Nominations for the 79th Annual Tony Awards were revealed May 5. Within the nominated class, one category raised a number of eyebrows: Best Revival of a Musical.
This year, only three shows made the cut for the nomination: Ragtime, The Rocky Horror Show, and CATS: The Jellicle Ball. That means that two other eligible productions, Chess and Mamma Mia!, were left out of the category. Why?
It comes down to numbers.
You’ve likely grown accustomed to the Best Revival of a Musical category having four slots; after all, the last three ceremonies have all had four nominees! That is not necessarily a given, however. The number of eligible productions determines the number of nomination slots that are available.
In recent seasons, there have been at least six eligible productions, which has tipped the scale toward four nomination slots. This season, however, the return of Beetlejuice the Musical was deemed non-eligible for the Tonys, making only five productions eligible. That meant that there were only three nominating slots in the category, with the possibility of a fourth slot if there were enough votes.
What then happened was:
- Five shows were deemed eligible for Best Revival of a Musical: Ragtime, The Rocky Horror Show, CATS: The Jellicle Ball, Chess, and Mamma Mia!.
- When the Tony nominators submitted their secret ballots, Ragtime, The Rocky Horror Show, and CATS: The Jellicle Ball were the three productions with the most votes, therefore guaranteeing them a nomination.
- Neither Chess or Mamma Mia! received within 10 percent the same number of votes as the third most voted for production, so a fourth nomination slot was not added to the final nomination list.
The exact language behind category numbers is as follows:
The number of nominees in each of the four “Best Show” categories when there are five or four or three or fewer eligible shows, shall be determined in the following manners:
(A) Where there are five or four eligible shows in a Best Show category, at the Tony Nominating Meeting, the Nominating Committee will be instructed to cast one vote each for three eligible shows as nominees on his/her secret ballot. Such ballot shall be collected and tabulated by a representative of the Accounting Firm. The three eligible shows with the highest number of votes will automatically be designated as the nominees in such category. A fourth nominee shall be added to the category in the event that the Accounting Firm determines that the difference in votes between the third highest ranked show and the fourth highest ranked show is 10 percent or less.
B) Where there are three or fewer eligible shows in a Best Show category, at the Tony Nominating Meeting, the Nominating Committee will be instructed to vote separately, “yes” or “no” for each for eligible shows as a nominee on his/her secret ballot. Such ballot shall be collected and tabulated by a representative of the Accounting Firm. A simple majority of “yes” votes will determine whether or not the eligible show is a nominee in such category.
There being three nominations this season is not an intentional slight or coordinate snub; it is simply a matter of numbers. So far, three musical revivals have been announced for the 2026-27 Broadway season: Dreamgirls, The Full Monty, and Evita. Only time will tell if more productions join their ranks, or if the B clause will have to be invoked at the next Tonys!
Nominations for the Tonys’ competitive categories were revealed May 5, with The Lost Boys and Schmigadoon! tied as the season’s most-nominated productions. Each are up for 12 categories including Best Musical, while Lincoln Center Theater’s Ragtime is right behind them with 11 nominations. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is the most-nominated play of the season with nine total nods (tying it with fellow revivals Cats: The Jellicle Ball and Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show). See the full list of nominees here.
Pre-order your own copy of the 2026 Tony Awards Playbill at PlaybillStore.com.
Winners will be named at The 79th Annual Tony Awards, set to broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall June 7, beginning at 8 PM ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. Grammy winner Pink will host the evening.
The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League. At the American Theatre Wing, Ted Chapin is interim chair, and Heather Hitchens is president and CEO. At the Broadway League, Kristin Caskey is chair, and Jason Laks is president. Raj Kapoor, Sarah Levine Hall, and Jack Sussman are producing this year’s ceremony.
Visit Playbill.com/Tonys.
