The Tony Awards administration committee has announced three honorees of its 2026 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Artistic director André Bishop, lighting designer Jules Fisher and playwright/director James Lapine will all be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards during the 79th annual Tonys ceremony.
“How lucky are we to have such a wealth of deserving talent, whose lifetimes of contributions left us unable to select just one recipient of this prestigious honor,” said Broadway League president Jason Laks and American Theatre Wing president/CEO Heather Hitchens in a joint statement. “The work that André, Jules and James have done, and continue to do, will leave an indelible mark for generations to come. They are each a constant source of inspiration and we look forward to celebrating them at Broadway’s biggest night.”
After a ten-year term as artistic director of Playwrights Horizons, Bishop took over the leadership of Lincoln Center Theater, where he was artistic director beginning in January 1992 until completing his tenure as producing artistic director in June 2025. Under his direction, Lincoln Center’s Broadway venue, the Vivian Beaumont, was home to numerous New York and world premieres including Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” and “The Coast of Utopia,” Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel’s “The Light in the Piazza,” Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown’s “Parade” and Nick Stafford’s “War Horse.” Notable revivals included “Falsettos,” “The King and I,” “South Pacific,” “Carousel” and “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”
Bishop’s tenure also saw the construction of Lincoln Center’s second Off-Broadway theater, the Claire Tow. Home to the LCT3 program, its mission is to produce the work of young writers, directors and designers. Bishop sits on numerous boards including the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, the Kleban Foundation, Ten Chimneys and MasterVoices.
Fisher boasts over 60 years on Broadway, during which he has designed lighting for over 100 plays and musicals, including the original Broadway versions of “Hair,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Pippin,” “Ragtime,” “Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk,” “Angels in America” and “Assassins.” Fisher has also contributed lighting design to many movie musicals, including “Dreamgirls,” “Chicago” and “School of Rock.” He is a founder of the architectural lighting design firm Fisher Marantz Stone and the theater planning and design consulting firm Fisher Dachs Associates, the latter of which has contributed designs to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre and numerous other performing arts venues worldwide.
Lapine is a 12-time Tony-nominated, three-time Tony-winning playwright and director; his Tony-winning work includes the librettos for “Falsettos,” “Into the Woods” and “Passion.” A frequent collaborator with Stephen Sondheim, Lapine wrote the books for and directed the original Broadway productions of “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Into the Woods” and “Passion.” As a collaborator with William Finn, Lapine wrote the book for “Falsettos,” and directed the original productions of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” on Broadway and “Little Miss Sunshine” Off-Broadway, the latter of which he also co-wrote. He also penned five plays of his own, including an adaptation of Moss Hart’s “Act One,” which LCT produced on Broadway.
The Tony Awards have previously distributed multiple awards for Lifetime Achievement; the first time was in 1995, when two Special Tonys were presented to Carol Channing and Harvey Sabinson. Nor is it the first time three Lifetime Achievement awards have been given out at a single Tony Awards; Arthur Miller, Isabelle Stevenson and Uta Hagen each received one in 1999; then Bernard Gersten, Ming Cho Lee and Paul Libin in 2013; and Rosemary Harris, Terrence McNally and Harold Wheeler in 2019.
The 79th annual Tony Awards will be held at Radio City Music Hall on June 7. Hosted by singer/songwriter P!NK, the ceremony will be broadcast live beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+.
