'South Pacific' takes 5 Tonys, `Boeing-Boeing' wins best-revival play

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-16  |     ONLINE EDITION

THE lavish revival of "South Pacific" took five prizes, including director of a musical, and "Boeing-Boeing," a 1960s sex farce filled with slamming doors and eager stewardesses, was named best-revival play, as the 2008 Tony Awards got under way yesterday.

Bartlett Sher, who oversaw "South Pacific," thanked the show's legendary creators, composer Richard Rodgers, lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, its original director and co-author Joshua Logan and James Michener, who wrote the novel on which the show was based.

"They were kind of incredible men, because they seem to teach me particularly that in a way I wasn't only an artist but I was also a citizen," Sher said. "And the work that we do in these musicals or in any of these plays is not only important in terms of entertaining people, but that our country was really a pretty great place, and that perhaps it could be a little better, and perhaps, in fact, we could change."

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics for "In the Heights," rapped his way through his acceptance speech for best score, saying: "I know I wrote a little show about home. Mr. Sondheim, look, I made a hat. (a reference to a lyric in Sondheim's 'Sunday in the Park with George') But there never was a hat, it's a Latin hat at that!"

And "In the Heights" managed two other musical prizes, for the choreography of Andy Blankenbuehler and for orchestrations.

But Stew, the star and co-creator of "Passing Strange" took the prize for best book of a musical.

"Yeah, yeah. Um. Yeah," said the almost speechless performer, who did not expect awards to be given out so early. "I thought this going to happen like an hour from now. I was looking for some M&Ms in my pocket."

He said that he and his team created the project on an "organic" level. "We dealt with this play like a kid or a good meal," he said.