Tommy Tune Awards Participants Announced

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is thrilled to announce the 45 Houston area schools competing in the ninth 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 2010-2011 school year, a team of Houston-based theatre professionals will evaluate the participating high school productions and announce the winners at a Tony Awards-style ceremony to be held April 20, 2011 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The event will feature spotlight numbers from the nominated shows, as well as award presentations to the performers, directors, choreographers, orchestras and designers, who have defined excellence throughout 2010 - 2011. The Best Leading Actor and Actress will go on to compete in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City this coming June.

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 ninth annual Tommy Tune Awards are:

• Austin High School, Ragtime (Jan. 20, 21, 22, 28, 29 at 7pm)
• Cesar Chavez High School, Chicago (March 2, 3 at 4pm and 5, 6 at 7pm)
• Clear Brook High School, The Music Man (Feb. 4, 5 at 8pm)
• Clear Creek High School, The Wiz (Jan. 26, 27, 28, 29 at 7pm and 30 at 2pm)
• Clear Lake High School, Joseph.......Dreamcoat (Jan. 27, 28 29, Feb. 3, 4, 5 at 7pm)
• Clear Springs High School, Guys and Dolls (Jan. 27, 28, 29, Feb. 3, 4, 5 at 7:30pm and Jan. 30 at 2:30pm)
• Clements High School, South Pacific (Feb. 3, 4, 5, 7 at 7pm)
• Conroe High School, Once Upon A Mattress (Jan. 28, 29, 31 at 7pm)
• Cypress Falls High School, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Oct. 14, 15, 16, 18 at 7pm)
• Cypress Ranch High School, Hairspray (Nov. 4, 5, 6, 8 at 7pm)
• Cypress Woods High School, The Music Man (Nov. 3, 4, 5, 6 at 7pm)
• Deer Park High School, Footloose (Nov. 4, 5, 6, at 7pm and 7 at 3pm)
• Dulles High School, Joseph.......Dreamcoat (Jan. 27, 28, 29 at 7pm)
• Energized for STEM (Central), Guys and Dolls (Feb. 26 at 7pm)
• Energized for STEM (West), Leader of the Pack (Feb. 26 at 2pm)
• Episcopal High School, Into the Woods (Feb. 25, 26 at 7:30pm and 27 at 3pm)
• Foster High School, Alice In Wonderland Jr (Dec. 3, 4 at 7:30pm and 5 at 2:30pm)
• Friendswood High School, TBD (Feb. 18, 29, 25, 26 at 7pm and 27 at 2:30pm)
• G. W. Carver Magnet High School, The Wiz (Jan. 6, 7 at 7pm)
• George Bush High School, Grease (Dec. 2, 3, 4, 6 at 7pm)
• Hastings High School, RENT School Edition (Nov. 11, 12, 13 at 7pm)
• Houston Christian High School, Fiddler on the Roof (Feb. 17, 18, 19 at 7pm 20 at 2:30pm)
• Incarnate Word Academy, Annie (Dec. 2, 3, 4 at 7pm)
• James E Taylor High School, Into the Woods (Jan. 27, 28, 29 at 7:30pm and 30 at 2pm)
• John Cooper School, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Nov.18, 19, 20 at 7pm and 20, 21 at 2pm)
• Kempner High School, The Apple Tree (Oct. 27, 28, 29, 30 at 7pm)
• Kingwood High School, The Sound of Music (Nov. 18, 19, 20, 22 at 7:30pm)
• Klein Collins High School, TBD (Feb. 3, 4, 7, 8 at 7pm and 5 at 2pm)
• Klein Forest High School, The Drowsy Chaperone (Jan. 28, 29, 31, Feb. 1 at 7pm and 29 at 2pm)
• Klein High School, TBD (Jan. 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 31 at 7pm)
• Mayde Creek High School, Suessical (Jan. 20, 21, 22 at 7pm)
• Memorial High School, Gypsy (Jan. 27, 28, 29, Feb. 3,4,5 at 7:30pm and Feb. 5 at 2:30pm)
• Northland Christian School, Godspell (Oct.21, 23 at 7:30pm and 24 at 3pm)
• Pasadena Memorial High School, Crazy for You (Jan. 28, 29, Feb. 3, 4, 5 at 7:30pm and Jan. 30, Feb. 6 at 2pm)
• Pearland High School, Oklahoma! (Jan. 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 at 7:30pm)
• Seven Lakes High School, Guys and Dolls (Feb. 3, 4, 5 at 7pm)
• Spring Woods High School, The Wiz (Jan. 28, 29, 30, Feb. 3, 4, 5 at 7:30pm and Jan. 29, Feb. 5 at 2:30pm)
• St. Agnes Academy, TBD (Feb. 25, March 4, 5, at 7:30pm and Feb. 27 at 2pm)
• St. Pius X High School, The Wiz (Jan. 28, 29 at 7pm and 30 at 2:30pm)
• Stratford High School, Damn Yankees (Jan. 27, 28, 29, Feb. 3, 4, 5 at 7:30pm and Jan. 29, Feb. 5 at 2:30pm)
• Texas City High School, A Funny Thing......Forum (Feb.17, 18, 19 at 7pm)
• Waller High School, Aladdin - Dual Language (Nov.4, 6 at 7pm)
• Westchester Academy, The Boyfriend (Nov. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 at 7:30pm)
• William B Travis High School, Fiddler on the Roof (Jan. 20, 21, 22 at 7pm and 23 at 2:30pm)
• Woodlands College Park High School, Starmites (Jan.27, 28, 29 at 7pm and 29 at 2pm)

TUTS' Tommy Tune Awards are named for Broadway legend, Houston native and Lamar High School alumnus, Tommy Tune.  A performer, director, and choreographer, Tune received nine Tony Awards for 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. Most recently, Tune starred in a biographical musical celebrating his 50 years in show business, Steps in Time, A Broadway Biography in Song and Dance.

The Tommy Tune Awards ceremony is open to the general public, and tickets will be available for purchase beginning on April 6, 2011.  For information on the 2011 Tommy Tune Awards ceremony, call (713) 558-2600 or visit TUTS.com/TommyTune.

Theatre Under The Stars thanks ABC-13, The Brown Foundation, Inc., and ConocoPhillips for their support of the Tommy Tune Awards. 

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 Continental 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 Miserables.  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. TUTS is one of three lead producers for the year long National tour of 9 to 5.

As a way to continue the tradition of musical theatre, TUTS' Education provides instruction and stage experience for more than 1,700 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 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. Housed in the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 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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