THE 2008 TONY AWARDS

at Radio City Music Hall

TONY NOMS HIT THE HEIGHTS By DAVID LEFKOWITZ Published May 14 2008   In the Heights In the Heights just got a lot higher. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes' sweetly energetic musical proved the darling of the 2007-08 Tony Award nominators, scoring 13 nods when the choices were announced May 13 at the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.   What a difference seven years makes. In 2001, Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan's The Producers was the toast of Broadway and the 400-pound gorilla of the Tony Awards. The show scooped up a record 15 nominations and won 12 of them, trampling everything - including The Full Monty and A Class Act - in its path. Brooks and Meehan came back in 2008 with Young Frankenstein and a production even bigger, though judging by the critics, not quite better, than their previous outing. For all the hype and hopes, Young Frankenstein garnered only three Tony nominations, and none of them for best musical, book or score. Instead, this year's Tonys are something of a Cinderella story. In the Heights, the Latin-inflected musical that wowed `em off Broadway and mustered enough support for a Broadway move, is now the clear Tony favorite. The show earned nominations for musical, book, score, actor, featured actor and actress, director, choreographer, and all the design categories.   If it's any consolation to the Frankenstein lab, A Catered Affair didn't get a best musical nod among its three nominations, while Disney's The Little Mermaid swam its way into only two categories.   Strongly recognized, though, were South Pacific with 11 nominations and Sunday in the Park with George with 9. On the play side, August: Osage County took 7 nods to Boeing-Boeing's 6.   The 62nd annual Tony Awards, hosted by actress Whoopi Goldberg, will be held June 15 at Radio City Music Hall and, as usual, broadcast on CBS-TV, 8-11pm(ET).   Although television ratings have been in decline for the awards show, the 2006 Tonys won an Emmy for &ampampampquotOutstanding Special Class Program Creative Arts Primetime," and Glenn Weiss has been brought back to direct for the ninth consecutive season. What is new for the 2007-08 Tonys are two new categories: Best Sound Design for Play and Musical. A special Lifetime Achievement prize will be given to Stephen Sondheim, with the late Robert Russell Bennett being recognized for his contribution to Broadway orchestration.   The 2007-08 Tony Award nominations are below:   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 Alegria Hudes Passing Strange, Stew Xanadu, Douglas Carter Beane Best Original Score 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: Stew and Heidi Rodewald Lyrics: Stew Best Revival of a Play Boeing-Boeing The Homecoming Les Liaisons Dangereueses Macbeth Best Revival of a Musical Grease Gypsy Rodgers and Hammerstein's 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, Rodgers and 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 and 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 Ra&ampampampuacutel 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 Jes&ampampampuacutes, 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 Laura Benanti, Gypsy Andrea Martin, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein Olga Merediz, In The Heights Loretta Ables Sayre, Rodgers & Hammerstein's 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, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific Best Choreography Rob Ashford, Cry-Baby Andy Blankenbuehler, In The Heights Christopher Gattelli, Rodgers & 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 & 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, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein Michael Yeargan, Rodgers & Hammerstein's 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, 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 Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre Stephen Sondheim Regional Theatre Tony Award Chicago Shakespeare Theater Special Tony Award orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett.