The $30 million toe in the water

The 79th Annual Tony Awards broadcast features host Pink and highlights San Diego connections including Debby Buchholz accepting a Special Tony for LORT, designer David I. Reynoso nominated for costume design, and actor Danny Burstein earning his ninth nomination.

Broadway enthusiasts should mark their calendars for Sunday, June 7, as the 79th Annual Tony Awards air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Why 4,000 unsold units became the prize

One of the most notable San Diego ties is Debby Buchholz, longtime managing director of La Jolla Playhouse, who will accept a Special Tony Award on behalf of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT).

As president of LORT, Buchholz will represent 83 nonprofit regional theaters across 30 states and Washington D.C.

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

These institutions, including San Diego's Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse, also provide thousands of jobs and robust community education programs nationwide.

La Jolla Playhouse, under Buchholz's leadership, has developed and funded over 500 new plays, musicals, and reimagined classics for Broadway, collectively earning more than 1,600 Tony nominations and over 300 awards.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

Another San Diego standout is costume designer David I. Reynoso, who earned his second Tony nomnation for Best Costume Design of a Musical for his work on the 2026 Broadway revival of 'The Rocky Horror Show'.

Reynoso, a San Diego resident , previously received a nomination in 2024 for 'Water for Elephants'.

A familiar pattern from the 2019 crash

Former San Diego resident Danny Burstein also made history with his ninth Tony nomination, the most for any male actor, for his featured role in the play 'Marjorie Prime'.

Burstein, who won a Tony for 'Moulin Rouge' in 2020, is a 1990 graduate of UC San Diego's MFA acting program .

During his studies, he performed at La Jolla Playhouse in 'Macbeth', and later met his wife Rebecca Luker while performing at The Old Globe.

What auditors flagged in the May filing

The Tonys ceremony will feature performances from seven best new muical and revival nominees, including 'The Lost Boys', 'Schmigadoon!', 'Titanique', 'Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)', 'Cats : The Jellicle Ball', 'Ragtime', and 'The Rocky Horror Show'.

A total of 26 competitive categories will be awarded, with some technical awards pre-taped and edited into the broadcast.