The 2026 Tony Awards started with a bang — meaning a 170-person strong opening number featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Megan Thee Stallion and many, many more singing a parody number of first-time host Pink’s hit “Lady Marmalade.”
While the three-hour CBS telecast of the Tonys was just beginning, it was already an action-packed day for ceremony participants at Radio City Music Hall on the blue carpet.
Keep scrolling for eight things viewers at home didn’t see on the Tonys telecast, complete with intel from the hours-long carpet, backstage media room and more.
Celebrity Superfans
Whitney Leavitt — who performed at the Tony Awards as part of a 30th anniversary celebration of Chicago — introduced herself to ‘NSync’s Joey Fatone and JC Chasez (who walked the carpet together), telling them she’s a big fan and introducing the singers to her husband, Conner Leavitt.
Busy Arrivals
Unlike at the Oscars — when celebrities tend to arrive in cars, step out and immediately hit the carpet — the Tonys had a little traffic jam where everyone doing the carpet first had to wait in a roughly 45-60 minute line. Yup, even VIP nominees like Daniel Radcliffe, Carrie Coon and Jim Parsons all had to wait in the outside heat. Naturally, it turned into a catch up fest!
Remember Their Names!
Best Choreography winners Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons drew press room cheers when they announced a dream project: a revival of Fame.
Behind-the-Scenes Insight
John Lithgow won his third Tony for his performance as Roald Dahl in the play Giant, which deals with anti-semitism. “It ends with a moment that is inexplicably horrible,” Lithgow explained to reporters in the media room after his win, referring to a real-life phone call Dahl had with a reporter. “My challenge was always motivate that last moment, [to] try to help people understand where that kind of cruelty comes from, because in my mind that’s exactly what the play is about. … [There’s so much] cruelty of all kinds, hatred of the other. These are things that we’re dealing with these days, and I think that’s what makes Giant so important and what’s made it such a success.”
NYC Royalty
Julia Louis-Dreyfus had a red carpet chat with Vogue’s Anna Wintour. Wintour’s daughter Bee Shaffer was a fan — she introduced herself to Dreyfus on the carpet.
Usher Stays Hydrated
Pink knew how to get the party started, but so did Usher — who brought his own drink to the afternoon carpet.
Alden Ehrenreich Talks Mom’s Impact
Ehrenreich won his first Tony on Sunday for his role in the play Becky Shaw as a “nice guy” boyfriend who turns out to be something far more sinister. In his telecast speech, he talked about his mom’s support. Speaking to press after, he discussed more about her role in his life.
“She’s an artist and she used to quote her grandfather, [who] used to say, ‘It takes the same energy to dream big as it does to dream small,'” he said. “So anytime I come home, like, ‘Oh, I want to open an ice cream stand,’ she’d be like, ‘You could create a worldwide franchise.’ She just would encourage and champion every instinct that she saw [in] my penchant toward make believe and dressing up. She exalted that from the first second and made me feel like I could do anything.”
Darren Criss Was a Class Act
The actor, who won a Tony last year for Maybe Happy Ending, started things off on a positive note with the press and photographers gathered on the carpet, thanking everyone for their time and checking in on how the unfolding event had been going on a very hot NYC summer day.
Additional reporting by Shelby Stivale
