In the Heights, South Pacific Lead 2008 Tony Award Nominations

The nominations for the 2008 Tony Awards were announced this morning by past winners David Hyde Pierce and Sara Ramirez.

In the Heights, the sentimental, hip-hop-flavored musical look at Manhattan's uptown Latino neighborhood Washington Heights, scored 13 nominations, making it the most honored show of the season. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda was nominated for his work as the show's leading actor as well as his score.

Another autobiographical show written by and starring a songwriter, Passing Strange received seven nominations. The funky, trippy musical that got its start at downtown club Joe's Pub brought in four nominations alone for star Stew, who was honored for his acting, songwriting, bookwriting and orchestrations.

The big-news musical revivals on the stem were well appreciated by nominators. South Pacific, which has been a sell-out at Lincoln Center since receiving rave reviews last month, earned a whopping 11 nominations, with Gypsy and Roundabout Theater's Sunday in the Park with George following close behind with seven and nine, respectively.

August: Osage County, Tracy Letts' dark comedy that has already won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was the top-earning play, receiving seven nominations including Best Play. The only other still-running contender in the Best Play category is The 39 Steps, the fast-paced adaptation of Hitchcock's film of the same name, which followed close behind with six nods.

Here is a complete list of this year's nominees:

Best Play
The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
Rock 'n' Roll by Tom Stoppard
The Seafarer by Conor McPherson

Best Musical
Cry-Baby
In the Heights
Passing Strange
Xanadu

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
Raul 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 Jesus, 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 Book of a Musical
Cry-Baby - Thomas Meehan & Mark O'Donnell
In the Heights - Quiara Alegria Hudes
Passing Strange - Stew
Xanadu - Douglas Carter Beane

Best Original Score Music and/or Lyrics Written for the Theatre
Cry-Baby - Music and Lyrics by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger
In the Heights - Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
The Little Mermaid - Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater
Passing Strange - Music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald; Lyrics by Stew

Best Orchestrations
A Catered Affair - Jonathan Tunick
In the Heights - Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman
Passing Strange - Stew and Heidi Rodewald
Sunday in the Park with George - Jason Carr

Best Scenic Design of a Play
The 39 Steps - Peter McKintosh
August: Osage County - Todd Rosenthal
Les Liaisons Dangereuses - Scott Pask
Macbeth - Anthony Ward

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
In the Heights - Anna Louizos
South Pacific - Michael Yeargan
Sunday in the Park with George - David Farley, Tim Bird and The Knifedge Creative Network
Young Frankenstein - Robin Wagner

Best Costume Design of a Play
The 39 Steps - Peter McKintosh
Boeing-Boeing - Rob Howell
Cyrano de Bergerac - Gregory Gale
Les Liaisons Dangereuses - Katrina Lindsay

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gypsy - Martin Pakledinaz
In the Heights - Paul Tazewell
South Pacific - Catherine Zuber
Sunday in the Park with George - David Farley

Best Lighting Design of a Play
The 39 Steps - Kevin Adams
August: Osage County - Ann G. Wrightson
Les Liaisons Dangereuses - Donald Holder
Macbeth - Howard Harrison

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
In the Heights - Howell Binkley
The Little Mermaid - Natasha Katz
Passing Strange - Kevin Adams
Sunday in the Park with George - Ken Billington

Best Sound Design of a Play
The 39 Steps - Mic Pool
Boeing-Boeing - Simon Baker
Macbeth - Adam Cork
Rock 'n' Roll - Ian Dickinson

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Gypsy - Dan Moses Schreier
In the Heights - Acme Sound Partners
South Pacific - Scott Lehrer
Sunday in the Park with George - Sebastian Frost

Regional Theater Tony Award
Chicago Shakespeare Theater

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

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater
Stephen Sondheim

Tony 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