Pink returned to the Moulin Rouge for a star-studded opening to the 2026 Tonys, singing Broadway-themed lyrics to her hit “Lady Marmalade” cover from the movie musical’s soundtrack.
The singer began, though, by honoring a different, older musical: Peter Pan.
Suspended high above the stage and twirling around, Pink sang “I’m flying” before former Tonys host Neil Patrick Harris, known for his big opening numbers, interrupted her to wonder why she was performing such a dated show.
“The flying twinks are all vampires now,” Harris said, referencing top Tonys nominee The Lost Boys, which went into the night up for 12 awards.
“I just want to show how much I love theater even though I’ve never been on Broadway,” Pink explained, as she flipped upside down, showing off some of her trademark acrobatics. “I’m just concerned people might be like, ‘Why’s Pink hosting the Tonys?’”
She belted a couple of lines from Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Wicked, lifting Harris off the ground with her legs during “Defying Gravity” from the last show.
Ultimately Harris encouraged Pink to just be herself, “the leading lady we all know you can be.” But he quickly rallied a number of Broadway stars to help.
With that, Pink began her main number, titled “Leading Lady Marmalade,” it featured the singer wearing an outfit similar to her costume from the music video for her hit cover from the movie musical, now a show on Broadway. Ahead of the performance, Pink had teased that her opening number would feature more than 170 performers onstage, with most of them coming from the nominated shows.
The song, which featured numerous references to nominated performers and shows featured lyrics like, “Dontcha, dontcha touch that remote”; “Liberation, Proof, Becky Shaw ce soir”; “Alecia Moore, Moore, Moore,”; “Schmiga, Schmiga doon doon doon”; and “Squibby squibby June,” as the record-breaking Tony nominee from her seat sang, “All the parts I’ve played, I slay them.”
Pink was joined by Lea Michele, Dylan Mulvaney, Ragtime‘s Shaina Taub and Megan Thee Stallion, who reprised her Moulin Rouge role from earlier this year, which she had to exit early after health issues.
Megan rapped about “badass chicks from the Moulin Rouge,” taking the Lil’ Kim rap from the original song.
Mulvaney was joined by Leiomy from Cats: The Jellicle Ball and sported a “Protect the Dolls” t-shirt.
Later, Harris ran out with a stuffed Paddington bear to which Pink said “maybe next year,” a reference to the Paddington musical coming to Broadway, which has not been announced yet but is largely an open secret in the industry.
Pink received a standing ovation for the performance, which ended with everyone onstage.
She then launched into her monologue, poking fun at herself and honoring Broadway’s best.
“For some reason, I’m your host, Pink,” she said. “I am here to celebrate the hardest working people in showbiz … mostly the people who sew Luke Evans into that corset.”
Pink called herself the second biggest Broadway fan after her musical theater-obsessed daughter Willow.
She then talked about how this year’s nominated shows were relevant to the current political climate.
“This year, we saw the worst parts of history repeating themselves,” she began, as Ragtime and Liberation took the stage.
The country grew more divided, Pink said, amid Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
As “our trans siblings started to lose more rights,” Pink said, Cats returned with its Jellicle Ball revival.
Pink later returned with bits involving Darren Criss, Titanique actress Marla Mindelle and three-time Tonys host Ariana DeBose who offered some hosting tips, including “acrobatics” and “tear-away” clothes, joking Pink could rip off her pants before DeBose did just that to the host.
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