62nd Tony Awards

62nd Tony Awards
Date June 15, 2008
Location Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY
Hosted by Whoopi Goldberg
Television/radio coverage
Network CBS

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.[1]

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.[2][3] Two new categories debuted at this ceremony: Best Sound Design of a Musical and Best Sound Design of a Play.[4]

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 (one of these was in the new "sound design" category). The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama August: Osage County 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.[5] 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.[6]

Awards ceremony

Presenters

The initial list of presenters was announced on June 2, 2008.[7] Additional presenters were announced on June 5.[8] [9]

Performances

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 "(I'm in Love with) 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 (Marianna)"/"Keys (It's Alright)". 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.

Nominations tally

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

[10]

Winners and nominees

(winners are in bold)

Best Play Best Musical
Best Revival of a Play Best Revival of a Musical
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Best Book of a Musical Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Best Scenic Design of a Play Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Best Costume Design of a Play Best Costume Design of a Musical
Best Lighting Design of a Play Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Best Sound Design of a Play Best Sound Design of a Musical
Best Direction of a Play Best Direction of a Musical
Best Choreography Best Orchestrations

Special Tony Awards

Regional Theatre Tony Award

Special Tony Award

Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre

References

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