2008 Tony Award nominations announced

The 2008 Tony Award Nominations were announced today at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' by Tony Award winners David Hyde Pierce and Sara Ramirez.

Amongst this years crop of Broadway productions, the musical In The Heights leads the way with thirteen nominations, followed by South Pacific with eleven nominations, Sunday in the Park with George with nine nominations and August: Osage County, Gypsy and Passing Strange with seven nominations each.

The winners will be announced at the Tony 2008 Award ceremony at Radio City Music Hall on Sun 15 Jun., which will be hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.

The Regional Theatre Tony Award will be presented to Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Special Tony Award for 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 Rodgers s South Pacific.

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre to be presented to Stephen Sondheim

2008 nominations by category are:

Best Play:

• August: Osage County
• Rock �n� Roll
• The Seafarer
• The 39 Steps

Best Musical:

• Cry-Baby
• In The Heights
• Passing Strange
• Xanadu

Best Book of a Musical:

• Cry-Baby: Mark O�Donnell and Thomas Meehan
• In The Heights: Quiara Alegr�a Hudes
• Passing Strange: Stew
• Xanadu: Douglas Carter Beane

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics)
Written for the Theatre:

• Cry-Baby
• In The Heights
• The Little Mermaid
• Passing Strange

Best Revival of a Play:

• Boeing-Boeing
• The Homecoming
• Les Liaisons Dangereuses
• Macbeth

Best Revival of a Musical:

• Grease
• Gypsy
• South Pacific
• Sunday in the Park with George

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; 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: 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
• Ra�l 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: South Pacific
• Robin De Jes�s: In The Heights
• Christopher Fitzgerald: Young Frankenstein
• Boyd Gaines: Gypsy

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical:

• de�Adre Aziza: Passing Strange
• Laura Benanti: Gypsy
• Andrea Martin: Young Frankenstein
• Olga Merediz: In The Heights
• Loretta Ables Sayre: South Pacific

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: South Pacific

Best Choreography :

• Rob Ashford: Cry-Baby
• Andy Blankenbuehler: In The Heights
• Christopher Gattelli: South Pacific
• Dan Knechtges: Xanadu

Best Orchestrations:

• Jason Carr: Sunday in the Park with George
• Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman: In The Heights
• Stew & 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
• Robin Wagner: Young Frankenstein
• Michael Yeargan: South Pacific

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: 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: 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: South Pacific
• Dan Moses Schreier; Gypsy

Total Nominations by Production:
In The Heights - 13
South Pacific - 11
Sunday in the Park with George - 9
August: Osage County - 7
Gypsy - 7
Passing Strange - 7
Boeing-Boeing - 6
Macbeth - 6
The 39 Steps - 6
Les Liaisons Dangereuses - 5
Cry-Baby - 4
Rock �n� Roll - 4
The Seafarer - 4
Xanadu - 4
A Catered Affair - 3
The Homecoming - 3
Young Frankenstein - 3
The Little Mermaid - 2
Come Back, Little Sheba - 1
Cyrano de Bergerac - 1
Grease - 1
Is He Dead? - 1
Mauritius - 1
November - 1
Thurgood - 1
Top Girls - 1