In the Heights, August: Osage County, South Pacific Win Big at 2008 Tony Awards

In the Heights won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical, which capped an evening in which it won four awards. August: Osage County took the prize for Best Play, one of five major awards won by Tracy Letts' family drama. Lincoln Center Theater's revival of South Pacific swept seven awards, the greatest number of the night, including Best Revival.

The first 12 of 26 competitive awards were presented by Julie White and Michael Cerveris in the hour before the CBS telecast began and were viewable only on the Tony Awards website. Several awards that are usually presented on camera were included in the initial group, including Best Choreography Andy Blankenbuehler of In the Heights and Best Revival of a Play Boeing-Boeing.

The telecast began with a five-minute performance from the 1998 Tony-winning musical The Lion King, followed by the appearance of host Whoopi Goldberg dressed as Sebastian the Crab from The Little Mermaid. Goldberg later appeared onstage in the Phantom of the Opera's boat, flew across the stage dressed as Mary Poppins, stomped around the stage with the cast of Spring Awakening and was digitally transformed into the entire cast of A Chorus Line behind Mario Lopez.

And the winners are:

Best Musical
In the Heights

Best Play
August: Osage County, by Tracy Letts

Best Revival of Musical
South Pacific

Best Revival of a Play
Boeing-Boeing

Best Actress in a Musical
Patti LuPone, Gypsy

Best Actor in a Musical
Paulo Szot, South Pacific

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

Best Actor in a Play
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Laura Benanti, Gypsy

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Boyd Gaines, Gypsy

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

Best Featured Actor in a Play
Jim Norton, The Seafarer

Best Director of a Musical
Bartlett Sher, South Pacific

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

Best Original Score
Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights

Best Book of a Musical
Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Passing Strange

Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, In the Heights

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Michael Yeargan, South Pacific

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

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Scott Lehrer, South Pacific

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

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Catherine Zuber, South Pacific

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

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Donald Holder, South Pacific

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

Best Orchestrations
Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman, In the Heights

Total Awards:
South Pacific: 7
August: Osage County: 5
In the Heights: 4
Gypsy: 3
The 39 Steps: 2
Boeing-Boeing: 2
Les Liaisons Dangereuses: 1
Passing Strange: 1
The Seafarer: 1