The 2026 Tony Awards started with a bang – meaning a 170-person strong opening number featuring first-time host Pink, Neil Patrick Harris, Megan Thee Stallion and many, many more singing a parody number of Pink‘s hit “Lady Marmalade.”
Read more Nithya Raman Leapfrogs Spencer Pratt in L.A. Mayoral Race, In 2nd Place
The three-hour CBS telecast of the Tonys was just beginning, but for ceremony participants at Radio City Music Hall it has already been an action-packed day on the blue carpet.
Keep scrolling for eight things viewers at home didn’t see on the Tonys telecast, complete with intel from the hours-long carpet, backstage media room and more.
1. Whitney Leavitt – who performed at the Tony Awards as part of a 30th anniversary celebration of Chicago – introduced herself to *NSync’s Joey Fatone and JC Chasez (who walked the carpet together), telling them she’s a big fan and introducing the singers to her husband, Conner Leavitt.
Read more ‘Love Island’ Season 8: Who Was Eliminated, Left the Villa After Breakups?
7. Alden Ehrenreich won his first Tony for his role in the play Becky Shaw as a Nice Guy boyfriend who turns out to be something far more sinister. In his telecast speech, he talked about his mom’s support. Speaking to press after, he discussed more about her role in his life.
“She’s an artist and she used to quote her grandfather, [who] used to say, ‘It takes the same energy to dream big as it does to dream small,'” he said. “So anytime I come home, like, ‘Oh, I want to open an ice cream stand,’ she’d be like, ‘You could create a worldwide franchise.’ She just would encourage and champion every instinct that she saw [in] my penchant toward make believe and dressing up. She exalted that from the first second and made me feel like I could do anything.”
8. Darren Criss, who won a Tony last year for Maybe Happy Ending, started things off on a positive note with the press and photographers gathered on the carpet, thanking everyone for their time and checking in on how the unfolding event had been going on a very hot NYC summer day. A class act.
Read more Pregnant Aubrey Plaza Supports Boyfriend Chris Abbott at the Tony Awards
Additional reporting by Shelby Stivale
Copyright 2026 Us Weekly. All rights reserved
This story was originally published June 7, 2026 at 10:48 PM.