The Pulitzer Prize-winning play “August:
Osage County,” the Tony winner for best play, including four other awards, “Rogers
and Hammerstein’s South Pacific,” which earned seven awards, “In the Heights,”
which won the award for best musical, “Boeing-Boeing,” the winner for best play
revival, “South-Pacific,” nominated for 11 Tony Awards, and the winner for best
musical revival, best musical director (Barlett Sher), best leading actor in a
musical (Paulo Szot), dominated the scene of Broadway’s top honours, the Tony
Awards.
The original “South Pacific” won nine Tonys
in 1950. The musical revival, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar
Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan, also won five prizes
at the Drama Desk Awards. The show’s story was inspired by two short stories
written by James A. Michener from his Pulitzer-winning 1948 book, entitled
“Tales of the South Pacific.”
The Tracy Letts play, “August: Osage
County,” won Tonys for best play, best featured actress, for Rondi Reed, best leading
actress, for Deanna Dunagan, scenic design and direction, for Anna D. Shapiro.
When asked about the atmosphere of the
evening, Tracy Letts, author of “August: Osage County,”
said it was “absolutely a surreal experience,” something absolutely unexpected.
Patti LuPone won best actress in a musical
for her role in the revival of “Gypsy,” where she played Momma Rose. It was the
second Tony award for Broadway veteran LuPone, who won her fist Tony for the
title role of “Evita” in 1980.
The three-hour ceremony, broadcast on CBS from
Radio City Music Hall,
was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.
