Julia Roberts, Chris Evans and Dolly Parton
(Photos: Emilio Madrid and Theo Wargo/WireImage)

The 2026 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards are upon us! These awards give the power to the people, allowing you, the fans, to vote on your favorite Broadway stars and productions. For 26 years, the BACAs have been doling out prizes to a host of stars, some of whom may surprise you. Before you cast your vote to determine this year’s nominees, we’re turning back time to revisit some of our most unexpected winners.

1. Julia Roberts, 2006

Pretty Woman Roberts made her Broadway debut in 2006 when she starred in Three Days of Rain alongside Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper. For her dual roles as Nan and Lina in Richard Greenberg’s intergenerational drama, Roberts was awarded Favorite Leading Actress in a Broadway Play. Cooper also won a BACA for Favorite Featured Actor in a Broadway Play. Watch the two (giggly) stars accept the award above.

2. Robin Williams, 2011

Remembered for his comic performances on screen, Williams showed his dramatic side in the Broadway mounting of Rajiv Joseph’s timely play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Set shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Williams earned rave reviews as a foul-mouthed tiger trapped in a cage. Though Williams had previously performed a stand-up show on Broadway in 2002, this marked the first time the Juilliard-trained actor ventured outside of his own material on the Great White Way. Williams won the 2011 Favorite Actor in a Play prize at the BACAs, having been nominated alongside a starry roster that included Al Pacino, James Earl Jones and Bobby Cannavale.

3. Jane Fonda, 2009

Two-time Oscar winner, activist, fitness guru and overall legend Fonda made her long-awaited return to Broadway as the impassioned musicologist Dr. Katherine Brandt in Moisés Kaufman’s play 33 Variations. The Hollywood royal won Favorite Leading Actress in a Broadway Play at the 2009 BACAs. Though she began her career on stage, this marked Fonda’s first entry back into Broadway since Strange Interlude in 1963. Ever the icon, Fonda showed up to receive her award in sunglasses.

4. Dolly Parton, 2009

Parton, the blonde, brazen and beloved country superstar also won a BACA in 2009, taking home the Favorite New Song prize for “Get Out and Stay Out” from 9 to 5. The show was adapted from the 1980 comedy film of the same name, which Parton starred in alongside Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Among her fellow nominees were Elton John, for his song “Electricity” from Billy Elliot, as well as Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, for their song “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” from Next to Normal. Parton is currently developing a Broadway-bound stage show about her life entitled, Dolly: A True Original Musical, which had its world premiere in Nashville last summer.

5. Chris Evans, 2018

Captain America hunk Evans flexed his dramatic muscles as a volatile NYPD officer in the 2018 production of Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero. This marked his first and only Broadway endeavor to date. Evans ended up copping a BACA in the Favorite Featured Actor category that year. His co-star Michael Cera was also up for the award, as well as Nathan Lane for his performance as Roy Cohn in Angels in America.

6. Carrie Fisher, 2010

The great Fisher brought the house down with her one woman tell-all Wishful Drinking. Working from own material, Fisher waxed onstage about her celebrity parents, addiction, electroshock therapy and her stint as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise. The Postcards from the Edge scribe and intergalactic princess was given an Audience Choice Award for Favorite Solo Performance in 2010. The same year, Wishful Drinking was filmed as a special for HBO.

7. Hannah Waddingham, 2008

Before she brought her steely command to Ted Lasso, Emmy winner Waddingham was a formidable musical theater star in the U.K. She replaced Sara Ramírez in Spamalot as The Lady of the Lake, having originated the role in the show’s West End staging. Broadway.com readers recognized Waddingham’s star power and awarded her Favorite Replacement (Female) at the 2008 BACAs. Her category mates included Stephanie J. Block and Annaleigh Ashford in Wicked, Judy Kuhn in Les Misérables and American Idol contestant Tamyra Gray in Rent.

8. Rupert Grint, 2014

Grint, who rose to fame as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter film franchise, went from Hogwarts to the Great White Way in 2014, as part of the ensemble cast that made up Terrence McNally’s raucous show biz comedy It’s Only a Play. Grint was joined onstage by the likes of Lane, Stockard Channing, F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Broderick and Megan Mullally. For his comic turn as the megalomaniacal director Frank Finger, Grint won two BACAs: Favorite Featured Actor in a Play and Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male).

9. Mark Ruffalo, 2017

Ruffalo starred alongside Danny DeVito, Tony Shalhoub and Jessica Hecht in a 2017 revival of Arthur Miller’s familial drama The Price directed by Steppenwolf founding member Terry Kinney. The Hulk star played police sergeant Victor Franz and won Favorite Leading Actor in a Play (Male). Ruffalo made his Broadway debut in 2006 as Moe Axelrod in a short-lived revival of Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing!

10. Brendon Urie, 2018

Panic! at the Hirschfeld Theatre. In 2018, Panic! at the Disco frontman Urie stepped into Kinky Boots as fledgling shoe factory owner Charlie Price, succeeding Killian Donnelly. His Broadway debut earned him a BACA for Favorite Replacement (Male). Urie’s theatrical career extends beyond the stage, as he also contributed a song to the Broadway musical adaptation of the Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants.

Vote!

Now that we’ve strolled through memory lane, it’s time for you to decide the future of the BACAs. Head to Broadway.com/awards to exercise your civic duty! Nominations will be accepted from now until voting closes on Sunday, April 26 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Broadway.com will unveil the shortlist of nominees on May 4 and the final round of voting for the awards kicks off then, so be sure to come back to vote. Voting for the winners will close on Friday, May 8 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Winners will be revealed on May 12.