Lea Michele might not be getting a Tony Award this year, but she has the audience vote and nothing matters more than that.
The longtime Broadway favorite won three prizes at the 2026 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, which were handed out on Thursday (May 28) in New York City.
For her work in the musical Chess, Lea won Favorite Leading Actress in a Musical, Favorite Diva Performance, and Favorite Performance of the Year (Musical). Her show Chess also won for Favorite Musical Revival after being snubbed in that category at the Tonys too.
Lea Michele’s run in the musical Chess is coming to an end soon
Lea announced months ago that she is leaving the show on June 21. While the musical was originally going to keep running, with JoJo taking over in the role of Florence Vassy, the show will now close on Lea‘s final show.
Box office sales seemingly weren’t strong enough to keep the musical going past Lea‘s final show. The weekly sales reports in recent months have also shown that the musical took deep hits whenever Lea was out of the show, proving that she was a major draw for audiences.
See what JoJo had to say about the upsetting news.
Check out the full winners list below!
Favorite New Musical
The Lost Boys
Favorite New Play
Dog Day Afternoon
Favorite Musical Revival
Chess
Favorite Play Revival
Death of a Salesman
Favorite Long-Running Show
Hadestown
Favorite Tour
Hadestown
Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical
Joshua Henry, Ragtime
Favorite Leading Actress in a Musical
Lea Michele, Chess
Favorite Leading Actor in a Play
Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing
Favorite Leading Actress in a Play
Ayo Edibiri, Proof
Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical
Jim Parsons, Titanique
Favorite Featured Actress in a Musical
Shoshana Bean, The Lost Boys
Favorite Featured Actor in a Play
Christopher Abbott,Death of a Salesman
Favorite Featured Actress in a Play
Laurie Metcalf, Death of a Salesman
Favorite Diva Performance
Lea Michele, Chess
Favorite Funny Performance
Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Favorite Onstage Pair
Christiani Pitts & Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male)
Luke Evans, The Rocky Horror Show
Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Female)
Juliette Lewis, The Rocky Horror Show
Favorite Replacement (Male)
Jack Wolfe, Hadestown
Favorite Replacement (Female)
Whitney Leavitt, Chicago
Favorite New Song
“New York,” Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Favorite Performance of the Year (Musical)
Lea Michele, Chess
Favorite Performance of the Year (Play)
Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing
SHOWS WITH MULTIPLE WINS
Chess – 4
Death of a Salesman – 3
Hadestown – 3
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) – 3
Every Brilliant Thing – 2
The Lost Boys – 2
The Rocky Horror Show – 2
Chicago – 1
Dog Day Afternoon – 1
Proof – 1
Ragtime – 1
Titanique – 1
PERFORMERS WITH MULTIPLE WINS
Lea Michele, Chess – 3
Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing – 2
Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) – 2
Posted To:Awards Broadway Event Photos Lea Michele
