With a shout out to his family, his mother Shannon Levingston-McCowan and his directing partner Bill Rauch, Shreveport native Zhailon Levingston and Rauch tag teamed thank you’s after they were named winners of the 2026 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”.
“I am nothing without my family, my friends, my partner Brandon, and especially my mother Shannon Levingston. Every core value I learned from you,” said Zhailon at the podium.
The win puts the 31-year-old Levingston in the history books as only the third Black person to ever win in this category. He was joined in his moment by family and friends. His mother was there with him at Radio City Music Hall, as were friends from Stage Center, a community theater non profit in Shreveport.
“Cats: The Jellicle Ball” was a revival that reimagined Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hugely popular and long-running musical “Cats” as a giant ballroom dance featuring humans from the junkyard populated by Cats…