On Tuesday, May 5, the American Theatre Wing announced the nominations for the 79th Annual Tony Awards, honoring Broadway productions from the 2025-26 season. Among the nominees is CalArts alum Kevin Adams (Theater MFA 86).
Adams, a four-time Tony Award winner, is nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Chess, which received five nominations this year. The musical follows two of the world’s greatest chess players as they compete for more than victory, while the woman between them is caught in a battle of desire, devotion, and political stakes.
Adams previously won Tony Awards for his lighting design for Spring Awakening in 2007, The 39 Steps in 2008, American Idiot in 2010, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch in 2014. His Broadway credits also include Passing Strange, Next to Normal, Hair, Take Me Out, and The Cher Show, among many others.
Former CalArts faculty Donald Holder, who served as head of the lighting design program from 2006 to 2010, is also nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Schmigadoon! and, with Adam Honoré and 59 Studio, for Ragtime. Holder has designed more than 60 Broadway productions and won Tony Awards for The Lion King in 1998 and the 2008 revival of South Pacific.
Presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, the 79th annual Tony Awards will be broadcast from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 7 at 5pm PT on CBS, and streaming on Paramount+ in the US.
