| With no big name shows to take all the glory, the Tony | | | | off-Broadway for a season. The orchestration of the |
| awards have arrived this year with all the usual | | | | show is bright and vibrant and very modern. "In the |
| excitement and fanfare. The winner of the Best | | | | Heights" also won awards for the score, |
| Musical was "In the Heights", a story, or a collection of | | | | orchestrations and choreography. |
| stories, about chasing the American Dream and lottery | | | | No standout show took all the awards this year, the |
| winnings in Upper Manhattan Latino families. With its | | | | prizes were shared around. Winners in the recent past |
| salsa-inspired rap numbers, and dynamic dancers and | | | | such as Jersey Boys and Wicked are still playing to |
| music, the show has been a hit amongst theater goers | | | | packed houses around Broadway. The revival musical |
| and critics alike. | | | | "South Pacific" picked up seven wins including best |
| Written and conceived by 28 year old Lin-Manuel | | | | revival and best actor - for the lead, Paulo Szot - in |
| Miranda while he was still a student, the show features | | | | addition to four design awards and an award for best |
| Miranda taking center stage, bounding around | | | | director, Bartlett Sher. |
| dynamically and punching out the rap-dialogue in a style | | | | Some of the other winners were: |
| many musical goers may be unaccustomed. And | | | | Best play: August: Osage County |
| when taking the stage to accept his award he | | | | Best revival of a musical: South Pacific |
| continued the style telling the audience "I used to | | | | Best performance by a leading actor in a musical: |
| dream about this moment, now I'm in it," "Tell the | | | | Paulo Szot, South Pacific |
| conductor to hold the baton a minute." And with a nod | | | | Best performance by a leading actress in a musical: |
| to Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, Miranda raps: | | | | Patti LuPone, Gypsy |
| "Look, Mr. Sondheim, I made a hat where there never | | | | The 62nd annual Tony Awards was hosted by |
| was a hat and it's a Latin hat at that." | | | | comedian and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg. |
| Miranda's show is a window into modern Latino culture, | | | | Around 790 people from the theater industry -- from |
| perhaps with some gloss on it, but a window | | | | actors, to directors to journalists -- vote for the Tony |
| nonetheless. His first Broadway show, Miranda wrote | | | | Awards. The Tony Awards were established in 1947 |
| the score and all of the songs, as well as playing the | | | | and are named after Atoinette Perry, whose |
| lead role. He simply lights up the stage with a dazzling | | | | nickname was Toni. Perry, who died in 1946, was an |
| display and draws the viewer in. The show played | | | | actress, stage director and philanthropist. |