There were three big winners on Sunday night at the 2008 Tony Awards, giving Broadway ticket buyers an understanding of which plays we must see this year. The first was “In the Heights” which won best musical. The second was “August: Osage County” which won best play. And the third was “South Pacific” which won best revival and the most Tony’s of the night.

“In the Heights” is a depiction of Latino life in upper Manhattan. Lin-Manuel Miranda made an unusual acceptance speech choice for winning best score. He rapped his speech. It won three Tony’s including best musical, best original score, best choreography, and best orchestration.

“August: Osage County” tells the story of a family returning to their rural home in Oklahoma when the father of the family disappears. It won five awards including best play, best performance by a leading actress in a play, best performance by a featured actress in a play, best direction of a play, and best scenic design of a play.

South Pacific tells two romantic stories in the South Pacific during World War II. It won 7 Tony Awards Sunday, including best revival of a musical, best performance by a leading actor in a musical, best direction of a musical, best scenic design of a musical, best costume design of a musical, best lighting design of a musical, best sound design of a musical.

Tony Award winners, Sara Ramirez and David Hyde Pierce, announced the nominees for the 2007-2008 Tony Awards yesterday morning.

“In the Heights” earned the most nominations with 13. This play started off Broadway and made the transition to the Richard Rodgers Theatre earlier this year. One of the nominations was for Best Musical.

The revival for South Pacific also performed strong, with 11 nominations. Sondheim and Lapine’s revival of “Sunday in the Park with George” followed up with 9 nominations. A few productions got 7 nominations, including “August: Osage County,” the revival of “Gypsy,” and “Passing Strange.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda got two nominations for his performance and score for “In the Heights.” Pop artist Stew earned four Tony nominations for “Passing Strange.”

Steven Sondheim will be recipient of a Lifetime Achievement in the Theater.

The Tony Awards started in 1947. They were named after Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, and producer. It started as a dinner. It now is presented on television. This year’s show will be presented on Sunday, June 15th, on CBS, 8/7c.

To see all of the nominees, go to the official Tony Awards website here. To purchase tickets for any of these acclaimed shows, you will want to purchase Broadway tickets online.