On Sunday, June 15th, the American Theater Wing handed out the 2008 Tony Awards. Below, Thirteen takes a closer look at some of the winners.

Broadway producers hope the attention some of the productions will draw based on their awards will boost attendance in what has been a particularly weak year for ticket sales on the Great White Way. According to a report by Crain’s earlier this month, 18 of the 37 shows currently on Broadway play to houses that sell 70% or fewer seats for each performance.

In the Heights

• Best Musical
• Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
• Best Choreography
• Best Orchestration

Among the top nominees, “In the Heights,” the hip-hop and latin-infused musical about immigrant communities in Washington Heights, collected 13 nods, the most of any production, but came away with four, including Best Musical. Visit SundayArts online to watch a profile about “In the Heights” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Passing Strange

• Best Book of a Musical

NEW YORK VOICES catches up with the musician known as “Stew”, who is the lead performer and co-creator of the musical “Passing Strange”. They talk about the search for what Stew calls “the Real,” the experience of living as a black expat in Europe, and what it has been like for an underground rock musician who doesn’t like musicals to suddenly become a Broadway star. Watch the interview.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific

• Best Revival of a Musical
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical: Paulo Szot
• Best Direction of a Musical: Bartlett Sher
• Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Michael Yeargan
• Best Costume Design of a Musical: Catherine Zuber
• Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Donald Holder
• Best Sound Design of a Musical: Scott Lehrer

“Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific,” a tried-and-true Broadway hit, picked up 11 nominations and came away with 7 awards, the most of any production.

Gypsy

• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical: Patti LuPone
• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical: Boyd Gaines
• Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical: Laura Benanti

The revival of Sondheim/Laurents’ 1959 production of “Gypsy,” earned Patti LuPonethe award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, her first since 1980, when she won the same award for “Evita.” When prolific SundayArts blogger Elisabeth Vincentelli first saw the show last year, she wasn’t impressed. But she attended another performance nine months later that convinced her otherwise.

Stephen Sondheim honored

This year’s award ceremony will be a especially noteworthy because the American Theatre Wing honored Stephen Sondheim with a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Visit Broadway: The American Musical to watch an interview with, listen to a song by, and learn more about the life of this Broadway legend.

Interview with Tony-nominated playwright Tom Stoppard

Playwright Tom Stoppard, whose “Rock ‘n’ Roll” was nominated for Best Play, discusses the ethereal process of beginning a new play on the Thirteen program Theater Talk.

To keep up to date with what’s happening on Broadway, visit Theater Talk’s New Theater Corps blog for an insightful look at what’s happening on the New York stage.

Theater Talk airs semimonthly on Thirteen.