The 2026 Tony Awards: If We Were Nominators

 

The 2026 Tony Awards:

If We Were Nominators

For us, theater awards season is what it must be like for football fans around Super Bowl time. We get super excited by every announcement, every eligibility notice. If it's a detail, we are interested! Tomorrow is the day we look forward to after every season: The Tony Awards Nominations announcement. 

I'll bet we aren't the only ones who try to predict which shows will make the cut, which of our favorite performers will get a flurry of texts and calls when their name is called. which of our favorite designers will be honored with a nod. This year, Mike and I only made it to each of the 10 major musical openings (6 new musicals, 4 revivals). We didn't see the return engagements of either Mamma Mia! or Beetlejuice. Given that, we are only sharing our thoughts on the musical categories this season.

We are not predicting who the nominating committee with choose; we are simply naming those shows and artists that we would nominate if we were nominators. Mike and I made our lists separately, so it is interesting to see how much we matched. It was often!

JEFF WOULD NOMINATE	MIKE WOULD NOMINATE
Best Musical	Best Musical
Schmigadoon!	Schmigadoon!
The Lost Boys	The Lost Boys
Titanique	Titanique
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)	Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Best Revival of a Musical	Best Revival of a Musical
Cats: The Jellicle Ball	Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Chess	Chess
Ragtime	Ragtime
*The Rocky Horror Show	* The Rocky Horror Show
Best Original Score (Music &/or Lyrics)	Best Original Score (Music &/or Lyrics)
Cinco Paul - Schmigadoon!	Cinco Paul - Schmigadoon!
The Rescues - The Lost Boys	The Rescues - The Lost Boys
Stephen Schwartz - The Queen of Versailles	Stephen Schwartz - The Queen of Versailles
Jim Barne & Kit Buchan - Two Strangers	Jim Barne & Kit Buchan - Two Strangers
Best Orchestrations	Best Orchestrations
Andrew Lloyd Webber, et al - Cats: The Jellicle Ball	Andrew Lloyd Webber, et al - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Brian Usifer - Chess	Brian Usifer - Chess
Doug Besterman & Mike Morris - Schmigadoon!	Doug Besterman & Mike Morris - Schmigadoon!
The Rescues & Ethan Popp - The Lost Boys	The Rescues & Ethan Popp - The Lost Boys
Best Book	Best Book
Cinco Paul - Schmigadoon!	Cinco Paul - Schmigadoon!
David Hornsby & Chris Hoch - The Lost Boys	David Hornsby & Chris Hoch - The Lost Boys
Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli - Titanique	Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli - Titanique
Jim Barne & Kit Buchan - Two Strangers	Jim Barne & Kit Buchan - Two Strangers
Best Direction of a Musical	Best Direction of a Musical
Zhailon Levingston & Bill Rauch - Cats: The Jellicle Ball	Zhailon Levingston & Bill Rauch - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Lear deBessonet - Ragtime	Lear deBessonet - Ragtime
Christopher Gattelli - Schmigadoon!	Christopher Gattelli - Schmigadoon!
Michael Arden - The Lost Boys	Michael Arden - The Lost Boys
Tye Blue - Titanique	Tye Blue - Titanique
Best Choreography	Best Choreography
Omari Wiles & Arturo Lyons - Cats: The Jellicle Ball	Omari Wiles & Arturo Lyons - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Lorin Latarro - Chess	Lorin Latarro - Chess
Christopher Gattelli - Schmigadoon!	Christopher Gattelli - Schmigadoon!
Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant - The Lost Boys	Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant - The Lost Boys
Ellenore Scott - Titanique	Ellenore Scott - Titanique
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
LJ Benet - The Lost Boys	LJ Benet - The Lost Boys
Nicholas Christopher - Chess	Nicholas Christopher - Chess
