Scott Rudin anchors Tony Awards as P!nk hosts Radio City tally
scott rudin was at the center of a Tony Awards night that was already moving fast: the 79th annual ceremony was being presented Sunday from New York’s Radio City Music Hall while awards were also handed out during a 90-minute pre-show on Pluto TV. P!nk hosted the broadcast, and the winners list was changing in real time as Broadway’s top prizes were distributed.
Six awards had gone to Death of a Salesman by the time the live list was being updated, including Laurie Metcalf’s win for featured actress in a play. Metcalf’s trophy gave her a third career Tony Award, and the production also took Joe Mantello’s direction, lighting design, scenic design, sound design, and Best Revival of a Play.
Radio City and Pluto TV
The split between Radio City Music Hall and the 90-minute Tony Awards: Act One pre-show on Pluto TV turned the night into a rolling results feed rather than a single reveal. For viewers tracking winners as they came in, the format mattered: early categories could change the shape of the night before the main ceremony had even settled in.
The Lost Boys arrived tied with Schmigadoon! at 12 nominations, and it started converting that attention into wins. Ali Louis Bourzgui and Shoshana Bean each won featured performer honors for the production, which also picked up scenic design and lighting design.
Metcalf, Lithgow, Manville
John Lithgow won lead actor in a play for Giant, giving him a third Tony Award overall. Lesley Manville added another major acting win for Oedipus, while Alden Ehrenreich took featured actor in a play for Becky Shaw.
Those wins kept the evening from narrowing into a single production’s run. A live Tony Awards list has to absorb competing victories quickly, and this one did that with a mix of acting prizes, creative honors, and revival wins arriving from different corners of the Broadway field.
Schmigadoon! and Cats
Schmigadoon! won for Cinco Paul’s book and original score, then added the musical’s orchestrations. Cats: The Jellicle Ball went a different route, winning direction for a musical, choreography, and Qween Jean’s Best Costume Design in a Musical, making Jean the first opening trans Tony winner ever.
Ragtime also won in the revival categories, while P!nk closed the night’s public-facing momentum by hosting and performing “Lady Marmalade” with guests including Megan Thee Stallion and “All That Jazz” in a tribute to Chicago. For anyone following the Tony Awards as an industry scoreboard, the important number was not just who led early; it was how quickly the ceremony spread wins across revivals, new work, and performance categories before the night was done.
