TONY AWARDS - 6/15/2008

The 62nd Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 15, 2008. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre. CBS television broadcast the event from Radio City Music Hall in New York City as it has since the 51st Awards ceremony in 1997. The event recognized Broadway productions playing during the 2007 – 2008 season and was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.

The cut-off date for eligibility in the 2007–08 season was May 7, 2008. The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced eligibility rules for many of the award categories.Two new categories debuted at this ceremony: Best Sound Design of a Musical and Best Sound Design of a Play.

The Tony Award nominations were announced on May 13, 2008 by David Hyde Pierce and Sara Ramirez. In the Heights, which premiered Off-Broadway, garnered the most nominations of any show with 13. Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific received 11, the second most of any revival to date (one of these was in the new "sound design" category). The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama August: Osage County earned seven nominations. The revival of Sunday in the Park With George received nine nominations, the revival of Gypsy received seven, as did the new musical Passing Strange.

The "Visa Signature Tonys Preview Concert" was taped at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 11, 2008 and broadcast on CBS television affiliates in June. The concert featured performances from 10 Tony-eligible musicals as well as interviews with Tony nominees. This television show received a nomination for a New York Emmy Award in the Best Special Event Coverage category; the Awards were presented on March 29, 2009.

The initial list of presenters was announced on June 2, 2008. Additional presenters were announced on June 5.

Alec Baldwin
Gabriel Byrne
Julie Chen
Kristin Chenoweth
Glenn Close
Harry Connick, Jr.
Laurence Fishburne
Whoopi Goldberg
Richard Griffiths
Laura Linney
John Lithgow
Liza Minnelli
Mary-Louise Parker
Mandy Patinkin
David Hyde Pierce
Daniel Radcliffe
Brooke Shields
Marisa Tomei
Lily Tomlin
John Waters
Adam Duritz