In 2002, the lineup for Best Actress in a Musical consisted of all first-time Tony nominees: Louise Pitre (Mamma Mia!), Nancy Opel (Urinetown), Jennifer Laura Thompson (Urinetown), Vanessa Williams (Into the Woods), and the eventual winner, Sutton Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie). Every year since then, the category has included at least one previous nominee or winner. Twenty-four years later, it appears likely we’ll see the field filled with all first-time contenders again.
According to Gold Derby’s prediction data, this year’s Best Actress in a Musical lineup is expected to include Caissie Levy for Ragtime, Christiani Pitts for Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Marla Mindelle for Titaníque, Lea Michele for Chess, and Sara Chase for Schmigadoon. All of them would be first-time Tony nominees.
Tony Awards Nominations 2026
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Throughout her career, Levy has opened in several Tony-eligible productions in prominent roles such as Hair; Ghost the Musical; Les Misérables; Frozen; Caroline, or Change; and Leopoldstadt. Now, 20 years after her Broadway debut as a replacement in Hairspray, she’s expected to receive her first nom for her performance as Mother in Ragtime. This role previously earned Best Actress bids for both of the musical’s prior main stem incarnations: Marin Mazzie in 1998 and Christiane Noll in 2010.
Following her Broadway debut in the ensemble of A Bronx Tale in 2016, Pitts went on to originate the coveted role of Ann Darrow in the musical version of King Kong in 2018. Cut to today, where it looks like her third main stem appearance as Robin Rainey in Two Strangers will be the charm.
After originating the roles of Mary Robert in Sister Act in 2011 and Gabrielle in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella in 2013, Mindelle is in contention for her performance as Celine Dion in Titaníque, a jukebox musical/parody of James Cameron’s 1997 film, Titanic. She also co-wrote the book with Tye Blue and Constantine Rousouli.
After making her Broadway debut as Young Cosette in Les Misérables in 1995, Michele grew up in the New York theatre scene with subsequent appearances in the original cast of Ragtime and the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof with Alfred Molina. Eventually, she found her breakout role as Wendla in Spring Awakening. Despite that show going on to receive 11 Tony nominations and eight wins (including Best Musical) in 2007, she was absent from the Best Actress in a Musical lineup that year.
Michele returned to Broadway in 2022 as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, following about a decade-and-a-half absence (partially due to her star-making role as Rachel Berry on Glee). That revival originally opened with Beanie Feldstein in the coveted role to scathing reviews. When Michele took over, she turned it around into a hit. Yet because she was a replacement, she wasn’t eligible for Tony contention. Now, she’s starring as Florence Vassy in Chess, a role that previously earned Judy Kuhn a nom for the original production in 1988.
Following her first two main stem appearances in the original casts of First Date and The Great Gatsby, Chase is currently in her first leading role as Melissa Gimble in Schmigadoon, a stage adaptation of the first season of Apple TV’s cult musical series. It’s also worth noting that during her run in The Great Gatsby, she missed a number of performances due to a cancer diagnosis. After several rounds of chemo therapy, she returned to that show fully recovered.
Since 2002, there have been four instances where the Tonys came close to Best Actress in a Musical consisting of all first-time nominees, but one previous nominee/winner in the lineup prevented that from happening:
- 2003: first-time nominees were Melissa Errico (Amour), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Man of La Mancha), Elizabeth Parkinson (Movin’ Out), and the eventual winner, Marissa Jaret Winokur (Hairspray); the fifth contender was Bernadette Peters (Gypsy), a two-time winner for Song and Dance in 1986 and Annie Get Your Gun in 1999.
- 2005: first-time nominees were Christina Applegate (Sweet Charity), Erin Dilly (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Sherie Rene Scott (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), and the eventual winner, Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza); the fifth contender was the aforementioned Sutton Foster on her second bid for Little Women.
- 2010: first-time nominees were Kate Baldwin (Finian’s Rainbow), Montego Glover (Memphis), Christiane Noll (Ragtime), and the eventual winner, Catherine Zeta-Jones (A Little Night Music); the fifth contender was the aforementioned Sherie Rene Scott on her second bid for Everyday Rapture.
- 2018: first-time nominees were Lauren Ambrose (My Fair Lady), Hailey Kilgore (Once on This Island), Taylor Louderman (Mean Girls), and the eventual winner, Katrina Lenk (The Band’s Visit); there was a tie in the nominating process that year, which led to an additional performance making the cut. The fifth and sixth contenders were LaChanze (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), a previous winner for The Color Purple in 2006, and Jessie Mueller (Carousel), a previous winner for Beautiful in 2014.
The 2026 Tonys nominations will be announced May 5.
