{"id":1626,"date":"2026-06-08T20:09:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T20:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1626"},"modified":"2026-06-08T20:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T20:09:25","slug":"tony-awards-2026-takeaways-queer-culture-gets-celebrated-the-new-musicals-crisis-and-nobody-wants-to-publicly-thank-scott-rudin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1626","title":{"rendered":"Tony Awards 2026 Takeaways: Queer Culture Gets Celebrated, the New Musicals Crisis and Nobody Wants to Publicly Thank Scott Rudin"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\tBroadway shared the wealth at the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday. <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cDeath of a Salesman,\u201d a radical revival that restages Arthur Miller\u2019s classic in a garage, was the big winner with six prizes, while \u201cSchmigadoon!,\u201d \u201cThe Lost Boys\u201d and \u201cRagtime\u201d each earned four statues. But no single show dominated the evening. Instead, it was a night that rewarded stage veterans like John Lithgow (\u201cGiant\u201d), Shoshana Bean (\u201cThe Lost Boys\u201d) and Joshua Henry (\u201cRagtime\u201d), as well as newcomers like Alden Ehrenreich (\u201cBecky Shaw\u201d). It was also a history-making ceremony, with \u201cLiberation\u201d\u2019s Bess Wohl becoming the first female playwright in 38 years to win best play, while Apple, which produced \u201cSchmigadoon!,\u201d became the fastest streaming service to complete an EGOT.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1624\">NBA Finals Game 3 Livestream: Where to Watch the New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs Basketball Game Online Free<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tHere are five key takeaways from a memorable celebration of theater.<\/p>\n<h5>\n\t\tDid This Show Produce Itself?\t<\/h5>\n<p>\n\t\u201cDeath of a Salesman\u201d triumphed on Sunday, winning the award for best revival of a play. But one of the show\u2019s leading creative forces went unacknowledged \u2014 for good reason. \u201cDeath of a Salesman\u201d marked the return of Scott Rudin, the superstar producer who spent five years in exile after investigative stories were published about his abusive behavior with staff. It\u2019s customary to name-check the producer of a show in an acceptance speech, but neither Joe Mantello nor Laurie Metcalf mentioned Rudin when they picked up their statues for best director and best featured actress, respectively. When the show won best revival, Nathan Lane \u2014\u00a0its star, and not one of its producers \u2014 rattled off a list of thank-yous, and again didn\u2019t mention Rudin. Heading into the night, awards watchers wondered whether a Rudin backlash might deprive \u201cDeath of a Salesman\u201d of top prizes. Sunday night\u2019s ceremony offered a different message \u2014 Broadway is willing to work with Rudin, but applauding him is still a bridge too far.<\/p>\n<h5>\n\t\tAll the Wrong Notes\t<\/h5>\n<p>\n\tAccepting the second of two Tony Awards he\u2019d win for writing the score and book of \u201cSchmigadoon!,\u201d Cinco Paul pointed out a troubling trend: His show was one of just six new musicals last season. \u201cThat is not enough,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need more new musicals on Broadway.\u201d But there\u2019s a reason why Broadway musicals are an endangered species \u2014 money. Since COVID, only five musicals have recouped their investment, and the price tag of mounting these shows has only grown. \u201cSchmigadoon!,\u201d which won best musical, reportedly cost $15 million to stage, while its main competition for the prize, \u201cThe Lost Boys,\u201d was capitalized at $25 million. Yet if Broadway wants to keep drawing crowds, it needs to offer its signature razzle-dazzle. After all, as Lorne Michaels, one of the producers of \u201cSchmigadoon!,\u201d put it: \u201cSometimes singing, dancing, a lot of jokes and a happy ending is really all you need.\u201d<\/p>\n<h5>\n\t\tThere Is Nothing Like a Dame\t<\/h5>\n<p>\n\tLesley Manville, who made her Broadway debut at 69, joins a long line of British acting titans to be embraced by New York\u2019s theater community despite spending most of their careers on the West End. Her performance as Jocasta in \u201cOedipus\u201d showed people on this side of the pond what they\u2019ve been missing \u2014 Manville delivered a 10-minute monologue that had audiences mesmerized. And she was rewarded with a best leading actress Tony, joining fellow Brits like Maggie Smith (\u201cLettice and Lovage\u201d), Judi Dench (\u201cAmy\u2019s View\u201d) and Vanessa Redgrave (\u201cLong Day\u2019s Journey Into Night\u201d) in the winner\u2019s circle. Smith and Dench never returned to Broadway after winning their Tonys, but Redgrave was lured back twice. Here\u2019s hoping Manville follows Redgrave\u2019s model.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1621\">How \u2018For All Mankind\u2019 Works With Apple to Revive and Upgrade the Forgotten Newton as Its Alt-History iPhone<\/a><\/p>\n<h5>\n\t\tHappy Pride!\t<\/h5>\n<p>\n\tBroadway\u2019s biggest night was loud, proud and unapologetically queer. Performances by nominees like \u201cThe Rocky Horror Show,\u201d which featured action star Luke Evans in fishnets and a thong, and \u201cCats: The Jellicle Ball,\u201d with its voguing LGBTQ+ dancers, were enough to give Stephen Miller a stroke. And one winner after another used their time at the microphone to praise the theater industry\u2019s history of providing refuge for people who have been ostracized or othered. Some of the night\u2019s biggest cheers were reserved for \u201cCats: The Jellicle Ball\u201d\u2019s Qween Jean, who became the first openly transgender person to win a Tony when she accepted her prize for best costume design of a musical. \u201cWe are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,\u201d Qween Jean said. \u201cWe have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm.\u201d<\/p>\n<h5>\n\t\tBroadway\u2019s Newest Star Is \u2026 Pink?\t<\/h5>\n<p>\nPink may never have appeared on a Broadway stage. But as the host of the Tony Awards, the pop star showed she has the pipes of a veteran belter with a roof-rattling opening number set to \u201cLady Marmalade.\u201d That wasn\u2019t her only showstopper. Pink also performed \u201cAll That Jazz\u201d as part of a tribute to \u201cChicago,\u201d leaving guests at Tony after-parties wondering if Velma Kelly might be in her future. Heading into the evening, Pink described herself as one of Broadway\u2019s biggest fans. After the Tonys, the feeling is mutual.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1619\">Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow\u2019s \u2018Romy and Michele\u2019 Sequel Officially in Production, Will Stream on Hulu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2026 Tony Awards celebrated queer culture, Pink was a hit and the &#8220;Death of a Salesman&#8221; team sidestepped the Scott Rudin issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[188],"tags":[1471,1212,1472,1213],"class_list":["post-1626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legit","tag-cats-the-jellicle-ball","tag-pink","tag-scott-rudin","tag-tony-awards"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tony Awards 2026 Takeaways: Queer Culture Gets Celebrated, the New Musicals Crisis and Nobody Wants to Publicly Thank Scott Rudin - 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