On the Scene at the 2008 Broadway.com Audience Awards

The penthouse lounge at Spotlight Live was the place to be on June 3 as Broadway bigwigs gathered to pick up their prizes at Broadway.com's ninth annual Audience Awards. If we had to sum up the event in two quick catchphrases, they'd be "Broadway's only honor handpicked by you" and "Sierra Boggess finally meets Patti LuPone."

Let's start with the former, shall we?

Cradling the trophy for Favorite Broadway Play Revival for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof alongside her own award for Favorite Featured Actress, Phylicia "Big Mama" Rashad shared how she broke the news to her sister, Cat director Debbie Allen. "I told her the show received the Broadway.com Audience Award, and she said, 'That's the one that counts! That's the one that really counts.'"

August: Osage County's long-suffering in-law Francis Guinan agreed. Picking up the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama's award for Favorite New Broadway Play, he said, "Insiders may have any number of reasons for voting for a show. But having an audience vote for you is very touching." That August scored a bull's-eye with critics and audiences is rare, too. "It's not the sort of play you'd pick as a winner," said Guinan, looking festive in a yellow Hawaiian shirt. "It's very, very long. But maybe it demonstrates how big stories and big plots are on their way back to Broadway."

Not that old-fashioned song and dance is on its way out, since the Pink Ladies from Grease were on-hand to accept their certificates for Favorite Ensemble Cast. Kirsten "Frenchie" Wyatt said, "To me, an Audience Award is almost better than a Tony Award. It means we're doing our job. People are enjoying our show."

"You're doing this to please audiences," added Tom Kitt, whose score for Next to Normal helped the show win Favorite New Off-Broadway Musical. "You want to reach as many people as possible with your work. So this is really special." With that, he was off to enjoy a glass of wine with his wife, actress Rita Pietropinto.

If we could've presented an honorable mention for Favorite Entrance of the Evening, the recipient would be Miss Hannah Waddingham. Winner of Favorite Replacement, the Spamalot vixen emerged from the elevator looking effortlessly glamorous with her platinum-blonde hair, basic-black dress and disarmingly bright grin. "I'm thrilled to have won the only thing I'm eligible for!" Waddingham quipped. Then she displayed the trophy just above her ample bosom. "I'm proud of all my own work!"

Picking up their honor for Favorite Long-Running Off-Broadway Show, Jared Bradshaw and Michael West from Forbidden Broadway admitted that they actually voted for the Audience Awards. "Only once, of course," West deadpanned. Bradshaw also revealed the subtitle of Gerard Alessandrini's next extravaganza, set to open on June 28. "It's called Forbidden Broadway: Dances with the Stars. So whatever that means, get ready!"

Playwright Adam Bock, winner of Best New Off-Broadway Play for The Receptionist, confessed he didn't even know he was nominated. "This is really weird. I'm Canadian. We're supposed to be modest, right?" Lin-Manuel Miranda, recipient of Favorite Breakthrough Performance for In the Heights as well as Favorite New Broadway Song for the title tune, explained why his character raps "sellin' maxi pads and fuzzy dice for taxi cabs" like so: "Bodegas sell everything, and just mentioning maxi pads gets that across very quickly."

Also present were several winning cast members of Young Frankenstein, which took home a total of five prizes, including Favorite Broadway Musical. Roger Bart picked up two: one for Favorite Leading Actor in a Broadway Musical, and one for Favorite Onstage Pair, which he shared with castmate Sutton Foster. Christopher Fitzgerald took an early train down from Boston where his wife, Jessica Stone, is starring in She Loves Me to pick up his trophy for Favorite Featured Actor in a Broadway Musical.

Then there was Patti and Sierra. Like many of the attendees, Ms. LuPone was due in hair and makeup shortly, so her visit was gracious and brief. But not so brief that she couldn't shake hands with The Little Mermaid star, thus rocking her world. "I'm still spazzing out," said Boggess, who'd been in the vicinity of the Gypsy powerhouse at the Drama League and Drama Desk receptions. "It's like, how did I get through awards season without meeting Patti LuPone? I was super-scared to introduce myself. But she's so nice and relaxed. Why am I the most starstruck person on Broadway?"

Before taking her trophy for Favorite Breakthrough Performance back to her dressing room, Boggess was all smiles and non-Canadian modesty. "I feel really cool that they noticed me," she said of the voters. "I don't understand how a lot of this [awards] stuff works. But I do understand an audience award. And I think that's really, really cool."

For a complete list of winners, click here.