In The Heights, the little barrio musical that brought a fresh salsa and hip-hop beat to Broadway, dominated the 2008 Tony Award nominations yesterday, picking up 13, more than any other show.
But it was a day of other new faces, too, particularly in the best-musical category, where Heights will compete against diverse, high-spirited shows such as Passing Strange, Cry-Baby and Xanadu.
For Lin-Manuel Miranda, the star and composer of In The Heights, the nominations were a double treat. He received two (actor-musical and score) nominations for Heights, a slice of life look at the Latino residents of Upper Manhattan. The musical began last year off-Broadway before moving to the big time.
Yet Stew, author and star of Passing Strange, the story of one man’s journey through sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, received four nominations for the same show — actor, score, book and orchestrations of a musical.
