TUTS Announces Participants for 12th Annual Tommy Tune Awards

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is thrilled to announce the 45 Houston area high schools competing in the 12th annual Tommy Tune Awards. Developed by TUTS in 2002, the Tommy Tune Awards honor musical theatre excellence at the high school level, celebrating outstanding student achievement in 15 categories. During the 2013-2014 school year, a team of Houston-based theatre professionals will evaluate the participating high schools' productions and announce the winners at a Tony Awards-style ceremony to be held April 16, 2014 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The event will spotlight musical numbers from the nominated shows as well as reveal the winning performers, directors, choreographers, orchestras and designers who have defined excellence throughout the 2013-2014 school year. The Best Leading Actor and Actress, the most prestigious recognitions of the Tommy Tune Awards, will represent TUTS in an all-expense paid trip as they go on to compete at the national level for the Jimmy Award at the National High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City in June 2014.

TUTS' Tommy Tune Awards are named for Broadway legend, Houston native and Lamar High School alumnus Tommy Tune. A performer, director, and choreographer with more than 50 years of stage experience, Tune received nine Tony Awards for his work in the following productions: Seesaw, My One and Only, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, Nine, Grand Hotel, and The Will Rogers Follies. He was also awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2003 by President Bush.

TUTS' Tommy Tune Awards are designed not only to acknowledge remarkable artists in musical theatre at the high school level, but also to encourage their future in the profession by providing an opportunity to win scholarships, compete on a national level, and receive recognition from their peers. The 45 schools competing in the 12th annual Tommy Tune Awards are as follows:

• Austin High School, The Wizard of Oz (January 17, 18, 24, 25 at 7 p.m.)
• Cinco Ranch High School, Monty Python's Spamalot (January 30, 31, February 1 at 7:30 p.m.)
• Clear Falls High School, The Wizard of Oz (January 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, February 1 at 7 p.m.)
• Clear Springs High School, Urinetown (January 30, 31 and February 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 at 7 p.m.)
• Clements High School, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (January 30, 31, February 1 at 7 p.m. and February 2 at 3 p.m.)
• Cypress Falls High School, Little Shop of Horrors (October 17, 18, 19, 21 at 7 p.m.)
• Cypress Ranch High School, Shrek, The Musical (October 24, 25, 26 at 7 p.m. and October 26, 27 at 2 p.m.)
• Cypress Woods High School, Into The Woods (January 30, 31, February 1 at 7 p.m. and February 1 at 2 p.m.)
• Dulles High School, Godspell (January 30, 31, February 1 at 7 p.m. and February 1 at 2 p.m.)
• The Emery/Wiener School, My Favorite Year (November 2, 4 at 7:30 p.m. and November 3 at 2:30 p.m.)
• Energized for STEM (Southeast), show and dates to be determined
• Energized for STEM (Southwest), show and dates to be determined
• Episcopal High School, Legally Blonde, The Musical (February 21, 22 at 7:30 p.m. and February 23 at 8 p.m.)
• Foster High School, Beauty and The Beast (December 6, 7 at 7:30 pm and December 8 @ 2:30 pm)
• Friendswood High School, show to be determined, (February 21, 22, 28, March 1 at 7 p.m. and March 2 at 2:30 p.m.)
• G.W. Carver Magnet High School, In The Heights (January 9, 10 at 7 p.m.)
• George Bush High School, Hello, Dolly! (January 30, 31, February 1, 3 at 7 p.m.)
• George Ranch High School, The Wizard of Oz (December 5, 6, 7 at 7:30 p.m. and December 8 at 2 p.m.)
• Houston Christian High School, Beauty and the Beast (February 6, 7, 8 at 7 p.m.)
• High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Avenue Q (November 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23)
• J. Frank Dobie High School, Into The Woods (November 1, 2, 8, 9 at 7 p.m. and November 3, 10 at 2 p.m.)
• James E. Taylor High School, High School Musical (January 24, 25 at 7:30 p.m. and January 26 at 2 p.m.)
• Kingwood High School, Shrek, The Musical (October 24, 25, 26, 28 at 7:30 p.m. and October 26 at 2 p.m.)
• Klein Collins High School, The Drowsy Chaperone (January 30, 31, February 1, 3, 4 at 7 p.m.)
• Klein Forest High School, Cinderella (January 30, 31, February 1 at 7 p.m.)
• Klein High School, show to be determined (January 24, 25, 30, 31, February 1, 3 at 7 p.m.)
• Klein Oak High School, show to be determined (January 31, February 1, 7, 8, 10 at 7 p.m.)
• Lamar Consolidated High School, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (January 24, 25 at 7 p.m.)
• Magnolia West High School, show to be determined, (January 17, 18 at 7 p.m.)
• Manvel High School, Grease (January 24, 25 at 7 p.m. and January 26 at 2:30 p.m.)
• Memorial High School, Shrek, The Musical (January 30, 31, February 1, 6, 7, 8 at 7:30 p.m. and February 1, 8 at 2:30 p.m.)
• Morton Ranch High School, Beauty and the Beast (January 23, 24, 25, 30, February 1 at 7 p.m.)
• Pasadena Memorial High School, show to be determined (January 31, February 1, 2 at 7 p.m. andFebruary 2 at 2 p.m.)
• Pearland High School, Hello, Dolly! (January 24, 25, 30, 31, February 1 at 7:30 p.m.)
• Porter High School, Suessical (January 16, 17, 18 at 7 p.m.)
• Sam Houston Math, Science, & Technology Center, show and date to be determined
• Sam Rayburn High School, In The Heights (January 24, 25, 31, February 1 at 7:30 p.m.)
• Santa Fe High School, Grease (January 31, February 1, 7, 8 at 8 p.m. and February 9 at 2 p.m.)
• Second Baptist School, show to be determined (February 21, 22, 23)
• Spring Woods High School, State Fair (January 31, February 1, 7, 8 at 7:30 p.m. and February 1, 2, 8 at2:30 p.m.)
• St. Agnes Academy, Mame (February 21, 22, 28, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. and February 23 at 2 p.m.)
• Stratford High School, West Side Story (January 30, 31, February 1, 6, 7, 8 at 7:30 p.m. and February 1, 8 at 2:30 p.m.)
• The John Cooper School, Sympathy Jones (November 21, 22, 23 at 7 p.m. and November 23, 24 at 2 p.m.)
• Westbury Christian School, Oklahoma! (November 7, 9 at 7 p.m. and November 9 at 2 p.m.)
• The Woodlands High School, Thoroughly Modern Millie (November 7, 8, 9 at 7 p.m. and November 9 at 2 p.m.)

