62nd Tony Awards

Infobox Tony Awards
name = 62nd


caption =
date = June 15 2008
venue = Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY
host = Whoopi Goldberg
network = CBS
last = 61st
next = 63rdThe 62nd Tony Awards ceremony was held on Sunday, June 15, 2008. CBS television broadcast the event from Radio City Music Hall in New York City as it has since the 51st Awards (1997). The event recognized the Broadway shows playing during the 2007 – 2008 season and was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/117539.html|title=Whoopi Goldberg Will Host 2008 Tony Awards|last=Gans|first=Andrew|date=2008-05-08|work=Playbill|accessdate=2008-05-10]

The cut-off date for eligibility in the 2007–08 season was May 7, 2008. The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced eligibility rules for many of the award categories. [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/114480.html "Tony Committee Announces More Eligibility for 2008; Morton and Dunagan in Best Actress Slot", January 22, 2008 (Playbill)] ] [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/117554.html Gans, Andrew. "Tony Rulings: "Glory Days" Not Eligible for Nomination But "Gypsy's" Laurents Is", May 8, 2008 (Playbill)] ] Two new categories debuted during the ceremony: Best Sound Design of a Musical and Best Sound Design of a Play. [cite web|title=tonyawards|url=http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/news/articles/2007-09-19/200709191190207142125.html|publisher=American Theatre Wing|date=2007-09-19|accessdate=2007-09-19]

The Tony Award nominations announcement was made on May 13, 2008 by David Hyde Pierce and Sara Ramirez. "In the Heights", which premiered Off-Broadway, garnered the most nominations of any show with 13. "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific" received 11, the second most of any revival to date (one of these was in the new "sound design" category). The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "" earned seven nominations. The revival of "Sunday in the Park With George" took nine nominations, the revival of "Gypsy" received seven, as did the new musical "Passing Strange".

The "Visa Signature Tonys Preview Concert" was taped at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 11 and will be broadcast on CBS television affiliates in June. The concert features performances from 10 Tony-eligible musicals as well as interviews with Tony nominees. [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/118178.html playbill article] ] The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre.

The ceremony

Presenters

The initial list of presenters was announced on June 2, 2008. [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/118280.html Playbill June 2, 2008] ] Additional presenters were announced on June 5. [ [http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=28658 Pierce, Connick, Tomlin and More Added To Tony Presenters] , BroadwayWorld.com, June 5, 2008] [ [http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/tonynight/presenters/index.html The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards - Official Website by IBM] ]
*Alec Baldwin
*Gabriel Byrne
*Julie Chen
*Kristin Chenoweth
*Glenn Close
*Harry Connick, Jr.
*Laurence Fishburne
*Whoopi Goldberg
*Richard Griffiths
*Laura Linney
*John Lithgow
*Liza Minnelli
*Mary-Louise Parker
*Mandy Patinkin
*David Hyde Pierce
*Daniel Radcliffe
*Brooke Shields
*Marisa Tomei
*Lily Tomlin
*John Waters
*Adam Duritz

Performances

Starting the 62nd Tony Awards was the cast of "The Lion King" with "Circle of Life", celebrating the show's 10th anniversary.

The cast of "Grease" featuring Max Crumm and Laura Osnes as Danny and Sandy as chosen by the television audience as part of reality TV show, performed "Grease" and "We Go Together (Reprise)."

Patti LuPone performed "Everything's Coming Up Roses" with Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti from "Gypsy".

The cast of "South Pacific" performed a medley of "There Is Nothin' Like A Dame", "Some Enchanted Evening", and (I'm in Love with) a Wonderful Guy

Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell performed "Move On" from "Sunday in the Park with George".

The cast of "Cry-Baby" performed "A Little Upset".

Stew and the cast of "Passing Strange" featuring Daniel Breaker and De'Adre Aziza performed "Keys".

Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of "In the Heights" performed "96,000".

The cast of "Xanadu" performed "Don't Walk Away".

The three new musicals that were not nominated for Best Musical also gave abbreviated performances of a song from each show. Sierra Boggess performed "Part of Your World" from "The Little Mermaid". Faith Prince performed "Vision" from "A Catered Affair" as Leslie Kritzer and Matt Cavenaugh danced in the background. Megan Mullally and Shuler Hensley performed "Deep Love" from "Young Frankenstein".

The current cast of "Rent" performed part of La Vie Boheme, introduced by original cast member Anthony Rapp. Rapp then invited the rest of the original cast on stage and they performed part of Seasons of Love. All of the original cast members were there except for Kristen Lee Kelly and Jesse L. Martin. The current and original cast members came together for the performance to commemorate the revolutionary show's closing in September 2008.

