Pink Kicks Off 2026 Tony Awards with Epic 'Lady Marmalade' Opening Number Featuring Megan Thee Stallion and 170 Broadway Stars

Dave Quinn, Tabitha ParentMon, June 8, 2026 at 12:34 AM UTC

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P!nk performs onstage during the 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Musical Hall on June 7, 2026.Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty -

Pink made her awards show hosting debut with a "Lady Marmalade"-inspired opening featuring aerial acrobatics and celebrity cameos

The performance also included appearances from stars like Megan Thee Stallion, Lea Michele, Deborah Cox and over 170 Broadway performers

Prior to the show, Pink said she credits her daughter Willow's love of theater as inspiration for hosting the Tonys and moving to New York City

Pink opened the 2026 Tony Awards in unforgettable fashion, launching her first-ever awards show hosting gig with a spectacular Broadway-sized bang.

The Grammy winner, 46, kicked off the 79th annual honors on Sunday, June 7 with an ambitious opening number that featured celebrity cameos, high-flying acrobatics and more than 170 performers from across the industry together on one stage.

Leaning into Pink's self-described status as a newcomer in the theater world, the number — written by EGOT winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman) and Oscar and Grammy winner Mark Sonnenblick (KPop Demon Hunters) — began with the singer spinning in the air, dressed as Peter Pan and singing "I'm Flying" from the classic 1954 musical.

Pink and Neil Patrick Harris at the 2026 Tony Awards.Credit: CBS

Not long into the tune, former four-time Tonys host Neil Patrick Harrisinterrupted, asking Pink what she was doing.

"I want to show how much I love theater, even though I haven't been on Broadway. I'm concerned that people will be like, 'Why is Pink hosting the Tonys?' " she explained. "I want to show them how thrilled I am to be here!"

Pink then launched into lines from "The Phantom of the Opera" and "On My Own," before grabbing Harris by her thighs and lifting him into the air while belting the Elphaba riff from Wicked.

Megan Thee Stallion performs onstage at the 2026 Tony Awards on June 7 in New York City.Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty

But Harris was insistent. "You're Pink. You're singular. You're the best. So just do what you do, it's going to be a great night."

That led to a major change in the opening number's direction. Suddenly, Broadway stars from across the community appeared, launching into a version of "Lady Marmalade" — the Grammy-winning 2001 cover Pink recorded with Christina Aguilera, Mýa, and Lil' Kim. Only the lyrics were all new, encouraging Pink to be a "Leading Lady Marmalade."

Along the way, she interacted with Deborah Cox, Shoshana Bean, Marla Mindelle, Christiani Pitts, Sara Chase, Harvey Guillén and other cast members from this season's original and revival musicals: The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon!, Titaníque, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Chess, CATS: The Jellicle Ball, Ragtime and Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show.

There were also plenty of surprises, including a hilarious cameo from 96-year-old star June Squibb, who made history this year as the oldest acting nominee in Tony Awards history. And an appearance from Lea Michele, who belted "we don't do this for the awards" while in a not-so-subtle reference to her headline-making snub this season, as well as Chicago's (and Secret Lives of Mormon Wives') Whitney Leavitt.

But the biggest shock might have been Megan Thee Stallion. The rapper, who made her Broadway debut this season in Moulin Rouge! The Musical, arrived halfway through the number to declare that "The theater, y'all, is mother's domain."

By the end, Radio City's stage (and aisles) were flooded with Broadway stars, claiming their place in the spotlight.

It was the perfect way to kick off an evening of non-stop entertainment.

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Kudos to Sarah O'Gleby — who has a long history of staging epic production numbers like this for Broadway (Shucked) and television events like The Kennedy Center Honors, and who was one of the talents behind Harris' 2013 Tony Awards opener, "Bigger" — for choreographing the sprawling number this year, as well as Tim Murray and Isaac Josephthal, the performance's creative consultants.

Of course, the opening is only the beginning. The 2026 Tony Awards will feature performances from all the nominated musicals as well as special anniversary tributes to The Book of Mormon, Chicago, A Chorus Line and Rent.

A Tony AwardCredit: Jemal Countess/WireImage

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Pink was announced as host of the 2026 Tony Awards in April, calling the opportunity "the honor of an entire lifetime" and praising Broadway performers as "the literal hardest working people in showbiz."

"Broadway has shaped my life and how I put my own shows together," Pink, whose real name is Alecia Moore, said in a statement at the time. "It is a community that is supportive, and inclusive, and full of talent and love. These people give magic every single day, and I cannot wait to celebrate them with the entire world."

Pink and daughter Willow Sage at the opening of Broadway's 'The Lost Boys' on April 26, 2026Credit: Manny Carabel/Getty

The mother of two has become an increasingly familiar face in the Broadway world since relocating to New York City with her husband Carey Hart and their two kids (daughter Willow, 15, and son Jameson, 9). She previously revealed that Willow's passion for theater played a major role in the move, joking that she needed the teenager's approval before accepting the hosting gig.

"When I was asked to host the Tonys, I immediately thought, 'I have to get permission from my daughter,' " Pink said. "I've never been on Broadway, and shouldn't you have to have been on Broadway in order to host? That seems fair and right."

"But when I asked my daughter, she was really excited about being able to have a ticket to go to the Tonys, so I'm hosting the Tonys and I'm really, really excited and very nervous because that girl is a tough crowd!"

Ahead of the ceremony, Pink teased that audiences were in for something joyful and self-deprecating.

"It's going to be so fun, the opening," she said in an interview shared by The Tony Awards earlier this week. "Because I get to establish immediately that I'm ridiculous, and that's my No. 1 goal."

"The opener is, I think, going to make people laugh and make people really happy and make people want to jump off their couches and dance around," she added.

Mission accomplished.

The 2026 Tony Awards air on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”