The Tommy Tune Awards ceremony is open to the general public, and tickets will be available for purchase beginning on April 2, 2014. For information on the 2014 Tommy Tune Awards ceremony, call (713) 558-2600 or visit TUTS.com/TommyTune.

Theatre Under The Stars thanks The Brown Foundation, Inc. and ConocoPhillips for their generous support of the Tommy Tune Awards.

Theatre Under The Stars' 2013-2014 season is generously sponsored by St. Luke's. For all of TUTS' shows, air transportation is provided by United Airlines, the official airline of Theatre Under The Stars. Media sponsors include ABC-13 and Houston Chronicle. Season support is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Theater District Association and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is Houston's acclaimed nonprofit musical theatre company whose mission is to enrich life through the experience of quality musical theatre and to positively impact lives beyond the stage through innovative education and community engagement programs. TUTS performs annually in Sarofim Hall and Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center and at Miller Outdoor Theatre. TUTS was the first theatrical organization in Houston to perform free to the public when it was founded in 1968 at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park and is the only Houston arts organization that has performed there free to the public every year since the theatre opened. Founded by Frank M. Young and currently under the direction of President and CEO John C. Breckenridge and Artistic Director Bruce Lumpkin, TUTS has produced more than 300 musicals including many locally, nationally and throughout the world. Through its membership in the Independent Presenters Network, TUTS regularly helps mount shows on Broadway which eventually show locally to Houston audiences.

In support of TUTS' mission, TUTS' Education & Community Engagement programs provide year-round instruction and stage experience. The Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) offers technique-driven classes for all ability levels and ages. Through The River Performing and Visual Arts Center (The River), TUTS provides an accessible and inclusive arts education for individuals of all abilities. TUTS Education & Community Engagement provides extended on-site programming as well as off-site programming for children in schools, hospitals and other community-based sites. TUTS also annually presents the Tommy Tune Awards, honoring the best and brightest in Houston's high school musical theatre programs.

Visit TUTS.com for more information.

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