Tommy Tune Awards Nominations Announced

John C. Breckenridge, President and CEO of Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS), announced today the nominations and presenters for TUTS' ninth annual Tommy Tune Awards which will be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Developed by TUTS, the Tommy Tune Awards honor musical theatre excellence at the high school level. Presenters this year will include Houston-area native, Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) graduate and cast member in Broadway's revival of La Cage Aux Folles, Logan Keslar. Also presenting will be last year's Tommy Tune Award winner for Best Leading Actress, Stephanie Styles. To complete the evening, the ceremony's namesake, Tommy Tune, will be a special guest presenter for one of the awards.

After reviewing and evaluating the 45 participating Houston-area high school productions during the 2010-2011 school year, a team of 35 Houston-based theatre professionals made 162 nominations in 15 categories. An additional committee considered 42 potential scholarship recipients.

The following high schools and individuals were nominated:

Best Musical (8)
Episcopal High School, Into the Woods
Houston Christian High School, Fiddler on the Roof
James E Taylor High School, Into the Woods
Klein High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee
Pearland High School, Oklahoma!
Seven Lakes High School, Guys and Dolls
Stratford High School, Damn Yankees
Westchester Academy, The Boy Friend

Best Leading Actor (9)
Clear Brook High School: Luke Hamilton (Harold Hill) The Music Man
Cypress Falls High School: Robert Price (William Barfee) 25th Annual...Spelling Bee
Episcopal High School: Billy Cohen (Baker) Into the Woods
G. W. Carver Magnet High School: Donte Wright (Lion) The Wiz
Houston Christian High School: Anthony Farfan (Tevye) Fiddler on the Roof
Pasadena Memorial High School: Grant Brown (Bobby Child) Crazy for You
Pearland High School: Zo Hayes (Curly) Oklahoma!
Stratford High School: John Karna (Applegate) Damn Yankees
Woodlands College Park High School: Aaron Boudreaux (Space Punk) Starmites

Best Leading Actress (9)
Conroe High School: Cheyenne James (Princess Winnifred) Once Upon A Mattress
Episcopal High School: Mia Gerachis (Baker's Wife) Into the Woods
Episcopal High School: Mason Smajstrla (Witch) Into the Woods
Houston Christian High School: Julia Weeks (Golde) Fiddler on the Roof
John Cooper School: Caitlin Finnie (Olive Ostrovsky) 25th Annual...Spelling Bee
Klein High School: Heather Garsen (Olive Ostrovsky) 25th Annual...Spelling Bee
Pearland High School: Kate Court (Laurey) Oklahoma!
Stratford High School: Peyton Stackhouse (Lola) Damn Yankees
Woodlands College Park High School: Abbey Moss (Eleanor) Starmites

Best Supporting Actor (9)
Clements High School: Jacob Khalil (Lt. Cable) South Pacific
Clements High School: Jack Spalding (Luther Bills) South Pacific
Deer Park High School: Matt Pena (Rev. Shaw Moore) Footloose
G. W. Carver Magnet High School: Alric Davis (Tin Man) The Wiz
G. W. Carver Magnet High School: Jeremiah Gray (Scarecrow) The Wiz
Klein High School: Terran Swonke (Leaf Coneybear) 25th Annual...Spelling Bee
Seven Lakes High School: Patrick Brady (Nathan Detroit) Guys and Dolls
Seven Lakes High School: Luis Quintero (Nicely-Nicely Johnson) Guys and Dolls
Stratford High School: Patrick Reilly (Joe Hardy) Damn Yakees

Best Supporting Actress (9)
Clear Springs High School: Macy McNamara (Miss Adelaide) Guys and Dolls
Cypress Ranch High School: Kayla Baur (Velma Von Tussle) Hairspray
Episcopal High School: Jennifer La Porte (Little Red Riding Hood) Into The Woods
James E Taylor High School: Melanie Piche (Cinderella) Into The Woods
Mayde Creek High School: Kylie Rieck (JoJo) Seussical
Pearland High School: Madison Drexler (Aunt Eller) Oklahoma!
Seven Lakes High School: Carley Nunn (Miss Adelaide) Guys and Dolls
Stratford High School: Karina Ruiz (Meg Boyd) Damn Yankees
Westchester Academy: Ashley Thurow (Hortense) The Boy Friend

