Everything You Didn’t See on TV at the 2026 Tony Awards: Whitney Leavitt, Darren Criss and More

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.”

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.

2. Unlike at the Oscars — when celebrities tend to arrive in cars, step out and immediately hit the carpet — the Tonys had a little traffic jam where everyone doing the carpet first had to wait in a roughly 45-60 minute line. Yup, even VIP nominees like Daniel Radcliffe, Carrie Coon and Jim Parsons all had to wait in the outside heat. Naturally, it turned into a catch up fest!

3. Remember their names! Best Choreography winners Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons drew press room cheers when they announced a dream project: a revival of Fame.

4. John Lithgow won his third Tony for his performance as Roald Dahl in the play Giant, which deals with anti-semitism. “It ends with a moment that is inexplicably horrible,” Lithgow explained to reporters in the media room after his win, referring to a real-life phone call Dahl had with a reporter. “My challenge was always motivate that last moment, [to] try to help people understand where that kind of cruelty comes from, because in my mind that’s exactly what the play is about. … [There’s so much] cruelty of all kinds, hatred of the other. These are things that we’re dealing with these days, and I think that’s what makes Giant so important and what’s made it such a success.”

5. Julia Louis-Dreyfus had a red carpet chat with Vogue’s Anna Wintour. Wintour’s daughter Bee Shaffer was a fan – she introduced herself to Dreyfus on the carpet.

6. Pink knows how to get a party started, but so does Usher — who brought his own drink to the afternoon carpet.