Cinco Paul’s book for Schmigadoon! has won the 2026 Tony for Best Book of a Musical at the 79th Annual Tony Awards, held at Radio City Music Hall June 7.
Others in the category included The Lost Boys, Titaníque, and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
“I just want to take a moment to clear up a misconception during the press run,” Paul said while accepting his Tony. “I may have given people the impression that my wife Amy hates musicals. I deeply regret this. Amy really likes musicals, just not as much as I do. And I crazy love musicals, as you can imagine—but just not as much as I love Amy.”
This marks not only the first Tony Award win for Paul, but the first nomination, as the Apple TV+ show’s original series writer is making his Broadway debut with the production. A longtime theatre lover, Paul originally conceived the idea for Schmigadoon! as a stage musical roughly 25 years ago, and now, the production has brought his vision full circle, staging the show the way it was always meant to be. Upon hearing the news of his nomination last month, Paul exclaimed: “I want to do theatre! I’d be happy doing theatre for the rest of my career almost exclusively. I’m going to try to do other stuff, but I just want to keep doing theatre.”
Schmigadoon! is based on the two-season Apple Original series of the same name. The Broadway version follows the plot of the show’s first season, which follows real-world couple Josh and Melissa as they find themselves in Brigadoon Schmigadoon, a mysterious and magical world populated with characters, plots, songs, and dance numbers plucked from Golden Age musicals like Oklahoma!, The Music Man, Carousel, and more. The adaptation—which features a book, music, and lyrics by series creator Cinco Paul—includes all of the songs from the series’ Grammy-nominated score plus some new titles, including songs cut from the series.
The original Apple TV+ series premiered in 2021, with a second season in 2023 that sent its characters to Schmicago, complete with parodies of ’70s musicals like Pippin, Godspell, and Sweeney Todd. Apple canceled the show’s third season while it was still in production, though Paul previously told Playbill that his goal is to bring all three seasons of Schmigadoon to the stage. Read Playbill’s exhaustive recaps of all first and second season episodes for a deep dive into the series’ many musical theatre Easter eggs, references, and parodies.
READ: The Art of the Pastiche — How Cinco Paul Wrote New Songs, and Rewrote Old Ones, For Schmigadoon! on Broadway
The musical officially opened on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre April 20, with Christopher Gattelli at the helm as both director and choreographer.
The cast includes Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice) as Josh Skinner, Sara Chase (The Great Gatsby) as Melissa Gimble, Max Clayton (Chicago) as Danny Bailey, Ana Gasteyer (Once Upon a Mattress, SNL) as Mildred Layton, Ann Harada (Avenue Q) as Florence Menlove, Brad Oscar (The Producers) as Mayor Menlove, Isabelle McCalla (Water for Elephants) as Emma Tate, Maulik Pancholy (It’s Only a Play) as The Reverend, Ayaan Diop as Carson, Ivan Hernandez (Dear Evan Hansen) as Doc, and McKenzie Kurtz (Heathers) as Betsy. Brightman, Chase, Harada, Oscar, McCalla, and Kurtz are all reprising their work from the musical’s 2025 D.C. premiere. Harada also starred as Florence Menlove in the original series.
Rounding out the company are ensemblists Afra Hines, Becca Petersen, Clyde Alves, Jess LeProtto, Joshua Burrage, Kaleigh Cronin, Kimberly Immanuel, Lyrica Woodruff, Nathan Lucrezio, Richard Riaz Yoder, Shina Ann Morris, and Zachary Downer; Carson alternate Miles McNicoll; and swings Brandon Block, Kevin Quillon, Lauralyn McClelland, and Maria Briggs. Casting is by Bernard Telsey and Kristian Charbonier.
Schmigadoon!‘s Broadway bow features set design by Scott Pask, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Donald Holder, sound design by Walter Trarbach, and hair, wig, and makeup design by Tom Watson. Pask, Cho, and Watson also designed the Kennedy Center staging.
Lorne Michaels and No Gurantees Productions are producing, alongside Micah Frank, Caroline Maroney for Broadway Video, and Christine Schwarzman and Megan O’Keefe for No Guarantees. TT Partners is general managing.
Check Playbill throughout the evening for the latest in Tony Awards coverage, including photos from the red carpet, a continually updated list of winners, analysis from Playbill’s theatre experts, and more.
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.
For more about the Tony Awards, visit Playbill.com/Tonys.
