Tony Awards 2026: "Schmigadoon!" wins best musical in a season saved by revivals
Key takeaways
- It was a strange year on Broadway, but then it’s been strange everywhere.
- If Broadway is changing faster than the old guard can keep pace, the same is true for the culture in general.
- Shoshana Bean’s win for her featured performance as a persevering single mom, is a testament to the musical’s capacious heart.
Christine Schwarzman and Lorne Michaels accept the best musical award for “Schmigadoon!” alongside cast and crew onstage during “The 79th Annual Tony Awards” at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2026, in New York City. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions) By Charles Mc Nulty Theater Critic Follow June 7, 2026 8:13 PM PT 4 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
It was a strange year on Broadway, but then it’s been strange everywhere. Our world at times seems downright unrecognizable, with politicians acting like mob bosses, AI transforming not just the internet but potentially the entire economy, the cost of living leaving only the super rich able to keep up, and I won’t even mention the climate crisis, but the forecast calls for more doom and gloom.
Good work, however, won’t be denied, even if Broadway producers have perhaps overlearned the lesson of last year’s sleeper, Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary!” Parody with a heavy dose of camp has become all the rage in a theatrical season in which the best musical winner, “Schmigadoon!,” is an affectionate sendup of golden age classics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe and their inspired descendants.