The 79th annual Tony Awards are unfolding live Sunday at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, and Death of a Salesman has emerged as the early leader with six awards, including Best Revival of a Play.
Death of a Salesman’s haul includes Joe Mantello’s direction and a sweep of design categories — lighting, scenic and sound — and it also delivered a personal milestone: Laurie Metcalf won Featured Actress in a Play for the production, her third career Tony Award.
Those six wins give Death of a Salesman an immediate edge in a night that began with a flurry of early announcements. The Lost Boys, which entered the evening tied with Schmigadoon! at 12 nominations each, took home multiple honors as well: featured performer trophies for Ali Louis Bourzgui and Shoshana Bean plus scenic and lighting design awards. The contrast is the night’s clearest friction point — The Lost Boys led in nominations, but the revival has taken the early lead in actual wins.
Schmigadoon! also converted nominations into prizes, collecting awards for Cinco Paul’s book, its original score and orchestrations. Cats: The Jellicle Ball won direction for a musical, choreography and Qween Jean’s Best Costume Design in a Musical; Qween Jean became the first opening trans Tony winner ever, a milestone singled out during the broadcast.
Individual acting honors among the early winners include John Lithgow taking Lead Actor in a Play for Giant, his third Tony Award, Lesley Manville winning for her role in Oedipus, and Alden Ehrenreich earning Featured Actor in a Play for Becky Shaw. Ragtime was the choice in the revival categories that have already been handed out.
P!nk is hosting the ceremony and supplied a spectacle to match the trophies: the Tony Awards: Act One pre-show wrapped on Pluto TV, and the main show opened with P!nk performing “Lady Marmalade” alongside guests that included Megan Thee Stallion. She later performed “All That Jazz” in a tribute to Chicago, bookending a night that blends contemporary pop moments with stagecraft honors.
The early pattern of winners underscores where tonight’s critical momentum sits: a revival steeped in classical American theater has won direction and the technical architecture of a production, while new or reimagined musicals are collecting show-specific honors in choreography, costumes and score. That division helps explain how a revival with fewer nominations than a heavily nominated musical can still lead in early awards.
What remains unresolved is which productions will convert nominations into the remaining major prizes later in the broadcast, and whether The Lost Boys can turn its 12 nominations into a late surge. The awards already given suggest a split night — revival strength in play categories and technical design, with fresh musical projects claiming style and performance trophies.
The live ceremony will continue to hand out awards through the evening; viewers watching from Radio City and audiences following remotely will see whether Death of a Salesman’s early advantage holds or whether one of the heavily nominated musicals climbs out of the pack as the night’s definitive winner.
