2008 TONY AWARD(R) NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

"In The Heights," "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific," "Sunday in the Park with George," "August: Osage County," "Gypsy," "Passing Strange" "Boeing-Boeing," "Macbeth" and "The 39 Steps" Are Among Multiple Nominees

"THE 62ND ANNUAL TONY AWARDS�" To Be Broadcast In A Three-Hour Ceremony Live From Radio City Music Hall, Sunday, June 15 On The CBS Television Network

Nominations in 26 competitive categories for THE 62ND ANNUAL TONY AWARDS� were announced today at a news conference held at The New York Public Library for Performing Arts. The event was broadcast live on CBS's "The Early Show," with anchor Harry Smith serving as the Master of Ceremonies. The announcements were made by Tony Award winners Sara Ramirez and David Hyde Pierce.

THE 62ND ANNUAL TONY AWARDS� will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall, Sunday, June 15 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network. The nominees were selected by an independent committee of 23 theater professionals appointed by the Tony Awards Administration Committee. The 2008 Tony Awards are presented by the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing.

Among the multiple nominees which received Tony Award nominations are: "In The Heights" (13), "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific," (11), "Sunday in the Park with George," (9), "August: Osage County," "Gypsy," (7), "Passing Strange," (7) "Boeing-Boeing," (6) "Macbeth," (6) and "The 39 Steps" (6).

It was also announced that the 2008 Regional Theatre Tony Award will be given to Chicago Shakespeare Theater. This award is given to a regional theater company that has displayed a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theater nationally.

Legitimate theatrical productions opening in any of the 34 eligible Broadway theatres during the current season may be considered for Tony nominations. The 2007/2008 eligibility season began May 10, 2007 and ended May 7, 2008. The Tony Awards will be voted in 26 competitive categories by 795 members of the theatrical community. Ballots will be mailed at the end of this week.

The nominees are:

BEST PLAY (Award to Author, Award to Producer)

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Author: Tracy Letts Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler, Jerry Frankel, Ostar Productions, Jennifer Manocherian, The Weinstein Company, Debra Black/Daryl Roth, Ronald & Marc Frankel/Barbara Freitag, Rick Steiner/Staton Bell Group, The Steppenwolf Theatre Company

ROCK 'N' ROLL Author: Tom Stoppard Producers: Bob Boyett & Sonia Friedman Productions, Ostar Productions, Roger Berlind, Tulchin/Bartner, Douglas G. Smith, Dancap Productions, Jam Theatricals, The Weinstein Company, Lincoln Center Theater, The Royal Court Theatre London

THE SEAFARER Author: Conor McPherson Producers: Ostar Productions, Bob Boyett, Roy Furman, Lawrence Horowitz, Jam Theatricals, Bill Rollnick/Nancy Ellison Rollnick, James D'Orta, Thomas S. Murphy, Ralph Guild/Jon Avnet, Philip Geier/Keough Partners, Eric Falkenstein/Max OnStage, The National Theatre of Great Britain

THE 39 STEPS Author: Patrick Barlow Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy, Bob Boyett, Harriet Newman Leve/Ron Nicynski, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley, Manocherian Golden Prods., Olympus Theatricals/Douglas Denoff, Marek J. Cantor/Pat Addiss, Huntington Theatre Company/Nicholas Martin/Michael Maso, Edward Snape for Fiery Angel Ltd.

BEST MUSICAL (Award to Producer)

CRY-BABY Producer: Adam Epstein, Allan S. Gordon, �lan V. McAllister, Brian Grazer, James P. MacGilvray, Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Anne Caruso, Adam S. Gordon, Latitude Link, The Pelican Group, Philip Morgaman, Andrew Farber/Richard Mishaan

IN THE HEIGHTS Producers: Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, Jill Furman, Sander Jacobs, Goodman/Grossman, Peter Fine, Everett/Skipper

PASSING STRANGE Producers: The Shubert Organization, Elizabeth Ireland McCann LLC, Bill Kenwright, Chase Mishkin, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, Broadway Across America, Emily Fisher Landau, Peter May, Boyett Ostar, Larry Hirschhorn, Janet Pailet/Steve Klein, Elie Hirschfeld/Jed Bernstein, Spring Sirkin/Ruth Hendel, Vasi Laurence/Pat Flicker Addiss, Wendy Federman/Jackie Barlia Florin, Joey Parnes, The Public Theater, The Berkeley Repertory Theatre

XANADU Producers: Robert Ahrens, Dan Vickery, Tara Smith/B. Swibel, Sarah Murchison/Dale Smith

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL

CRY-BABY Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan

IN THE HEIGHTS Quiara Alegr�a Hudes

PASSING STRANGE Stew

XANADU Douglas Carter Beane

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE

CRY-BABY Music & Lyrics: David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger

