Thirty years is a long run anywhere. On Broadway, it is a record. When Chicago first planted its rhinestone heel on the Shubert stage in 1996, it arrived as a revival of the 1975 original — brash, cynical, and built entirely around the idea that murder, in the right dress, could sell. It has not closed since.
The 2026 Tony Awards will mark the anniversary with a tribute performance that reads less like a curtain call and more like a full production number. Confirmed for the segment: Queen Latifah, who played Matron “Mama Morton” in Rob Marshall’s 2002 film adaptation; Julianne Hough, who toured with the stage production; Alex Newell, the “Shucked” Tony winner whose belt has become something of a Broadway institution in its own right; Whitney Leavitt, currently in the show’s long-running Broadway company; and Dylan Mulvaney, whose casting signals the kind of broader cultural moment the telecast is clearly angling for. Host Pink rounds out the group.
The tribute is the marquee production number of what CBS will hope is a ratings-friendly telecast. Chicago remains the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, a distinction it has held since 2014. The current production has logged over 11,000 performances and shows no sign of posting a closing notice.
The Tonys air live on CBS this June. A specific air date has not been announced.