Joshua Henry, a four-time nominee, won his first Tony as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in \u201cRagtime.\u201d \u201cEven in the face of pain and tragedy, he found a way to be heard,\u201d Henry said of his character. \u201cEvery artist in this room, every artist at home, fight \u2014 fight to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related article: For Broadway actress Lauren Patten, Brooklyn is a creative haven<\/a><\/p>\n

Lithgow won his third Tony<\/a>\u00a0for best lead actor in a play for \u201cGiant\u201d playing children\u2019s writer\u00a0Roald Dahl<\/a>\u00a0in Mark Rosenblatt\u2019s production set in 1983, when the author is facing intense backlash for his antisemitic comments. At 80, he is the oldest man ever to win a competitive acting Tony.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo Tony bookends with 53 years between them,\u201d he said. \u201cIn those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theater artists. I\u2019ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shoshana Bean, who won best featured actress in a musical for playing a single mom in \u201cThe Lost Boys,\u201d echoed the themes of \u201cLiberation\u201d in her speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCats: The Jellicle Ball,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0which reimagines the 1980s classic feline musical as a celebration of queer ballroom culture, won for best direction of a musical by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe honor the Black and brown trans women and gay men who were ballroom\u2019s pioneers, as well as today\u2019s icons, and our cast of astonishing triple-threats, including people from their 20s to their 80s, and every decade in between,\u201d Levingston said.<\/p>\n

Lesley Manville, an Oscar nominee for \u201cPhantom Thread,\u201d won best lead actress in a play, making her Broadway debut in a modern retelling of Sophocles\u2019 classic tragedy \u201cOedipus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil Patrick Harris, left, and Host Pink perform during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Photo: Charles Sykes\/Invision\/AP
\nPink\u2019s performance as the host<\/p>\n

Pink, the Tony\u2019s host, started the show spinning and then dangling uncomfortably from a harness over the stage, dressed like Peter Pan. Former host Neil Patrick Harris stepped in to suggest the first-time host just be herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re Pink, Pink. You can do anything,\u201d he told her.<\/p>\n

After lifting Harris off the stage with her legs, Pink relented to his suggestion, added a top hat and belted out \u201cLady Marmalade\u201d with contributions from dozens of performers including Lea Michele and Megan Thee Stallion \u2014 and some 170 performers.<\/p>\n

In her opening remarks, Pink, who has not yet gotten a Broadway credit, called herself theater\u2019s second-biggest fan after her teenage daughter, Willow. \u201cI\u2019m not here just to steal peoples\u2019 wigs, although I will be doing that. I\u2019m here to celebrate the hardest-working people in show business,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSchmigadoon!\u201d and \u201cDeath of a Salesman\u201d each went into the main telecast with a lead of three Tonys after a pre-show on Pluto TV hosted by Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess that announced the more technical awards. Qween Jean became the first openly trans Tony winner ever for making the costumes for \u201cCats: The Jellicle Ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil Patrick Harris, left, and Host Pink perform during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Photo: Charles Sykes\/Invision\/AP
\nPlenty of medleys and dance sequences<\/p>\n

After the big opening number, Pink was generally a genial, exuberant figure, popping up in new outfits for a few self-deprecating bits, but then roaring to life when leading a very convincing \u201cAll That Jazz\u201d as \u201cChicago\u201d celebrated its 30th anniversary, with the pop singer nailing the Bob Fosse-inspired choreography.<\/p>\n

The In Memoriam section was led by Leslie Odom Jr. singing a powerful \u201cWithout You\u201d from \u201cRent,\u201d honoring such lost figures as actors Robert Duvall, Robert Redford and Diane Keaton, as well as playwright Tom Stoppard. Rachel Zegler then stunned with a version of \u201cWhat I Did For Love\u201d from \u201cA Chorus Line,\u201d which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary.<\/p>\n

Other performances included the original lead cast members of \u201cThe Book of Mormon\u201d \u2014 Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O\u2019Malley and Nikki M. James \u2014 reuniting to\u00a0celebrate its 15th anniversary.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 \u201cSchmigadoon!,\u201d an adaptation of an Apple TV series\u00a0that gently mocks big, brassy Broadway shows, won…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[118,2470,100967,98,100,99,89579,9,24,5325,63,101195],"class_list":["post-260332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-associated-press","tag-awards","tag-bess-wohl","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-john-lithgow","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-no-paywall","tag-nyc","tag-the-tony-awards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}