AND THE WINNERS ARE...........

Patti LuPone in Gypsy




Rondi Reed in August: Osage County




Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines in Gypsy



Deanna Dunagan in August: Osage County




Mark Rylance in Boeing Boeing




Lin Manuel Miranda in In The Heights




NUMBER OF AWARDS:

South Pacific 7
August: Osage County 5
In The Heights 4
Gypsy 3
Boeing-Boeing 2
The 39 Steps 2



June 15, 2008
www.TonyAwards.com

The Winners

Best Play
August: Osage County
Author: Tracy Letts
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler, Jerry Frankel, Ostar Productions, Jennifer Manocherian, The Weinstein Company, Debra Black/Daryl Roth, Ronald & Marc Frankel/Barbara Freitag, Rick Steiner/Staton Bell Group, The Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Best Musical
In The Heights
Producers: Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, Jill Furman, Sander Jacobs, Goodman/Grossman, Peter Fine, Everett/Skipper

Best Book of a Musical
Passing Strange - Stew

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
In The Heights - Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Best Revival of a Play
Boeing-Boeing
Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Boyett, Act Productions, Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert G. Bartner, The Weinstein Company, Susan Gallin/Mary Lu Roffe, Broadway Across America, Tulchin/Jenkins/DSM, The Araca Group

Best Revival of a Musical
South Pacific
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten, Bob Boyett

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Paulo Szot, South Pacific

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Patti LuPone, Gypsy

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Jim Norton, The Seafarer

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Rondi Reed, August: Osage County

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Boyd Gaines, Gypsy

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Laura Benanti, Gypsy

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Todd Rosenthal, August: Osage County

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Michael Yeargan, South Pacific

Best Costume Design of a Play
Katrina Lindsay, Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Catherine Zuber, South Pacific

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Kevin Adams, The 39 Steps

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Donald Holder, South Pacific

Best Sound Design of a Play
Mic Pool, The 39 Steps

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Scott Lehrer, South Pacific

Best Direction of a Play
Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County

Best Direction of a Musical
Bartlett Sher, South Pacific

Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, In The Heights

Best Orchestrations
Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman, In The Heights


Regional Theatre Tony Award
Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Special Tony Award
Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981), in recognition of his historic contribution to American musical theatre in the field of orchestrations, as represented on Broadway this season by South Pacific.

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Stephen Sondheim

WHAT A FABULOUS SHOW! THE ENERGY LEVEL AT THE TONY AWARDS KNOCKED ME OUT.
PATTI LUPONE SINGING "EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES" WAS SO POWERFUL,
THE AUDIENCE IMMEDIATELY CAME TO THEIR FEET IN A STANDING OVATION WHEN SHE SANG HER LAST NOTE.

HER ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, WHEN SHE WON FOR BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL, WAS SO HEARTFELT AND MOVING. AS THE ORCHESTRA TRIED TO END HER, SHE SHOUTED "IT'S BEEN 29 YEARS!" NOTING BACK TO HER ORIGINAL TONY AWARD FOR "EVITA".

THE MUSICAL NUMBERS HAD ME JUMPING UP AND DANCING. MY HAT GOES OFF TO WHOOPI, WHO DID A FABULOUS JOB OF HOSTING. SOME OF HER COMEDIC IDEAS WERE THEIR USUAL OUTRAGEOUSLY SHOCKING MOMENTS OF BIZARRE FLAMBOYISHNESS. SHE'S A WINNER TOO.

THE ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT I FELT WAS THE NOTICEABLE ABSENCE OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM, WHO WON A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, AND HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, WHICH I THOUGHT PERHAPS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE VIA TV SCREEN OR VIDEO OF SOME SORT, WAS READ BY MANDY PATINKIN.
ALL THEY SHOWED WAS A GIANT PHOTO OF HIM. I WONDER WHERE HE WAS?

I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY THE BEST TONY AWARDS SHOW I HAVE SEEN. I EVEN SENT A NOTE TO CBS TELLING THEM HOW MUCH I ENJOYED IT. THE SHOW COULD HAVE GONE ON FOR ANOTHER HOUR AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED.

I HOPE YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE THE SHOW YOURSELF, AND THAT YOU ENJOYED IT AS MUCH AS I DID. NOW THAT THE AWARD "SEASON" IS OVER, IT'S BACK TO READING, WATCHING FILMS, AND SWIMMING!

See you next time,

Jiva