Nominations tally

[ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/117686.html 2007-2008 Tony Nominations Announced; In the Heights Earns 13 Noms] , Playbill, May 13, 2008]

Winners and nominees

"(winners are in bold)"

Production

Best Play
*' by Tracy Letts"'
*"Rock 'n' Roll" by Tom Stoppard
*"The Seafarer" by Conor McPherson
*"The 39 Steps" by Patrick Barlow

Best Musical
*"Cry-Baby"
*"Passing Strange"
*"In the Heights"
*"Xanadu"

Best Revival of a Play
*"Boeing Boeing" by Marc Camoletti
*"The Homecoming" by Harold Pinter
*"Les Liaisons dangereuses" by Christopher Hampton
*"Macbeth" by Shakespeare

Best Revival of a Musical
*"Grease"
*"Gypsy"
*"Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific"
*"Sunday in the Park With George"

Performance

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
*Ben Daniels, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"
*Laurence Fishburne, "Thurgood"
*Mark Rylance, "Boeing Boeing"
*Rufus Sewell, "Rock 'n' Roll"
*Patrick Stewart, "Macbeth"

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
*Eve Best, "The Homecoming"
*Deanna Dunagan, "August: Osage County"
*Kate Fleetwood, "Macbeth"
*S. Epatha Merkerson, "Come Back, Little Sheba"
*Amy Morton, "August: Osage County"

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
*Daniel Evans, "Sunday in the Park With George"
*Lin-Manuel Miranda, "In the Heights"
*Stew, "Passing Strange"
*Paulo Szot, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific"
*Tom Wopat, "A Catered Affair"

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
*Kerry Butler, "Xanadu"
*Patti LuPone, "Gypsy"
*Kelli O'Hara, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific"
*Faith Prince, "A Catered Affair"
*Jenna Russell, "Sunday in the Park With George"

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
*Bobby Cannavale, "Mauritius"
*Raúl Esparza, "The Homecoming"
*Conleth Hill, "The Seafarer"
*Jim Norton, "The Seafarer"
*David Pittu, "Is He Dead?"

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
*Sinead Cusack, "Rock 'n' Roll"
*Mary McCormack, "Boeing-Boeing"
*Laurie Metcalf, "November"
*Martha Plimpton, "Top Girls"
*Rondi Reed, "August: Osage County"

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
*Daniel Breaker, "Passing Strange"
*Danny Burstein, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific"
*Robin De Jesús, "In The Heights"
*Christopher Fitzgerald, "The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein"
*Boyd Gaines, "Gypsy"

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
*de'Adre Aziza, "Passing Strange"
*Andrea Martin, "The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein"
*Laura Benanti, "Gypsy"
*Olga Merediz, "In The Heights"
*Loretta Ables Sayre, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific"

Craft

Best Book of a Musical
*"Cry-Baby", Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan
*"In the Heights", Quiara Alegria Hudes
*"Passing Strange", Stew
*"Xanadu", Douglas Carter Beane

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
*"Cry-Baby", Music & Lyrics: David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger
*"In the Heights", Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
*"The Little Mermaid", Music: Alan Menken and Lyrics: Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater
*"Passing Strange", Music & Lyrics: Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Stew

Best Direction of a Play
*Maria Aitken, "The 39 Steps"
*Conor McPherson, "The Seafarer"
*Anna D. Shapiro, "August: Osage County"
*Matthew Warchus, "Boeing-Boeing"

Best Direction of a Musical
*Sam Buntrock, "Sunday in the Park with George"
*Thomas Kail, "In The Heights"
*Arthur Laurents, "Gypsy"
*Bartlett Sher, "Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific "

Best Choreography
*Rob Ashford, "Cry-Baby"
*Andy Blankenbuehler, "In The Heights"
*Christopher Gattelli, "Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific "
*Dan Knechtges, "Xanadu"

Best Orchestrations
*Jason Carr, "Sunday in the Park with George"
*Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman, "In the Heights"
*Stew and Heidi Rodewald, "Passing Strange"
*Jonathan Tunick, "A Catered Affair"

Best Scenic Design of a Play
*Peter McKintosh, "The 39 Steps"
*Scott Pask, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"
*Todd Rosenthal, "August: Osage County"
*Anthony Ward, "Macbeth"

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
*David Farley and Timothy Bird & The Knifedge Creative Network, "Sunday in the Park with George"
*Anna Louizos, "In the Heights"
* Michael Yeargan, "Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific "
*Robin Wagner, "The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein "

Best Costume Design of a Play
*Gregory Gale, "Cyrano de Bergerac"
*Rob Howell, "Boeing-Boeing"
*Katrina Lindsay, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"
*Peter McKintosh, "The 39 Steps"

Best Costume Design of a Musical
*David Farley, "Sunday in the Park with George"
*Martin Pakledinaz, "Gypsy"
*Paul Tazewell, "In the Heights"
*Catherine Zuber, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific"

Best Lighting Design of a Play
*Kevin Adams, "The 39 Steps"
*Howard Harrison, "Macbeth"
*Donald Holder, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"
*Ann G. Wrightson, "August: Osage County"

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
*Ken Billington, "Sunday in the Park with George"
*Howell Binkley, "In the Heights"
*Donald Holder, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific"
*Natasha Katz, "The Little Mermaid"

Best Sound Design of a Play
*Simon Baker, "Boeing-Boeing"
*Adam Cork, "Macbeth"
*Ian Dickson, "Rock 'n' Roll"
*Mic Pool, "The 39 Steps"

Best Sound Design of a Musical
*Acme Sound Partners, "In the Heights"
*Sebastian Frost, "Sunday in the Park with George"
*Scott Lehrer, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific"
*Dan Moses Schreier, "Gypsy"

Special Tony Awards

Regional Theatre Tony Award:*Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Special Tony Award:*Robert Russell Bennett (for achievements in orchestration)

Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre:*Stephen Sondheim

References

ee also

*Tony Awards
*2008 in theater

External links

* [http://www.TonyAwards.com The official website of the Tony Awards]
* [http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=27836 concert article]
* [http://www.patrolmag.com/index.php?id=449 Hip Hop vs. Roller Disco] Which will the 2008 Tony voters pick?