Interview: Rangel Guzman And Haley Griffin of TOMMY TUNE JIMMY NOMINEES at Theatre Under The Stars
Two high school seniors are heading to NYC to win big on BROADWAY!
One of the coolest things that Theatre Under the Stars does every year is host an awards program for high school students called The Tommy Tune Awards. The winners in each category move on to consideration for the Jimmy Awards, a national program that will culminate in their awards this year on Monday, June 22, 2026, at 7:30 PM at the Minskoff Theatre in Manhattan. Houston has two actors headed to the Jimmys, Haley Griffin and Rangel Guzman. Haley is a senior from Cypress Ranch High School, and she won with her portrayal of Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins. Rangel Guzman is a senior at Pasadena Memorial High School, and he recently portrayed Trunchbull in Matilda. Recently, BROADWAY WORLD writer Brett Cullum sat down with both students and the TUTS Director of Education, Adavion Wayne, to talk all things Tommy Tune and Jimmy Awards!
Brett Cullum: Tell me about the Tommy Tune Awards that Theatre Under the Stars gives out. What are they? What do they mean?
Adavion Wayne: The Tommy Tune Awards are a regional awards program. This is where we celebrate the excellence and the creativity of high school musical theater in the surrounding Houston area. This year, we had 65 different schools. We adjudicated 71 productions, and from that process, we got our winners, whether it be Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lighting Design, and then, of course, our Jimmy nominees as well.
Brett Cullum: Well, is it a given that you become a Jimmy nominee after you win a Tommy Tune? Because I know that for the Jimmys, they're held in New York, and you have to go, and it's the national one, and you have to win a regional area competition, like the Tommy Tune Awards, to qualify for that. So is it guaranteed that anyone who wins the Tommy Tune will represent Houston at the Jimmys?
Adavion Wayne: So, for the category of Outstanding Lead, if they win Outstanding Lead, then they also qualify for the Jimmy nominees. So that's why we have a male-presenting Jimmy nominee, and then a female-presenting Jimmy nominee.
Brett Cullum: Tell me, Rangel, you did Trunchbull in Matilda to win male-presenting?
Rangel Guzman: Yes, I played Agatha Trunchbull in Matilda, and that was how I trekked my way into the Tommy Tune Awards. And now we're here!
Brett Cullum: And Haley, I saw pictures of you doing Mary Poppins, is that right?
Haley Griffin: Yes, I was Mary Poppins.
Brett Cullum: You both did these roles in your schools, respectively, before, and adjudicators came, saw you, and said, “Hey! These two, right here!” And you performed on stage at the Tommy Tune Awards, right? A little snippet of your show, is that what they do?
Adavion Wayne: Yes.
Haley Griffin: They make these lead medleys, and we sing about a minute, a minute and a half of a song from our show.
Brett Cullum: So it's almost like the Oscars, where you almost have, like, a clip, except for you're live, and you're in person, and you're up against people.
Rangel Guzman: It was actually really cool. Haley and I were right next to each other within our medleys, so I sang “Smell of Rebellion,” and then Haley quickly came up and sang “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” It was super comical and great.
Brett Cullum: Wild that you were together. Now, the Jimmys are on June 22nd, and you're bringing the same material, but what I was reading about it is, it's like 10 days long. It's a workshop-type thing, right? Tell me a little bit about the Jimmys, and when you get there, what happens?
Haley Griffin: From what we know, whenever we arrive at the Jimmies, we have a preliminary audition that separates us between going into a medley and going into the feature group, and then if we're in the medleys, then we can audition to be a finalist, and then if we're the feature group, we learn, like, this huge, fantastic feature number that we doat the beginning of Act 2. We just spend a week doing master classes with Broadway professionals and meeting the other, I think it's 114 nominees, and then, we go to Times Square at some point and look at our headshots that are in Times Square, and then, we have an after-party and a dinner, so it's a very full theatrical experience.
Brett Cullum: Rangel, you played Agatha, right? So you are male-presenting, but your character is a gender bend for you. How is it doing that?
Rangel Guzman: Miss Trunchbull, on Broadway, is played normally by a male performer because of her energy. It's really cool, actually. So, on the stage, it was so different, like, being in my wig and full base and makeup, and I'm really excited to hopefully take all of the Trunchbull with me, because I've never heard of Trunchbull on that stage before. It's super exciting to think about the possibilities, and I'm gonna bring all my lady padding and my lipstick, it'll be so fun!