Joshua Henry - Ragtime	Joshua Henry - Ragtime
Sam Tutty - Two Strangers	Sam Tutty - Two Strangers
Brandon Uranowitz - Ragtime	Brandon Uranowitz - Ragtime
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sara Chase - Schmigadoon!	Sara Chase - Schmigadoon!
Caissie Levy - Ragtime	Caissie Levy - Ragtime
Lea Michele - Chess	Lea Michele - Chess
Marla Mindelle - Titanique	Marla Mindelle - Titanique
Christiani Pitts - Two Strangers	Christiani Pitts - Two Strangers
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical	Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ali Louis Bourzgui - The Lost Boys	Ali Louis Bourzgui - The Lost Boys
Max Clayton - Schmigadoon!	Andre deShields - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Sydney James Harcourt - Cats: The Jellicle Ball	Sydney James Harcourt - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Benjamin Pajak - The Lost Boys	Benjamin Pajak - The Lost Boys
Layton Williams - Titanique	Jim Parsons - Titanique
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical	Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Melissa Barrera - Titanique	Shoshana Bean - The Lost Boys
Shoshana Bean - The Lost Boys	Hannah Cruz - Chess
Ana Gasteyer - Schmigadoon!	Nichelle Lewis - Ragtime
McKenzie Kurtz - Schmigadoon!	Isabelle McCalla - Schmigadoon!
"Tempress" Chastity Moore - Cats: The Jellicle Ball	"Tempress" Chastity Moore - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Best Scenic Design of a Musical	Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Rachel Hauck - Cats: The Jellicle Ball	Rachel Hauck - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Scott Pask - Schmigadoon!	Scott Pask - Schmigadoon!
Dane Laffery - The Lost Boys	Dane Laffery - The Lost Boys
Gabriel Hanier Evansohn, Grace Laubacher, Iron Bloom - Titanique	Dane Laffery - The Queen of Versailles
Soutra Gilmour - Two Strangers	Soutra Gilmour - Two Strangers
Best Costume Design of a Musical	Best Costume Design of a Musical
Qween Jean - Cats: The Jellicle Ball	Qween Jean - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Linda Cho - Ragtime	Linda Cho - Ragtime
Linda Cho - Schmigadoon!	Linda Cho - Schmigadoon!
Ryan Park - The Lost Boys	Ryan Park - The Lost Boys
David I. Reynoso - The Rocky Horror Show	Alejo Vietti - Titanique
Best Lighting Design of a Musical	Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Adam Honoré - Cats: The Jellicle Ball	Adam Honoré - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Kevin Adams - Chess	Kevin Adams - Chess
Jen Schriever & Michael Arden - The Lost Boys	Donald Holder - Schmigadoon!
Jane Cox - The Rocky Horror Show	Jen Schriever & Michael Arden - The Lost Boys
Paige Seber - Titanique	Paige Seber - Titanique
Best Sound Design of a Musical	Best Sound Design of a Musical
Kai Harada - Cats: The Jellicle Ball	Kai Harada - Cats: The Jellicle Ball
John Shivers - Chess	Kai Harada - Ragtime
Adam Fisher - The Lost Boys	Walter Trarbach - Schmigadoon!
Lawrence Schober - Titanique	Adam Fisher - The Lost Boys
Tony Gayle - Two Strangers	Tony Gayle - Two Strangers

* - If the Tony committee opts not to nominate a 4th musical revival, The Rocky Horror Show would be our 4th choice, leaving the other three,

Jeff's Nomination Totals:

The Lost Boys - 14

Schmigadoon! - 12

Cats: The Jellicle Ball - 10

Titanique - 10

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) - 7

Chess - 7

Ragtime - 6

The Rocky Horror Show - 2

The Queen of Versailles - 1

Beaches - 0

Mike's Nomination Totals:

The Lost Boys - 14

Schmigadoon! - 12

Cats: The Jellicle Ball - 11

Titanique - 8

Ragtime - 8

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) - 7

Chess - 7

The Queen of Versailles - 2

The Rocky Horror Show - 0

Beaches - 0