Lea Michele Sweeps Broadway Audience Awards Following Tony Nominations Omission

Lea Michele emerged as the evening's standout winner at the 2026 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, claiming three major prizes in a show of support from theatergoers that came just days after her exclusion from the Tony Awards nominations.

The Broadway community had anticipated Michele's first Tony nomination for her performance in Chess, particularly in the Best Actress in a Musical category. That expectation went unfulfilled when the Tony nominations were announced last week, marking a notable snub for the performer.

The audience awards painted a different picture entirely. Michele took home Favorite Leading Actress in a Musical, Favorite Diva Performance, and Favorite Performance of the Year (Musical). Her production Chess also claimed the Favorite Musical Revival honor—a category where the show similarly failed to secure a Tony nomination.

The evening's accolades spread across several productions. Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Hadestown, and Death of a Salesman each collected three awards.

Additional winners included Joshua Henry (Ragtime) for Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical, Daniel Radcliffe (Every Brilliant Thing) for Favorite Leading Actor in a Play, and Ayo Edibiri (Proof) for Favorite Leading Actress in a Play. The Lost Boys took home Favorite New Musical, while Dog Day Afternoon won Favorite New Play.

In the featured categories, Jim Parsons earned recognition for Titanique, Shoshana Bean for The Lost Boys, Christopher Abbott for Death of a Salesman, and Laurie Metcalf also for Death of a Salesman. Sam Tutty of Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) won Favorite Funny Performance, while Christiani Pitts and Tutty together took Favorite Onstage Pair.

Luke Evans (The Rocky Horror Show) and Juliette Lewis (The Rocky Horror Show) both earned Favorite Breakthrough Performance honors. Jack Wolfe won Favorite Replacement (Male) for Hadestown, and Whitney Leavitt took Favorite Replacement (Female) for Chicago.

"New York" from Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) was named Favorite New Song, while Radcliffe also won Favorite Performance of the Year (Play).