Best Featured Performer (9)
Foster High School: Emily DeForest (White Rabbit) Alice in Wonderland Jr
G. W. Carver Magnet High School: Erin Audrey Allen (Ensemble) The Wiz
G. W. Carver Magnet High School: Denzel Taylor (Ensemble) The Wiz
James E Taylor High School: Connor Woods (Milky White) Into the Woods
Klein High School: Melissa Beaird (Rona Perreti) 25th Annual...Spelling Bee
Klein High School: Connor Jones (Chip Tolentino) 25th Annual...Spelling Bee
Pearland High School: Megan Collins (Dream Laurie) Oklahoma!
Stratford High School: Peter King (Coach Van Buren) Damn Yankees
Texas City High School: Austin Abernathy (Erronius) A Funny Thing...Forum

Best Direction (8)
Episcopal High School, Into the Woods; Foster High School, Alice In Wonderland Jr; Klein Forest High School, The Drowsy Chaperone; Klein High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Pasadena Memorial High School, Crazy for You; Pearland High School, Oklahoma!; Seven Lakes High School, Guys and Dolls and Stratford High School, Damn Yankees

Best Choreography (15)
Cesar Chavez High School, Chicago; Clear Brook High School, The Music Man; Clements High School, South Pacific; Cypress Falls High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Cypress Ranch High School, Hairspray; Episcopal High School, Into the Woods; Friendswood High School, The Music Man; G. W. Carver Magnet High School, The Wiz; Houston Christian High School, Fiddler of the Roof; James E Taylor High School, Into the Woods; Kempner High School, The Apple Tree; Klein Collins High School, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown; Klein High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Texas City High School, A Funny Thing...Forum and Woodlands College Park High School, Starmites

Best Musical Direction (12)
Clements High School, South Pacific; Episcopal High School, Into the Woods; Friendswood High School, The Music Man; Houston Christian High School, Fiddler on the Roof; James E Taylor High School, Into the Woods; John Cooper School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Klein Collins High School, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown; Pearland High School, Oklahoma!; Seven Lakes High School, Guys and Dolls; St. Agnes Academy, Zombie Prom; Stratford High School, Damn Yankees and Woodlands College Park High School, Starmites

Best Orchestra (15)
Clear Brook High School, The Music Man; Clear Lake High School, Joseph...Dreamcoat; Clements High School, South Pacific; Conroe High School, Once Upon A Mattress; Dulles High School, Joseph...Dreamcoat; Friendswood High School, The Music Man; G. W. Carver Magnet High School, The Wiz; Houston Christian High School, Fiddler on the Roof; James E Taylor High School, Into the Woods; Klein Collins High School, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown; Klein Forest High School, The Drowsy Chaperone; Pasadena Memorial High School, Crazy for You; Seven Lakes High School, Guys and Dolls; Stratford High School, Damn Yankees and Texas City High School, A Funny Thing Happened...Forum

Best Scenic Design (15)
Austin High School, Ragtime; Cesar Chavez High School, Chicago; Clear Brook High School, The Music Man; Cypress Falls High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Deer Park High School, Footloose; Episcopal High School, Into the Woods; Friendswood High School, The Music Man; James E Taylor High School, Into the Woods; Klein High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Magnolia West High School, The Boy Friend; Pasadena Memorial High School, Crazy for You; Seven Lakes High School, Guys and Dolls; Stratford High School, Damn Yankees; Westchester Academy, The Boy Friend and Woodlands College Park High School, Starmites

Best Costume Design (10)
Episcopal High School, Into the Woods; G. W. Carver Magnet High School, The Wiz; Houston Christian High School, Fiddler on the Roof; Klein Collins High School, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown; Klein High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Magnolia West High School, The Boy Friend; Pasadena Memorial High School, Crazy for You; Stratford High School, Damn Yankees; Texas City High School, A Funny Thing Happen...Forum and Westchester Academy, The Boy Friend

Best Lighting Design (14)
Clements High School, South Pacific; Cypress Ranch High School, Hairspray; Deer Park High School, Footloose; Episcopal High School, Into the Woods; Foster High School, Alice in Wonderland Jr; G. W. Carver Magnet High School, The Wiz; James E Taylor High School, Into the Woods; John Cooper School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Klein High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Klein Forest High School, The Drowsy Chaperone; Magnolia West High School, The Boy Friend; Memorial High School, Gypsy, Seven Lakes High School, Guys and Dolls and Stratford High School, Damn Yankees

