John Lithgow paid tribute to a London theatre as he made history at the Tony Awards during a glittering ceremony in New York. The actor, aged 80, became the oldest man to win a competitive acting Tony when he claimed the award for best lead actor in a play for his portrayal of Roald Dahl in Giant.
Lithgow's Historic Win
The play premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre in 2024. Lithgow, whose extensive stage, television, and film roles have earned him multiple awards including seven Emmys and two Golden Globes, received his third Tony award on Sunday night. He told the audience: 'My first one was 53 years ago at my Broadway debut, and the American premiere of an English play which by an amazing coincidence originated at London's Royal Court Theatre – just like Giant.'
Other Major Winners
Schmigadoon! took the award for best new musical, while Death of a Salesman won best play revival among six awards on the night. Schmigadoon! is an adaptation of an Apple TV series and parodies Broadway classics like The Music Man and Oklahoma!, focusing on a couple who find themselves in a Brigadoon-style fantasy land.
British success also came at Radio City Music Hall, with the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play going to Lesley Manville for her role in Oedipus. Best new play went to Bess Wohl's Liberation, which also won the Pulitzer Prize for drama earlier this year. The win makes Wohl only the fourth woman to win a best play Tony, alongside Wendy Wasserstein, Yasmina Reza, and Frances Goodrich.
Wohl said: 'I want to honour women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice. And to all the girls out there: May you speak your truth, and may the world be wise enough to listen.'
Revivals and Records
The Arthur Miller classic Death of a Salesman won the 1949 Tony for best new play as well as the best revival category in 1984, 1999, and 2012. Among its six awards was a gong for Roseanne star Laurie Metcalf, who plays Willy Loman's wife opposite Nathan Lane in the revival. Ragtime, a musical depicting an America being remade by immigration, racial violence, industrial wealth, and political unrest, won the best musical revival.
Lithgow's Reflections
Lithgow, who won this year for playing children's writer Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt's production of Giant, said: 'Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them. In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theatre artists. I've had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.' Lithgow's first Tony was in 1973 when he was named best featured actor in a play in The Changing Room.
Ceremony Highlights
The awards show was hosted by pop star Pink, who kicked off proceedings by spinning and then dangling uncomfortably from a harness over the stage dressed as Peter Pan. After a brief skit with former host Neil Patrick Harris, she put on a top hat and performed Lady Marmalade alongside a cast that included former Glee alumni Lea Michele and rapper Megan Thee Stallion.
