In the Heights Heads List of 2008 Tony Nominees  | Entertainment News | Advocate.com

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May 14, 2008
In the Heights Heads List of 2008 Tony Nominees

In the Heights, a lively snapshot of Latino life in Upper Manhattan, received 13 Tony award nominations Tuesday, more than any other show.

A lavish revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific took 11 nominations, followed by Sunday in the Park With George with nine. Three shows received seven nominations: August: Osage County, Passing Strange, and the revival of Gypsy.

Heights was nominated for best musical along with Passing Strange, the story of one man's journey through sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll; Cry-Baby, a raunchy '50s teenage romance based on the John Waters film; and Xanadu, a spoof of the '80s disco movie musical.

August: Osage County, already the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama, was nominated for best play along with Conor McPherson's The Seafarer, Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll, and The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow.

The best actor–play category will provide some starry competition with Patrick Stewart playing the title character in Macbeth, going up against Laurence Fishburne in Thurgood; Mark Rylance in Boeing-Boeing; Ben Daniels in Les Liaisons Dangereuses; and Rufus Sewell in Rock 'n' Roll.

''I am totally, completely shocked and amazed by all of this,'' said Fishburne, who portrays Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall in the show. ''More than that, I am grateful and truly blessed that every night I get to play one of the most compelling and extraordinary men from the 20th century.''

Nominations in the best actress–play category went to women who play mother and daughter in August: Osage County, Deanna Dunagan and Amy Morton; Eve Best in The Homecoming; Kate Fleetwood as the murderous wife in Macbeth; and S. Epatha Merkerson in Come Back, Little Sheba.

The two romantic leads in South Pacific, Kelli O'Hara and Paulo Szot, received nominations. In the best actress–musical category, O'Hara will go against Patti LuPone in Gypsy, Faith Prince in A Catered Affair, Kerry Butler in Xanadu, and Jenna Russell in Sunday in the Park With George.

Szot's competition will be Lin-Manuel Miranda in In the Heights, Daniel Evans in Sunday in the Park With George, Stew in Passing Strange, and Tom Wopat in A Catered Affair.

A special lifetime achievement Tony award will go to Stephen Sondheim, and a special Tony will be awarded posthumously to orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, who died in 1981. The regional theater Tony will go to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

The winners in 26 competitive categories will be announced June 15 in a three-hour CBS telecast from Radio City Music Hall. (AP)

© 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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