It was a night for underdogs at the 2008 Tony Awards, and, suprisingly a night where the rock mixed seamlessly with the classical showtunes. Even with the revivals of South Pacific and Gypsy racking up their fair share of awards, the two biggest stars of the night were professional theater first-timers. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the 28 year old theatrical newbie from Washington Heights, walked away with both the Best Musical and Best Score Tony. Miranda responded with a hip-hop acceptance speech for the ages:

Not to be forgotten was the other hit rock musical of the season: Passing Strange by the formerly underground rock vagabond Stew. Stew took home the Tony for Best Book (which covers all the non-music parts of the musical) and accepted his speech with a comment befitting his unassuming reputation: “I don’t know what to say, because I didn’t know we were going to do this right now, I thought this was going to happen in an hour or something. I was looking for some M & M’s in my pocket.”

Both shows are still going strong on Broadway, and will be there for quite some time. Counting Spring Awakening last year, this marks two consecutive years when rock-heavy musicals from relatively young composers have taken home Tony gold. No longer is Broadway the source of mockery for rock snobs. [NY Times]