The 79th Tony Awards ceremony, hosted by Pink, unfolded at Radio City Music Hall with a Broadway-sized reinvention of her hit “Lady Marmalade,” setting a celebratory tone for an evening filled with notable records, snubs, and surprises. The event highlighted the dedication of those in show business and saw significant achievements in various categories.

A major storyline of the night was the triumph of “Schmigadoon!,” adapted from the Apple TV musical-comedy series. Cinco Paul, the sole author, achieved a rare clean sweep, taking home the awards for book of a musical, original score, and, ultimately, best musical. This makes Paul only the fourth person in Broadway history to win book and score in the same year their show secured the top prize, joining an elite group that includes Rupert Holmes, Jonathan Larson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Beyond Paul's individual success, “Schmigadoon!” also marked a significant milestone for Apple. With its Tony haul, Apple became one of the few companies to achieve a “studio EGOT,” meaning major wins at all four major American entertainment ceremonies: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Apple TV launched in November 2019, completing this quartet with remarkable speed in roughly six and a half years, following Emmys for shows like “Ted Lasso,” an Oscar for “CODA,” and a Grammy for Chris Stapleton’s “Bad As I Used to Be.”

While “Schmigadoon!” made history, it was Joe Mantello’s reimagined revival of “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman” that garnered the most statues, pulling six awards to become one of the most decorated plays in Tony history. It tied with productions like “The History Boys,” “Red,” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” though “The Coast of Utopia” still holds the record with seven wins. Laurie Metcalf also earned her third competitive acting Tony for her portrayal of Linda Loman in “Death of a Salesman,” making Willy’s long-suffering wife a two-time Tony-winning role.

Another standout moment was John Lithgow's win for best actor in a play for his role as Roald Dahl in “Giant.” At 80 years old, Lithgow became the oldest man ever to win a competitive acting Tony, surpassing Roy Dotrice. Additionally, his win opened the longest gap between competitive acting Tony wins in the awards’ history at 53 years, a span that significantly exceeds Angela Lansbury's previous mark. This third career Tony also placed Lithgow in an exclusive club of four performers who have won in three different acting categories.

The evening also provided several notable surprises and snubs. Ali Louis Bourzgui unexpectedly won featured actor in a musical for “The Lost Boys,” beating veteran André De Shields. Conversely, the heartfelt musical “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)” and the Céline Dion-fueled parody “Titaníque,” despite multiple nominations, were entirely passed over. Kai Harada delivered a surprise win in sound design for “Ragtime” over other highly favored contenders, while Alden Ehrenreich’s debut on Broadway saw him win featured actor in a play for “Becky Shaw.”

In the musical revival categories, “Ragtime” and “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” split the major prizes. “Ragtime” ultimately took the best musical revival crown, bolstered by leading acting wins for Joshua Henry and Caissie Levy. However, best direction of a musical went to Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch for their ballroom reimagining of “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” making them only the fourth pair of co-directors to share this prestigious award, matching the win for the original “Cats” in 1983.