When Ragtime took home Best Revival of a Musical at the 2026 Tony Awards on Sunday, Lamar Richardson, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., walked into the record books as the youngest Black lead producer ever to win a Tony in one of the ceremony’s top production categories. He is just 33 years old.
The milestone puts him in rare company. Richardson takes over the distinction from Ken Harper, who was 36 when he won the Best Musical Tony for producing The Wiz in 1975.
Richardson is a Spring 2016 initiate of the Kappa Xi Lambda Chapter, the graduate chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha based in New York, New York, and known across the city as the “Wall Street Alphas.”
The Lead Producer win makes Richardson the fourth Black talent to ever win in this category, joining Ken Harper (“The Wiz”) in 1975, Oprah Winfrey (“The Color Purple”) in 2016, and Glenn Davis (“Purpose”) in 2025. It is also his third Tony overall. According to TheGrio, he previously earned Tony-winning co-producer credits for the 2024 revivals of Appropriate, which won Best Revival of a Play, and Merrily We Roll Along, which won Best Revival of a Musical.
Alpha Phi Alpha wasted no time celebrating its own. The fraternity took to Instagram to honor Richardson, stating, “Your achievement on one of theater’s biggest stages reflects excellence, leadership, and the impact of Men of Distinction across every industry. We celebrate this well-deserved honor and the inspiration it provides to brothers and communities around the world.”