12 Categories the Tony Awards Need to Add (Or Bring Back) Right Now

With the 2025-2026 Tony Award nominations having just dropped yesterday, the Broadway community is buzzing with excitement for the recognized nominees—and the inevitable discussions about who was overlooked.

As Broadway constantly evolves, the way we recognize excellence needs to expand with it. When we look at the Tonys, considered by many to be the most prestigious accolade in the industry, it is clear that several vital disciplines are still being left out of the conversation.

If the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League want to truly reflect the modern theatrical landscape, here are 12 categories they need to add—ranked down to the one addition we believe is the most overdue.

12. Best Original Song

Why it Should Be Added: Sometimes a show features a singular, transcendent song that deserves standalone recognition, even if the overall score may not be the strongest of the season. This category would be a way to honor those standout songs and moments. 

Other Awards: Surprisingly, this is a blind spot across most major theatrical awards (Drama Desk, Oliviers), though it is a staple of non-theatrical awards like the Academy Awards and the Grammys. It is time for theater to catch up and honor the power of a standalone song. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: In just the past few years, songs like “Independently Owned” from Shucked, “Masquerade” from Stereophonic, and “Dear Bill” from Operation Mincemeat would have been strong contenders for the award.

11. Best Puppet Design

Why it Should Be Added: Puppetry has evolved far beyond novelty; it is often the central visual and emotional driving force of a production. Lumping puppet design into scenic or costume design, which is how the Tony Awards have recognized this discipline in the past, ignores the specific engineering and movement mechanics required to bring these figures to life. 

Other Awards: The Drama Desk Awards feature an "Outstanding Puppet Design" category. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes would have won in a landslide for their breathtaking work in Life of Pi. The designers behind King Kong and War Horse (which earned a Special Tony Award) would have also been recognized here.

10. Best Fight Choreography

Why it Should Be Added: Staging violence in a way that is both believable and safe requires an incredibly specialized skill set. It is an entirely different beast than dance choreography, yet it remains unrecognized by the Tony Awards. 

Other Awards: The Drama Desk Awards introduced "Outstanding Fight Choreography" to specifically honor this vital backstage and onstage work. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: Sordelet Ink’s frighteningly realistic work on Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and Rick and Jeff Kuperman’s unique and artistic rumble sequence from The Outsiders would have made them likely winners for Best Fight Choreography.

9. Best Intimacy Staging

Why it Should Be Added: Over the past decade, intimacy direction has become an industry standard, ensuring actors can safely and authentically portray vulnerable, intimate moments. It is a highly specialized choreographic and psychological discipline that shapes the emotional core of many shows. 

Other Awards: While competitive categories are still emerging, the Obie Awards and Drama Desk Awards have begun awarding special citations specifically recognizing intimacy directors, paving the way for a formalized category. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: Claire Warden’s groundbreaking work on Slave Play and Jagged Little Pill would have almost certainly racked up nominations, if not wins, for Best Intimacy Staging.

8. Best Special Theatrical Event

Why it Should Be Added: The Tonys had this category from 2001 to 2009 before retiring it. Broadway houses frequently host magic shows, concert residencies, solo performances, and hybrid spectacles that don't neatly fit into "Play" or "Musical." Without this category, these unique shows are either ignored or forced to compete awkwardly against traditional narratives. 

Other Awards: The Drama Desk Awards recognize these productions with the "Unique Theatrical Experience" category, and the Olivier Awards have categories for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: If this category still existed, Bruce Springsteen (Springsteen on Broadway), Derren Brown (Secret), and Alex Edelman (Just For Us) would have entered the conversation for competitive Tony nominations.

7. Best Solo Performance

Why it Should Be Added: Carrying a two-hour show entirely alone requires monumental stamina. Forcing solo performers to compete against actors in massive ensemble shows with scene partners creates an apples-to-oranges judging scenario, and solo performers often win over more traditional leading performances. 

Other Awards: The Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Lucille Lortel Awards all have dedicated categories for Outstanding Solo Performance. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: If Jodie Comer (Prima Facie) and Sarah Snook (The Picture of Dorian Gray) won their Tonys in this category, other performers like Jessica Chastain (A Doll’s House) and LaTanya Richardson Jackson (Purpose) would have had a better shot at winning Best Leading Actress in a Play.

