62nd Tony Awards


The 62nd Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 15, 2008. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre. CBS television broadcast the event from Radio City Music Hall in New York City as it has since the 51st Awards ceremony in 1997. The event recognized Broadway productions playing during the 2007 – 2008 season and was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.
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. Two new categories debuted at this ceremony: Best Sound Design of a Musical and Best Sound Design of a Play.
The Tony Award nominations were announced 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. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama earned seven nominations. The revival of Sunday in the Park with George received 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, 2008 and broadcast on CBS television affiliates in June. The concert featured performances from 10 Tony-eligible musicals as well as interviews with Tony nominees. This television show received a nomination for a New York Emmy Award in the Best Special Event Coverage category; the Awards were presented on March 29, 2009.

Awards ceremony

Presenters

The initial list of presenters was announced on June 2, 2008. Additional presenters were announced on June 5.
The cast of The Lion King opened the show with a performance "Circle of Life", celebrating the show's 10th anniversary. The cast of Grease, featuring Max Crumm and Laura Osnes as Danny and Sandy, then performed "Grease" and "We Go Together".
Patti LuPone performed "Everything's Coming Up Roses" with Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti from Gypsy. This was followed by the cast of South Pacific in a medley of "There Is Nothin' Like A Dame", "Some Enchanted Evening", and " a Wonderful Guy". Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell sang "Move On" from Sunday in the Park with George.
The cast of Cry-Baby next performed "A Little Upset". Stew and the cast of Passing Strange, including Daniel Breaker and De'Adre Aziza, performed "Keys "/"Keys ". Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of In the Heights followed this with "In the Heights"/"96,000", after which 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, and Megan Mullally and Shuler Hensley performed "Deep Love" from Young Frankenstein.
The 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.