Brett Cullum: I love that in theater you can be anything! So there you go. Now, you are both majoring in theater when you graduate, and you already know where you're going?
Rangel Guzman: I'm going to the University of Michigan for my BFA in musical theater. Super excited, go Blues! I love the cold, and it's always been my dream school, and then, throughout the grueling college audition process, I ended up just landing right where I belonged. I'm super excited for all the blue and yellow and the football games, and the musical theater program over there is just something else. I'm super excited.
Brett Cullum: Yeah. Now, Haley, are you going to Pace? Is that what I read?
Haley Griffin: I'm going to Pace University to get my BFA in musical theater. Pace is in Manhattan, so it's kind of near the financial district. I got that concrete jungle, so I'll be a little warmer. They are a top 10 musical theater program, and Rangel won't say it, but Michigan is, I want to say, the top musical theater program in the country!
Brett Cullum: So, David, what is it like working with this caliber of students? Because, my gosh, I mean, both of them, obviously, are superstars in their own right.
Adavion Wayne: It's super inspiring, and it's also encouraging to know that musical theater is being handed to this next generation of performers and artists. We actually were just working yesterday. In coaching and preparing them to go to the Jimmies, it's always fun working with super-talented student artists, and now that they're no longer students because they are graduating, it's just really fun to work with and to see this level of talent. It's always inspiring to see that this is the next generation, that the next Broadway star is in this room. We have other Tommy Tune Awards alumni that are on Broadway, off Broadway, and such, and that's the beauty of the Tommy Tune Awards. All of them can sing their faces off, they're super great dancers, they just embody what Broadway and what musical theater are in the future, so that always makes my little heart happy.
Brett Cullum: Well, let me ask this of Haley and Rangel. Haley, did you get into singing first, or did you get into acting first?
Haley Griffin: I'm gonna say acting, because I did my first play when I was in kindergarten. It was something the teachers wrote, and I played a fish with one line. And then I did some plays at a church after that, and my mom realized I was really interested in it, so she let me take acting lessons, and I started taking them first, and then I started doing musical theater at Playhouse 1960. I was a fairy in Peter Pan. That was my first musical theater. It was my musical theater debut. Then, when I was about 10 or 11, I started taking voice lessons. I have been in several TUTS productions as part of the ensemble as well.
Rangel Guzman: So I started as a singer. I sang in the church with my mom. I even took some piano lessons. I have, like, an old recital video of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and I didn't do my first musical until sophomore year of high school. I was in Newsies as Davey, and then that same summer after my first musical, I did Les Mis at Tuts Houston as Tenardier. The jump from my high school stage to the Seraphim at the theater Under the Stars was such a huge blessing. I wanted to deep dive into musical theater, so I found any and every opportunity. I think my favorite was In the Heights at Theater Under the Stars. I was in the teen ensemble. Such a blessing, such an amazing experience.
Brett Cullum: Well, this is a whole process, and it's so funny, because I feel like you're both already in the professional world. So, how are your parents? How are they involved with your theater career?
Rangel Guzman: They love the theater world, they love everything I do. Honestly, it would have to include me for them to want to come see a musical; they wanna see me. I got to introduce them to the world. I'm like, guys, I'm in this show, come see Spelling Bee at TUTS. They love the world, and they are gonna come see the Jimmy Awards in New York. I'm super excited. Thrilled. It'll be, I think, their first Broadway show.
Brett Cullum: Haley, did your parents do theater before?
Haley Griffin: No, my parents were both sports kids, so my mom did gymnastics and softball, and my dad did football and baseball.
Brett Cullum: So you're not even generational, neither of you.
Adavion Wayne: Well, honestly, Brett, that's more common than not, actually. Texas is such a heavy athletic state.
Brett Cullum: Oh my gosh, yes. No, it's wild when you look at the arts programs, and I'm so glad that you all are here supporting that, and that TUTS is actually supporting that, and what I love about the Tommy Tune Awards is the idea of recognizing the talent that's here in Houston! Well, I certainly hope the Jimmys go well for both of you. You're already down the road to doing some excellent programs, so congratulations, and thank you for representing Houston, and thank you, Adavion, for helping foster all of these talents. I'm sure we'll see you both again.
Pictured in the photo left is Haley Griffin, and on the right is Rangel Guzman in their Mary Poppins and Trunchbull costumes!
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