Best Crew & Technical Execution (12)
Cypress Ranch High School, Hairspray; Episcopal High School, Into the Woods; Foster High School, Alice in Wonderland Jr; G. W. Carver Magnet High School, The Wiz; Houston Christian High School, Fiddler on the Roof; James E Taylor High School, Into the Woods; John Cooper School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Klein Collins High School, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown; Klein High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Pearland High School, Oklahoma!; Seven Lakes High School, Guys and Dolls and Stratford High School, Damn Yankees

Best Ensemble/Chorus (8)
Episcopal High School, Into the Woods; Houston Christian High School, Fiddler on the Roof; Klein Collins High School, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown; Klein Forest High School, The Drowsy Chaperone; Klein High School, 25th Annual...Spelling Bee; Pearland High School, Oklahoma!; Seven Lakes High School, Guys and Dolls and Stratford High School, Damn Yankees

TUTS' Tommy Tune Awards are designed not only to acknowledge remarkable musical theatre talent at the high school level, but also to encourage future development. TUTS will present eight scholarships to outstanding participating students of the Tommy Tune Awards. This includes the Ruth Denney Scholarship, named in honor of Tune's mentor and legendary Lamar High School drama teacher. Ruth Denney was the founder and first director of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, and then Professor of Drama Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She died in 2007, just a few days before her 93rd birthday. Students under consideration were required to meet specific criteria set out by the scholarship committee, as well as submit an application and essay. The scholarship committee, composed of TUTS board members and community leaders, has carefully reviewed all of the applications and will announce scholarship recipients during the awards ceremony.

In addition to the Tony-awards-style ceremony, the evening will feature performances from nominees in the Best Musical category, a musical medley with this year's Best Leading Actor and Best Leading Actress nominees, and a grand finale including two students from each participating school.

The Best Leading Actor and Actress will go on to compete at the national level for the Jimmy^TM Award at the National High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City. Established in 2009, the Jimmy Awards are named after Broadway theater owner and producer, James M. Nederlander. This year, the program will bring the country's best high school performers together to compete on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on Monday, June 27, 2011.

Theatre Under The Stars will cover all expenses for this year's Best Actor and Best Actress to represent TUTS in this week-long national event. While in New York, Jimmy^TM Award participants will have the opportunity to participate in rehearsals and master classes; receive one-on-one coaching from theater professionals; be seen by casting agents; meet and converse with Broadway actors; and compete for scholarships and other prizes. The week's events will culminate in a live awards show where the Jimmy^TM Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress will be presented.

The Theatre Under The Stars Tommy Tune Awards are named for 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.

The Tommy Tune Awards ceremony is open to the general public, and tickets will be available for purchase beginning on April 6, 2011. VIP tickets, which grant access to a pre-event reception and ensure prime, center orchestra seating, are available for $125. For information on the 2011 Tommy Tune Awards ceremony, call (713) 558-2600; for VIP tickets, call Marcia Hovious at 713-558-2655.

Title sponsors for the 2011 Tommy Tune Awards are Citi and Leticia and Steve Trauber. Additional support is provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc., ConocoPhillips and Marsha & David Taylor.

Theatre Under The Stars 2010-11 Sensational Season is generously sponsored by St. Luke's Episcopal Health System. For all of Theatre Under The Stars' 2010-2011 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.

Founded in 1968, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is Houston's acclaimed non-profit musical theatre company under the direction of President and CEO John C. Breckenridge. TUTS was the first theatrical organization in Houston to perform free to the public 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 building opened. Since its founding by Frank M. Young, TUTS has produced more than 300 musicals including many local, national and world premieres such as Kopit and Yeston's Phantom, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Jekyll & Hyde, and Irving Berlin's White Christmas as well as critically acclaimed re-inventions of classics Cabaret and Les Misérables. Through its membership in the Independent Presenters Network, TUTS has helped bring Bombay Dreams, 9 to 5, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Spamalot, Legally Blonde, Ragtime, Curtains and The Color Purple to Broadway.

As a way to continue the tradition of musical theatre, TUTS' Education provides instruction and stage experience for more than 21,000 students annually, allowing students to flourish in a year-round schedule of classes. With a common goal - to expand arts access to children of all abilities - The River Performing and Visual Arts Center (The River) merged with Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) in 2010, creating a unique, barrier free, arts education model for non-profit musical theatre performing arts organizations. With the merger, TUTS Education now provides extended on-site programming as well as off-site programming for children in schools, hospitals and other community-based sites.

 

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