ENTERTAINMENTPink, 'Chicago' and Broadway Nostalgia Made the Tony Awards Built for Replay
Pink opened the Tony Awards with an aerial performance.
June 10 2026, Published 5:23 a.m. ET
The 2026 Tony Awards understood the assignment before Pink even landed.
Broadway’s biggest night opened with the pop star suspended above the stage as Peter Pan, and from there, the June 7 broadcast leaned into the ingredients that make awards shows live beyond one night: nostalgia, surprise, humor, celebrity crossovers and enough quick-cut moments to feed social media.
Pink Flies Into Broadway
She opened the broadcast as Peter Pan.
Pink’s opening number immediately became one of the show’s most replayable segments. She addressed skepticism around a pop star hosting the Tonys, then answered it with spectacle, comedy and a musical-theater sendup that included Neil Patrick Harris and a “Leading Lady Marmalade” twist.
Leigh Scheps, a Broadway reporter who was in attendance, said the choice made sense because it connected Pink’s public image to a theater reference audiences instantly understood.
“Pink hoisted up like Peter Pan was a genius idea to welcome her into the Broadway community since she is known for aerial stunts and Peter Pan flies of course,” Scheps said.
The Anniversary Moment That Traveled
The Tony Awards celebrated the 30th anniversary of 'Chicago.'
The broadcast also leaned heavily on Broadway memory, including a 30th anniversary tribute to the Chicago revival. The segment featured Pink stepping into Velma Kelly territory, Queen Latifah and Alex Newell returning as Mama Morton, and a lineup that included Julianne Hough, Dylan Mulvaney, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Adrienne Warren, Cedric the Entertainer and Chicago alum Whitney Leavitt.
“Whitney Leavitt, who sold out the Ambassador Theatre playing Roxie, was part of the pop culture moment. So many fans across the country didn't get to see her in the show but saw her quick clip on the Tonys,” Scheps said. “Her addition to the number for the anniversary shows that the show is still culturally relevant.”
“It has to be unexpected, meaningful, nostalgic or even funny,” Scheps said of the show’s most shareable moments. “The opening number incorporated many stars of the season and we saw quick reactions of them as the opening song went on. Audiences eat this stuff up.”
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The Clips Are the Show Now
John Litgow won a Tony five decades after his first one.
Other moments kept the Tonys feeling loose: June Squibb landing a punchline at 96, John Lithgow winning more than five decades after his first Tony, Anna Wintour and Andrew Lloyd Webber popping up during Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and Megan Thee Stallion delivering a joke built for reaction shots.
Anna Wintour had a cameo during the 'Cats: The Jellicle Ball.'
“People don’t share content simply because they saw it. They share it because it made them feel something — joy, surprise, admiration, nostalgia, or even disbelief,” said Ravi Sawhney, founder and CEO of RKS Design.
“The most successful broadcasts understand that attention is now fragmented. Rather than relying on a single headline moment, they create a series of emotionally engaging moments throughout the show,” he added. “In many ways, the viral clips are no longer a byproduct of the broadcast —they’ve become one of the primary objectives.”
