The lavish revival of “South Pacific” took five prizes, including director of a musical, and “Boeing-Boeing,” a 1960s sex farce filled with slamming doors and eager stewardesses, was named best revival of a play, as the 2008 Tony Awards got under way Sunday. Tracy Letts’s “August: Osage County” won best play, and its women made a strong early showing, with director Anna Shapiro winning for best director of a play, and Deanna Dunagan and Rondi Reed winning best actress and best featured actress in a play, respectively.

Bartlett Sher, who oversaw “South Pacific,” thanked the show’s legendary creators, composer Richard Rodgers, lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, and its original director and co-author Joshua Logan and James Michener, who wrote the novel on which the show was based.

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“They were kind of incredible men, because they seem to teach me particularly that in a way I wasn’t only an artist but I was also a citizen,” Mr. Sher said. “And the work that we do in these musicals or in any of these plays is not only important in terms of entertaining people, but that our country was really a pretty great place, and that perhaps it could be a little better, and perhaps, in fact, we could change.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics for “In the Heights,” rapped his way through his acceptance speech for best score, saying: “I know I wrote a little show about home. Mr. Sondheim, look, I made a hat” — a reference to a lyric in Mr. Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George.” “But there never was a hat — it’s a Latin hat at that!”

And “In the Heights” managed two other musical prizes — for the choreography of Andy Blankenbuehler and for orchestrations.
But Stew, the star and co-creator of “Passing Strange,” took the prize for best book of a musical.

“Yeah, yeah. Um. Yeah,” said the almost speechless performer, who did not expect awards to be given out so early. “I thought this going to happen like an hour from now. I was looking for some M&Ms in my pocket.”

“Gypsy” celebrated with two featured performer awards. Boyd Gaines won his fourth Tony, this time for portraying Herbie, the good-natured candy salesman in the show. And Laura Benanti, who plays the musical’s title character, the ugly duckling who grows up to become the glamorous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, also was victorious.

Jim Norton, who played a cantankerous blind Irishman in “The Seafarer,” took the featured actor-play prize and told the audience: “This has to be one of the happiest days of my life. I can’t believe it.” “South Pacific” received awards for sets, costumes, lighting, and sound of a musical. The design prizes for play were divided — two went to “The 39 Steps” for sound and lighting, while “August: Osage County” took set design and “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” costumes.