6. Best Music in a Play

Why it Should Be Added: Straight plays rely heavily on original incidental music to establish pacing, tension, and atmosphere. Currently, composers for plays are forced to compete in the "Best Original Score" category, where they are routinely crushed by full-blown, two-act musicals. 

Other Awards: The Drama Desk Awards feature an "Outstanding Music in a Play" category. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: Will Butler for Stereophonic, Adam Guettel for To Kill a Mockingbird, and Imogen Heap for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child would have easily swept this category.

5. Best Lyrics

Why it Should Be Added: Writing music and writing lyrics are two entirely different disciplines, often handled by different people. Combining them into one "Best Original Score" Tony often leaves brilliant lyricists in the shadows if the underlying music isn't favored by voters, or vice versa. 

Other Awards: The Drama Desk Awards famously split the musical score into two distinct categories: "Outstanding Music" and "Outstanding Lyrics." 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: While we love the score for Maybe Happy Ending, we have a feeling that David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna’s lyrics for Dead Outlaw would have taken home the award in 2025. But then again, we know there are Death Becomes Her fans out there who'd think it would be pretty f***in' rude not to see the award go to lyricists Julia Mattison and Noel Carey.

4. Best Ensemble of a Play

Why it Should Be Added: Many great plays are built on rapid-fire group dynamics, overlapping dialogue, and unified chemistry where no single actor is the definitive "lead." Recognizing the collective effort is crucial for ensemble-driven narratives. 

Other Awards: Both the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards recognize the collective power of a cast with ensemble honors. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: The flawless group chemistry in Stereophonic, the familial tension in The Lehman Trilogy, and the massive, synchronized cast of The Ferryman all deserved to take the stage as a single winning unit. This season, the casts of The Balusters, Death of a Salesman, and Dog Day Afternoon would have been likely nominees.

3. Best Ensemble of a Musical

Why it Should Be Added: A musical simply does not function without its ensemble. The chorus members provide the vocal backbone, execute the most grueling choreography, and populate the world of the show. Yet, the Tonys only recognize lead and featured individuals. 

Other Awards: The Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards both frequently award Outstanding Ensemble. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: The relentless, high-octane casts of The Outsiders, Illinoise, Hamilton, and Newsies would have been runaway winners for this award. The ensembles of this season’s productions of The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon!, Titanique, Ragtime, and Cats: The Jellicle Ball deserve recognition in this category as well.

2. Best Playwright

Why it Should Be Added: Currently, the Tony for Best Play goes to the author and the producers, acting as an award for the overall production of the play. We need a category that honors the playwright's text on its own merits, separate from the producing team, much like Best Book of a Musical does, along with a rebranding of “Best Play” to “Best Production of a Play.” 

Other Awards: The Drama Desk Awards separate these concepts beautifully by awarding "Outstanding Play" (for the production) and "Outstanding Playwright" (for the script). The Obie Awards also give dedicated Playwriting honors. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: This category could have dramatically impacted the 2018 Tony Awards ceremony. While the production and spectacle of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child would have likely carried it to a win for Best Production of a Play, Junk, Ayad Akhtar’s drama about corporate greed and corruption, would have been the frontrunner for Best Playwright. Similarly, 2026 would have likely seen a Best Production of a Play win for the megahit Oh, Mary! and a Best Playwright win for Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Purpose.

1. Best Video/Projection Design

Why it Should Be Added: It should surprise no one that this category tops our list. As specialists in digital media, we know firsthand that theatrical video has completely revolutionized modern stagecraft. Digital scenery is now an expected, dynamic storytelling tool on Broadway. It dictates rhythm, establishes locations, and creates optical illusions that physical scenery simply cannot achieve. Currently, the Tonys occasionally wrap this work into Scenic or Lighting Design, but professional Video Designers deserve their flowers on their own. 

Other Awards: The Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Lucille Lortel Awards have all wisely recognized Outstanding Video/Projection Design for years. 

Coulda/Shoulda Won: The breathtaking digital media environments created by Finn Ross (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), Peter Nigrini (Dear Evan Hansen and The Who's Tommy), and George Reeve and Dane Laffrey (Maybe Happy Ending) are prime examples of design work that single-handedly defined their productions and deserved top competitive honors.

What do you think? Did we miss a category that desperately needs to be added to the Tonys? Who coulda/shoulda won in these categories in prior years? Is there a specific artist from this past season that you think was absolutely robbed of a nomination? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, share this post with your fellow theater makers, and let’s keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on stage!