Oedipus, Marjorie Prime, Bug Will Compete as Revivals at This Year's Tonys

The Tony Awards Administration Committee met February 19 for the second time this season to issue rulings on the 2025-2026 season, jointly deciding where productions and artists will be considered for this year's Tony Award nominations. Productions discussed included Oedipus, Chess, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Marjorie Prime, and Bug. 

The Tony committee, which previously met in the fall, usually categorizes artists based on how they are billed in the opening night Playbill of the show. These meetings are to determine category eligibility for artists who fall outside that standard procedure.

The 2026 Tony Awards is set for June 7 at Radio City Music Hall, with nominations to be unveiled May 5. This year's Tony Awards will consider productions that open by April 26.

Of most note from this crop of rulings is that recent stagings of Oedipus, Marjorie Prime, and Bug will be considered revivals. Marjorie Prime and Bug both made their Broadway debuts this season, but are getting this designation because they have been well-known and oft-produced works Off-Broadway and on the regional scene for years; both have already been adapted as films. Oedipus, on the other hand, featured a completely new and modernized take on the ancient Greek tragedy by director and adaptor Robert Icke, making its own revival designation noteworthy.

As is always the case, the playwrights of all three (Icke for Oedipus, Jordan Harrison for Marjorie Prime, and Tracy Letts for Bug) will be considered Tony winners alongside the productions' producers should any of these three works receive nominations for Best Revival of a Play and then win.

One revival, however, will get to compete as if it's a new work: Chess, which has a new book written by Danny Strong. Chess and Strong will be eligible for the Best Book of a Musical category.

Normally, actors who are above the show title in the opening night Playbill are considered leading, while actors underneath are supporting. The bulk of the Tony's decisions were to categorize actors that are not being billed with leading- or supporting-level billing in their shows' Playbills. Christiani Pitts and Sam Tutty will both be considered for the Lead Actor in a Musical categories for Two Strangers..., while with Bug's Carrie Coon and Namir Smallwood will be considered for the Lead Actor in a Play categories.

Interestingly, no performance designations were ruled for Marjorie Prime, which would seem to indicate that its entire cast will be eligible in Featured Actor categories, including title star June Squibb.

See the full list of determinations below:

Oedipus will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Play category. Robert Icke will be considered eligible as author.

Danny Strong (New Book) will be considered eligible in the Best Book of a Musical category for their work on Chess.

David Rockwell (Scenic Designer) and Peter Nigrini (Video Designer) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on Chess.

Brian Usifer will be considered eligible in the Best Orchestrations category for their work on Chess.

Christiani Pitts will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for their role in Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).

Sam Tutty will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for their role in Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).

Marjorie Prime will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Play category. Jordan Harrison will be considered eligible as author.

Bug will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Play category. Tracy Letts will be considered eligible as author.

Carrie Coon will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play category for their role in Bug.

Namir Smallwood will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for their role in Bug.

All other eligibility will be consistent with the opening night credits.

The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and The American Theatre Wing. At the American Theatre Wing, Emilio Sosa is chair, and Heather Hitchens is president and CEO. At the Broadway League, Kristin Caskey is chair, and Jason Laks is president.