Winners and nominees

'
Best PlayBest Musical

  • In the Heights
  • * Cry-Baby
  • * Passing Strange
  • * Xanadu
    • Best Revival of a PlayBest Revival of a Musical
  • Boeing-Boeing
  • * The Homecoming
  • * Les Liaisons Dangereuses
  • * Macbeth
  • South Pacific
  • * Grease
  • * '
  • * Sunday in the Park with George
    • Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a PlayBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
  • Mark Rylance – Boeing-Boeing as Robert
  • * Ben Daniels – Les Liaisons Dangereuses as Le Vicomte de Valmont
  • * Laurence Fishburne – Thurgood as Thurgood Marshall
  • * Rufus Sewell – Rock 'n' Roll as Jan
  • * Patrick Stewart – Macbeth as Macbeth
  • Deanna Dunagan – ' as Violet Weston
  • * Eve Best – The Homecoming as Ruth
  • * Kate Fleetwood – Macbeth as Lady Macbeth
  • * S. Epatha Merkerson – Come Back, Little Sheba as Lola Delaney
  • * Amy Morton – ' as Barbara Fordham
    • Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
  • Paulo Szot – South Pacific as Emile de Becque
  • * Daniel Evans – Sunday in the Park with George as George
  • * Lin-Manuel Miranda – In the Heights as Usnavi
  • * Stew – Passing Strange as Narrator
  • * Tom Wopat – A Catered Affair as Tom Hurley
  • Patti LuPone – Gypsy as Mama Rose
  • * Kerry Butler – Xanadu as Kira/Clio
  • * Kelli O'Hara – South Pacific as Ensign Nellie Forbush
  • * Faith Prince – A Catered Affair as Agnes 'Aggie' Hurley
  • * Jenna Russell – Sunday in the Park with George as Dot/Marie
    • Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a PlayBest Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
  • Jim Norton – The Seafarer as Richard Harkin
  • * Bobby Cannavale – Mauritius as Dennis
  • * Raúl Esparza – The Homecoming as Lenny
  • * Conleth Hill – The Seafarer as Ivan Curry
  • * David Pittu – Is He Dead? as Various Characters
  • Rondi Reed – ' as Mattie Fae Aiken
  • * Sinéad Cusack – Rock 'n' Roll as Eleanor/Esme
  • * Mary McCormack – Boeing-Boeing as Gretchen
  • * Laurie Metcalf – November as Clarice Bernstein
  • * Martha Plimpton – Top Girls as Pope Joan/Angie
    • Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a MusicalBest Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
  • Boyd Gaines – Gypsy as Herbie
  • * Daniel Breaker – Passing Strange as Youth
  • * Danny Burstein – South Pacific as Luther Billis
  • * Robin de Jesús – In the Heights as Sonny
  • * Christopher Fitzgerald – Young Frankenstein as Igor
  • Laura Benanti – Gypsy as Louise
  • * de'Adre Aziza – Passing Strange as Edwina/Marianna/Sudabey
  • * Andrea Martin – Young Frankenstein as Frau Blücher
  • * Olga Merediz – In the Heights as Abuela Claudia
  • * Loretta Ables Sayre – South Pacific as Bloody Mary
    • Best Book of a MusicalBest Original Score Written for the Theatre
  • Stew – Passing Strange
  • * Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan – Cry-Baby
  • * Quiara Alegría Hudes – In the Heights
  • * Douglas Carter Beane – Xanadu
  • In the Heights – Lin-Manuel Miranda
  • * Cry-Baby – David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger
  • * The Little Mermaid – Alan Menken and Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater
  • * Passing Strange – Stew and Heidi Rodewald
    • Best Scenic Design of a PlayBest Scenic Design of a Musical
  • Todd Rosenthal –
  • * Peter McKintosh – The 39 Steps
  • * Scott Pask – Les Liaisons Dangereuses
  • * Anthony Ward – Macbeth
  • Michael Yeargan – South Pacific
  • * David Farley, Timothy Bird and The Knifedge Creative Network – Sunday in the Park with George
  • * Anna Louizos – In the Heights
  • * Robin Wagner – Young Frankenstein
    • Best Costume Design of a PlayBest Costume Design of a Musical
  • Katrina Lindsay – Les Liaisons Dangereuses
  • * Gregory Gale – Cyrano de Bergerac
  • * Rob Howell – Boeing-Boeing
  • * Peter McKintosh – The 39 Steps
  • Catherine Zuber – South Pacific
  • * David Farley – Sunday in the Park with George
  • * Martin Pakledinaz – Gypsy
  • * Paul Tazewell – In the Heights
    • Best Lighting Design of a PlayBest Lighting Design of a Musical
  • Kevin Adams – The 39 Steps
  • * Howard Harrison – Macbeth
  • * Donald Holder – Les Liaisons Dangereuses
  • * Ann G. Wrightson – '
  • Donald Holder – South Pacific
  • * Ken Billington – Sunday in the Park with George
  • * Howell Binkley – In the Heights
  • * Natasha Katz – The Little Mermaid
    • Best Sound Design of a PlayBest Sound Design of a Musical
  • Mic Pool – The 39 Steps
  • * Simon Baker – Boeing-Boeing
  • * Adam Cork – Macbeth
  • * Ian Dickson – Rock 'n' Roll
  • Scott Lehrer – South Pacific
  • * Acme Sound Partners – In the Heights
  • * Sebastian Frost – Sunday in the Park with George
  • * Dan Moses Schreier – Gypsy
    • Best Direction of a PlayBest Direction of a Musical
  • Anna D. Shapiro –
  • * Maria Aitken – The 39 Steps
  • * Conor McPherson – The Seafarer
  • * Matthew Warchus – Boeing-Boeing
  • Bartlett Sher – South Pacific
  • * Sam Buntrock – Sunday in the Park with George
  • * Thomas Kail – In the Heights
  • * Arthur Laurents – Gypsy
    • Best ChoreographyBest Orchestrations
  • Andy Blankenbuehler – In the Heights
  • * Rob Ashford – Cry-Baby
  • * Christopher Gattelli – South Pacific
  • * Dan Knechtges – Xanadu
  • Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman – In the Heights
  • * Jason Carr – Sunday in the Park with George
  • * Stew and Heidi Rodewald – Passing Strange
  • * Jonathan Tunick – A Catered Affair

    • Special Tony Awards

    Regional Theatre Tony Award
    • Chicago Shakespeare Theater
    Special Tony Award
    Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
    • Stephen Sondheim

      Multiple nominations and awards

    These productions had multiple nominations:
    • 13 nominations: In the Heights
    • 11 nominations: South Pacific
    • 9 nominations: Sunday in the Park with George
    • 7 nominations: ', Gypsy & Passing Strange
    • 6 nominations: Boeing-Boeing, Macbeth & The 39 Steps
    • 5 nominations: Les Liaisons Dangereuses
    • 4 nominations: Cry-Baby, Rock 'n' Roll, The Seafarer & Xanadu
    • 3 nominations: A Catered Affair, The Homecoming & Young Frankenstein
    • 2 nominations: The Little Mermaid
    The following productions received multiple awards.
    • 7 wins: South Pacific
    • 5 wins: '
    • 4 wins: In the Heights
    • 3 wins: Gypsy
    • 2 wins: Boeing-Boeing & The 39 Steps