IN THE HEIGHTS Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

THE LITTLE MERMAID Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater

PASSING STRANGE Music: Stew and Heidi Rodewald Lyrics: Stew

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY

BOEING-BOEING Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Boyett, Act Productions, Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert G. Bartner, The Weinstein Company, Susan Gallin/Mary Lu Roffe, Broadway Across America, Tulchin/Jenkins/DSM, The Araca Group

THE HOMECOMING Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jam Theatricals, Ergo Entertainment, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, Michael Gardner, Herbert Goldsmith Productions, Terry E. Schnuck, Harold Thau, Michael Filerman/Lynne Peyser, Ronald Frankel/David Jaroslawicz, Love Bunny Entertainment

LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy

MACBETH Producers: Duncan C. Weldon & Paul Elliott, Jeffrey Archer, Bill Ballard, Terri & Timothy Childs, Rodger Hess, David Mirvish, Adriana Mnuchin, Emanuel Azenberg, BAM, The Chichester Festival Theatre

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

GREASE Producers: Paul Nicholas and David Ian, Nederlander Presentations Inc., Terry Allen Kramer, Robert Stigwood

GYPSY Producers: Roger Berlind, The Routh-Frankel-Baruch-Viertel Group, Roy Furman, Debra Black, Ted Hartley, Roger Horchow, David Ian, Scott Rudin, Jack Viertel

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, Andr� Bishop, Bernard Gersten, Bob Boyett

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy, Bob Boyett, Debra Black, Jam Theatricals, Stephanie P. McClelland, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley, Barbara Manocherian/Jennifer Manocherian, Ostar Productions, The Menier Chocolate Factory/David Babani

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 RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S 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 RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S 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

Ra�l 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 RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC

Robin De Jes�s IN THE HEIGHTS

Christopher Fitzgerald THE NEW MEL BROOKS MUSICAL YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

Boyd Gaines GYPSY

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

de'Adre Aziza PASSING STRANGE

Laura Benanti GYPSY

Andrea Martin THE NEW MEL BROOKS MUSICAL YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

Olga Merediz IN THE HEIGHTS

Loretta Ables Sayre RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY

Peter McKintosh THE 39 STEPS

Scott Pask LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES

Todd Rosenthal AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

Anthony Ward MACBETH

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

David Farley and Timothy Bird SUNDAY IN THE PARK & The Knifedge Creative Network WITH GEORGE

Anna Louizos IN THE HEIGHTS

Robin Wagner THE NEW MEL BROOKS MUSICAL YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

Michael Yeargan RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY

Gregory Gale CYRANO DE BERGERAC

Rob Howell BOEING-BOEING

Katrina Lindsay LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES

Peter McKintosh THE 39 STEPS

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

David Farley SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

Martin Pakledinaz GYPSY

Paul Tazewell IN THE HEIGHTS

Catherine Zuber RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY

Kevin Adams THE 39 STEPS

Howard Harrison MACBETH

Donald Holder LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES

Ann G. Wrightson AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

Ken Billington SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

Howell Binkley IN THE HEIGHTS

Donald Holder RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC

Natasha Katz THE LITTLE MERMAID

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY

Simon Baker BOEING-BOEING

Adam Cork MACBETH

Ian Dickson ROCK 'N' ROLL

Mic Pool THE 39 STEPS

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

Acme Sound Partners IN THE HEIGHTS

Sebastian Frost SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

Scott Lehrer RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC

Dan Moses Schreier GYPSY

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 RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Rob Ashford CRY-BABY

Andy Blankenbuehler IN THE HEIGHTS

Christopher Gattelli RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC

Dan Knechtges XANADU

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS

Jason Carr SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman IN THE HEIGHTS

Stew & Heidi Rodewald PASSING STRANGE

Jonathan Tunick A CATERED AFFAIR

REGIONAL THEATRE TONY AWARD

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

SPECIAL TONY AWARD

Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981), in recognition of his historic contribution to American musical theatre in the field of orchestrations, as represented on Broadway this season by RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC.

SPECIAL TONY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE THEATRE

Stephen Sondheim

The Tonys were founded in memorial to Antoinette ("Tony") Perry, the American Theatre Wing's World War II chairperson. The winners are selected by the governing board of Actors Equity, The Dramatists Guild, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the United Scenic Artists, the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, the Casting Society of America, the American Theatre Wing and members of the League of American Theatres and Producers, as well as journalists.

THE 62nd ANNUAL TONY AWARDS� are a presentation of Tony Award Productions, which is a joint venture of the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing. Emmy Award winners Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment will return as executive producers. Weiss will also serve as director. Elizabeth Ireland McCann returns as managing producer and Joey Parnes will serve as coordinating producer for Tony Award Productions.

RATING: To Be Announced