Lea Michele emerged as one of the biggest winners at the 2026 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, held on Thursday, May 28, in New York City. Although she was not nominated for a Tony Award this year, Michele received strong support from theater fans and won three major honors for her performance in the musical Chess: Favorite Leading Actress in a Musical, Favorite Diva Performance, and Favorite Performance of the Year (Musical).
Chess also picked up the award for Favorite Musical Revival, adding to its strong showing at the fan-voted ceremony. The win is notable because the production had been overlooked in the same category at the Tony Awards, making the Broadway.com recognition a major boost for the show and its star. Michele has been widely seen as a major draw for the production, with her performances helping drive audience interest and box office sales.
Michele’s run in Chess is scheduled to end on June 21, when she will leave the production. The show was originally expected to continue after her departure, with JoJo set to step into the role of Florence Vassy. However, the musical will now close on Michele’s final performance date. Reports indicate that ticket sales were not strong enough to support the show beyond her exit, and recent weekly box office figures suggested a noticeable drop in sales whenever Michele was absent from the stage.
The full list of Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards winners reflected a wide range of productions and performances across Broadway. Among the major winners, The Lost Boys was named Favorite New Musical, while Dog Day Afternoon won Favorite New Play. Death of a Salesman earned Favorite Play Revival, and Hadestown took both Favorite Long-Running Show and Favorite Tour.
Other acting winners included Joshua Henry for Ragtime, Daniel Radcliffe for Every Brilliant Thing, Ayo Edebiri for Proof, Jim Parsons for Titanique, Shoshana Bean for The Lost Boys, Christopher Abbott and Laurie Metcalf for Death of a Salesman, Sam Tutty for Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Luke Evans and Juliette Lewis for The Rocky Horror Show, and Whitney Leavitt for Chicago.
Additional honors went to Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) for Favorite New Song, “New York,” and for Favorite Onstage Pair, awarded to Christiani Pitts and Sam Tutty. The year’s standout performers included Lea Michele, who led all individual winners with three awards, followed by Daniel Radcliffe and Sam Tutty, who each won two.
Overall, the awards highlighted the influence of fan support in Broadway’s current season, with Chess and Lea Michele standing out as clear audience favorites.
