Pittsburgh's Broadway pipeline is having a moment. Carnegie Mellon University alumni landed a blockbuster set of nominations for the 2026 Tony Awards, with ten former students snagging a record 15 nods across eight categories, the university announced Tuesday. The honors stretch across acting, design, writing and producing, from rising performers like Will Harrison and Ben Levi Ross to veteran producers and designers. The 79th Tony Awards are set for Sunday, June 7 at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan; P!NK will host, and the ceremony will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
CMU calls it a record year
Carnegie Mellon says this year's haul, 10 alumni and 15 nominations in eight categories, is the most alumni nominees the school has seen in a single season. President Farnam Jahanian praised the "extraordinary talent and creative range" of those recognized, and the university shared a nominee list with short bios for the graduates. According to Carnegie Mellon University, this extends a streak of at least one alumnus nominated in 17 consecutive years.
Who from CMU landed nominations
Among the official nominees are Will Harrison (Punch), in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category, and Ben Levi Ross (Ragtime), in a featured-actor musical category. Designer Ryan Park and writers David Hornsby and Chris Hoch also appear on the season's lists. Those entries are confirmed on the nominations page for the 2025–2026 season, which catalogs contenders across the full slate of categories. See the official list at The Tony Awards.
Producers and creative teams get credit
Producer Jamie deRoy picked up multiple nominations for work on Giant, Schmigadoon!, Every Brilliant Thing, Oedipus and Cats: The Jellicle Ball, while alumni producers James Carpinello, Marcus Chait, Patrick Wilson and Ankit Agrawal are credited on The Lost Boys; Agrawal is also listed on Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York). Local coverage has highlighted the range of roles CMU graduates hold on Broadway and echoed the university's statement celebrating the grads. As reported by WPXI, the nominations span both onstage and behind-the-scenes work.
What it means for the school
For Carnegie Mellon, the nominations reinforce a steady pipeline to Broadway. The university reports its alumni have won 66 Tony Awards to date and notes that its School of Drama was the first degree-granting drama program in the United States. The school also co-created the Tony Awards' Excellence in Theatre Education Award and plans to celebrate this season's honoree during the June ceremony, the university says. Those institutional ties help explain why CMU grads keep showing up in acting, design, writing and producing roles.
When to watch
The 79th Tony Awards take place Sunday, June 7 at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan; the broadcast is set to air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+, with P!NK hosting, per the official announcement from The Tony Awards. Paramount+ Premium subscribers will have live access through their local CBS affiliate feed, while other subscribers will be able to watch on demand the following day.
Whether voters favor stage veterans or breakout artists, Carnegie Mellon's 10 nominees make June 7 a circled date for the school's theatre community, from the spotlight to the producers' table. Expect several Tartans to be front and center when winners are announced at Radio City.
